Honors Program Requirements & Application Process

Course Requirements:

Foundational Courses

One course in political philosophy from the list of courses below:

• ETHICSOC171 - Justice
• ETHICSOC174L - Justice Across Borders

One course in moral philosophy from the list of courses below:

• ETHICSOC20 - Introduction to Moral Philosophy
• ETHICSOC170 - Ethical Theory
• ETHICSOC185M - Contemporary Moral Problems
• ETHICSOC178M - Introduction to Environmental Ethics

Note that the foundational courses must be taken for a letter grade, and for a minimum of 4 units. These courses are strongly recommended to be taken before the winter quarter of the junior year, and to be completed with a B+ or higher grade.

Elective/Specialization Courses

• Two or three university-wide undergraduate courses related to student's honors thesis topic and/or in support of research on the student's thesis topic. These courses must be at the 100+ level, be taken for a letter grade, be a minimum of 3 units each, and should total to a minimum of 8 units. 
• These course choices must be reviewed and approved for counting towards the Honors Program with the Student Services Administrator. Syllabi/relevant coursework may be requested for this review process.

Specialization courses can be completed anytime, and courses taken before acceptance into the program can be used to fulfill this requirement. 

EiS Program Specific Coursework

ETHICSOC190 is a mandatory seminar for juniors who are accepted into the honors program. This seminar is only offered during winter quarter and must be attended in person. 

ETHICSOC195 is a mandatory one-unit writing workshop that must be taken in the winter quarter of senior year.

During the senior year of the honors program, students enroll in graded thesis writing units (200A-C) that can vary between 3-5 units per quarter, and should total to a minimum of 10 units over the course of the senior year. Students will enroll in ETHICSOC 200A in the fall quarter, ETHICSOC 200B in the winter quarter, and ETHICSOC 200C in the spring quarter.

Additional Notes/Requirements:

• Students interested in writing a senior honors thesis in Ethics in Society are strongly encouraged to contact the program coordinator before their junior year to discuss the application process. 
• The Program is open to students in any major with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher. Students should maintain this minimum average in the courses taken to satisfy the program requirements. 
• Students may not double-count courses between the honors program and other academic programs (ie, major or minor) unless in the circumstances outlined here under the "Special Requirements for Students Pursuing Minors". 
  • Note: Philosophy majors in the honors program may double count ETHICSOC 20 towards both the Philosophy major and the Ethics in Society honors program.
• Students complete preliminary and final thesis presentations and an oral examination after submission of the thesis. 

Application Process

1. Contact the gmaung [at] stanford.edu (Events & Student Programming Administrator) about your interest in writing an honors thesis and set up a meeting to discuss the application process and program components, ideally before the start of your junior year.
2. Fill out and submit the EiS Honors Application Form
   1. To submit the application form, you will also need to provide the following materials listed below. Note: You will need to compile these documents into a single folder, and provide us with a link to access the folder and download the materials. You will paste this link into the application form.
      1. Download a copy of and fill in the Course Planning Template spreadsheet.
         1. Note: You will need to make sure you're signed into Google Drive with your Stanford email.
      2. Attach a proposal (roughly 4 pages double-spaced) outlining the topic(s) you foresee yourself pursuing in an honors thesis. Be as specific as you can at this early stage. Include a list of relevant literature you’ve encountered.
      3. Attach a writing sample from a paper prepared for a Stanford course. (A term paper demonstrating your ability to pursue independent research on a topic is preferable to a short essay.)
      4. Attach your unofficial transcript.
3. gmaung [at] stanford.edu (Events & Student Programming Administrator) will review your application materials and put you in contact with the amcqueen [at] stanford.edu (Program Faculty Director) for the final step of the application process
4. Meet with the bkcoyne [at] stanford.edu (Program Faculty Director), Brian Coyne, to discuss your interests and potential topic.

You will be informed about your acceptance decision by the end of Fall Quarter. Please note that, if accepted into the Program, you will need to enroll in ETHICSOC 190: Honors Seminar for Winter Quarter of your junior year.