Honors Degree & Honors Society

At Union College, students majoring in Spanish & Hispanic Studies are eligible for two highly selective Honors opportunities for outstanding academic work and community contributions: A degree with Honors and/or Sigma Delta Pi Honors Society. Below you will find information about requirements and the selection process for each.

Take SPN 489, to gain a degree with Honors

Students can receive Spanish Honors by taking SPN 489 in the spring term of their senior year. This notable opportunity allows academically excellent students to pursue an in-depth research project on a topic determined in coordination with the supervising faculty member in Spanish. To be eligible, students must meet the following requirements:

Requirements for Honors:

• A candidate for honors shall have an index in Departmental courses of not less than 3.5 and an overall cumulative index of not less than 3.3.
• The candidate shall have achieved a grade of “A” in at least three courses in the department, with at least one at the 300-level or higher.
• Students shall have achieved a grade of at least “A-” in two 400-level courses (not including SPN 489 ).
• The honors project is expected to be written in Spanish.
• The honors project shall have been awarded a grade no lower than “A-.”
• Additional stipulations for interdepartmental majors are stipulated here.
  • In lieu of taking SPN 489, ID majors who fulfill the Honors requirements in the other department/program via a senior thesis or project may fulfill Spanish honors simultaneously by choosing a topic that connects to Spanish, Hispanic and US Latino Studies. Students may request to consolidate the two projects in this way by consulting with their SHL academic advisor no later than Winter term of the senior year.

"The most memorable moment in my history of taking Spanish classes was submitting my honor thesis."

"As a double major, I knew completing two honors theses would be challenging. When I accepted that challenge, I did not anticipate the amount of encouragement that I would receive from both departmental advisors. In particular, Professor Henlser inspired me to anchor my thesis in two different worlds."

"I was passionate about service and support nonprofit organizations but unsure how to push myself to learn more about Spanish culture while doing so. Together, we created a beautiful product about the use of storytelling in Basque nonprofit organizations and the different functions such imaginative and persuasive language can serve. Professor Hensler ensured that I saw the same passion, perseverance and rigor in myself that she had know about me for so long."

Union College students majoring in Spanish have the unique opportunity to be invited to and inducted into the nation’s prestigious Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi. This society recognizes and promotes excellence in the study of the Spanish language, literature, and culture. Established in 1919 at the University of California at Berkeley, it now has chapters at over 640 colleges and universities in the United States.

The purposes of this society are multifold:

• To honor those who excel in the study of the Spanish language and in the study of the literature and culture of the Spanish-speaking world;
• To foster an understanding, appreciation and respect for the peoples, cultures and societies of the Spanish-speaking world;
• To honor those who have promoted and reinforced a better understanding of the contributions of the Spanish-speaking world;

• To serve its membership in support of the Society’s goals and ideals.

  (Article II of the Sigma Delta Pi National By-Laws)

  Requirements for selection to Sigma Delta Pi:

• Prospective members must have completed at least three years, or the equivalent, of college Spanish, including at least three semester hours of a third-year course in Hispanic literature or Hispanic culture and civilization. Those students enrolled in these courses are eligible for membership if the instructor will certify that their work is a B quality or better;
• Their grades in all Spanish courses must average at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;
• They must rank in the upper 35% of their class (sophomore, junior, senior);
• They must have completed at least three semesters or five quarters of college work;
• They must show genuine interest in things Hispanic and be of good moral character.