The Honors Diploma Program
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Overview
The Episcopal Upper School Honors Diploma Program is a two-year course of study that provides students with the opportunity to combine interdisciplinary seminar examination of topics in the history of ideas with sustained, independent, academic work. The program is open to juniors who have demonstrated the highest level of self-motivation and academic performance as well as the ability to contribute to group discussion and to work independently. Participation in the program requires completion of the year-long interdisciplinary Junior Honors Seminar and of an independently researched and written Senior Honors Thesis. The program thus asks considerable commitment and effort of students who undertake it. Successful participants receive Episcopal’s highest academic honor: their diploma with the words, With Honors, as well as recognition in the graduation bulletin. A bound copy of each student’s accepted thesis is kept permanently in Aldrich Library. Students who successfully complete all requirements of the program also have a weight of up to .1 added to their cumulative GPA.

Requirements
All Honors Diploma candidates must:
• Maintain at least a B+ grade point average (each semester as well as cumulative) throughout their time in the program.
• Take at least three AP classes and exams during their time in the Upper School (at least one of these AP classes and exams must be in math, science, or computer science, and at least one must be in foreign language, English, social studies, or art).
• Satisfactorily meet each of the following specific requirements of the program:
1. Successful completion of Junior Honors Seminar First Semester, including meeting all deadlines.
2. Successful completion of Junior Honors Seminar Second Semester. Completion includes 40 or more pages of notes in Netsnippets, an accepted honors thesis proposal including a schedule for summer work, presentation to faculty of the thesis in progress (T.I.P.S.), and all classroom assignments. A .04 will be added to the total GPA at this time.
3. Successful completion of Independent Thesis Research during the summer between junior and senior years, as evidenced by submission of a completed draft of the honors thesis on the FIRST day of senior year classes. If the paper is not turned in at this time, the .03 will not be added to the GPA.
4. Successful revision and completion of Senior Honors Thesis first semester
• Successful completion of Honors Thesis: due the FIRST day of classes in second semester of senior year. At this time .03 will be added to the GPA.
5. Successful completion of Senior Honors Thesis second semester including:
• Successful defense of the Honors Thesis before Advisor, readers, and other interested faculty
• Successful public presentation

If, in the judgment of the Director, a candidate's grade point average drops significantly, or if a candidate does not meet any of the preceding requirements, the candidate will be asked to withdraw from the program; withdrawal during the second semester of the senior year will result in a grade of "F" on the student's transcript.

The Selection Process
Students are selected for the program during the spring of their sophomore year. Admission to the program is based upon cumulative Upper School GPA, difficulty of the course of study already pursued, PSAT scores, personal interview, and a scheduled in- class paper. Each student will submit one paper that was written during the sophomore year. In addition, each student will ask two teachers to complete a recommendation form; the first from the student’s freshman or sophomore English teacher, and the second from one of the student’s freshman or sophomore social studies, science, math, or foreign language teachers. A checklist recommendation form will be given to all of the student’s teachers. Once this process is complete, a committee comprised of ninth and tenth grade teachers will review all aspects of the application, and invitations to join the program are extended. Students who accept the invitation are asked, along with their parents, to sign a document indicating their understanding of the requirements of the program and their willingness to abide by these requirements.

Stages of the Program: Details
Junior Year
Junior Honors Seminar
Junior Honors Seminar is a year-long, advanced, interdisciplinary course. The ability to do a considerable amount of reading and to participate in discussion is crucial to successful completion of the course. It carries two (2) half credits, one of which will satisfy the Religious Studies elective requirement. The Junior Honors Seminar does not satisfy the Religious Studies Introduction to Bible requirement.
Throughout the year, students focus on developing critical thinking and research skills through reading, discussion, writing, and presentations. While specific topics will vary from one year to the next, students will learn to examine a particular topic from many points of view.
During the second semester, the focus of the course expands to include learning what a good thesis is, writing and revising proposals for the thesis, and making the transition to independent research and writing. In consultation with the Director and potential thesis advisors, and with the support and critiques of fellow candidates, candidates develop a thesis proposal during the semester. The proposal must be signed by a faculty member who agrees to work closely with the candidate as a thesis advisor for the project.
Junior Honors Seminar is a graded course. A letter grade appears on the student’s report card. Candidates who continue in the program and students who do not continue in the program but have completed the JHS requirements have .04 added to their cumulative GPA’s at of the end of the second semester of the junior year.

Summer Work
Independent Thesis Research
During the summer between the junior year and the senior year, candidates finish their research and begin writing. Candidates are required to work out a plan for summer work with their advisor, including a means of communication and/or meeting, before school ends. They are expected to have a draft completed by the beginning of the senior school year. This should be turned in to the candidate’s thesis Advisor and Program Director on the first day of classes.
Candidates whose theses are deemed satisfactory by the Advisor and Director receive a .03 added to their cumulative GPA, effective from the beginning of the senior year. Students whose theses are late or not satisfactory to the Advisor or the Director at the beginning of the school year will ordinarily be allowed to withdraw without carrying a "Fail" on the transcript.

Senior Year
First Semester: Senior Honors Thesis
Candidates use this first semester of senior year to revise their initial draft in consultation with their Advisor. Thesis Readers read in August and January. All other editions are read by the Advisor.Readers should be in place by mid-August. At this time the senior Honors Thesis candidate should give a revised thesis copy to the Advisor, direstor, and two readers.
Final copies of the thesis are due to the Advisor, Readers, and the Director on the first day of classes of the second semester. The candidates whose theses are deemed satisfactory by the Advisor and Director receive an additional .03 added to their cumulative GPA’s (for a total of .1 as of the end of the first semester).
The first day of classes of the senior year is the last point at which students will ordinarily be allowed to withdraw from the program without a "Fail" appearing on the transcript.

Second Semester: Senior Honors Thesis
A formal Defense of the thesis before the Advisor and readers, presided over by the Director, is scheduled during January and February. After the Defense, candidates must complete any necessary revisions and have their work approved by their Advisor and their Director. Public Presentations of the approved theses are scheduled. The second semester of the Senior Honors Thesis course is recorded as Pass or Fail, with no addition to the cumulative GPA. However, in case of failure, an "F" in Senior Honors Thesis will be recorded on the transcript.
Permanently bound copies of each approved thesis will be placed in the Aldrich library.

Graduation: Reception of Diploma With Honors.
(Houghton 2001; revised Oulton 2007)