If you have an overall GPA of at least 3.5, you are eligible to attempt to earn honors in the major. This involves writing and defending a thesis of approximately 40 double-spaced pages in your chosen field of concentration under the supervision of a REEES faculty member. 

If you are interested in pursuing honors, you should meet with an advisor at the end of your junior year or the beginning of your senior year to discuss a possible thesis topic. This topic must be submitted to the REEES program director as a formal proposal with your advisor’s signature. If the proposal is approved, you will register for a minimum of four credits of REES 403: Thesis (at least one quarter before the term of graduation), write the thesis, and defend it before the main advisor and a second faculty advisor. A successful thesis defense will result in graduation with honors in Russian, East European and Eurasian studies.

If you are considering pursuing a graduate degree in REEES or an allied discipline, earning honors in the major will give you a better sense of what advanced research is like and will also provide you with a polished piece of writing that you can use as a writing sample in your application to graduate school.