Students wishing to graduate with honors in American studies must compose an honors thesis during their senior year. <br><br>An honors thesis is a challenging enterprise to be undertaken only by the most ambitious and thoughtful students, but it is also an invigorating and rewarding intellectual experience. As a work of both scholarship and interpretation, a thesis undertakes extensive research into a given subject and makes a critical argument about that subject. It aims to master the relevant background and thinking in an area of inquiry while making a fresh contribution to ongoing scholarship.<br><br>Ideally, the thesis should serve as a capstone experience to your undergraduate education in American studies.