The Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Major in English program offers an opportunity for students to hone their skills at an advanced level. The Honours program focuses on the power of stories to create and change the world around us, with students using advanced research, critical thinking, and writing skills to respond critically and creatively to a wide range of issues and challenges in our communities and world today. We are not only interested in exploring the diversity, complexity, depth, and meaning of human experience, but also in understanding the countless ways that artists have found to represent that experience in their works. English Honours students engage deeply with literary texts and cultural products, employing interpretive skills they acquire through an increased emphasis on theory, breadth of study, collaborative learning, and research. As a part of their 4000-level experience, students may decide to attempt an Honours Thesis Project or they may choose to complete their Honours requirements with further seminar courses. Whichever path students choose, the Honours program is designed to prepare students for application to graduate school, law school, or any next step where they wish to pursue writing and research.
** Since declaration requirements for Honours are higher than those for our Major, we encourage students to declare an English Major first (and early!) to take advantage of the registration priority that being a Major allows. Once students reach the threshold for Honours declaration, they may then change their declaration.**
To earn a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Major in English…
Honours students will complete the main requirements for the BA Major in English with several differences that will deepen their understanding of the discipline:
- Honours students will need to complete 63 credits of English courses
- Honours students will take ENGL 3300 (Critical Theory) or ENGL 3305 (Film Theory)
- At fourth year, honours students will take nine credits of 4000-level courses.
- They must take at least one of ENGL 4350 (Special Topics in Film) or ENGL 4700 (Special Topics in Literature) as a part of their 4000-level requirements and
- Six additional ENGL credits at the 4000-level. These credits may be drawn from ENGL 4300, ENGL 4350, ENGL 4400, ENGL 4700, ENGL 4990, or ARTS 4800.
- Students may choose ENGL 4990 Honours Thesis Project as one of their 4000-level elective courses. Only declared honours students are eligible to take ENGL 4990.
- Students may repeat 4350 or 4700 for credit (and towards their 4000-level requirements) as long as the topic differs from the previous iteration they have already taken.
Note: Students who have taken ENGL 4401, 4409, or 4420 in the past can seek an exemption to be recognized as having fulfilled the 4350/4700 requirement. Get in touch with the English Chair (Heather.Cyr@kpu.ca) to ask about substitutions.
ENGL 4990 Honours Thesis Project
The (optional) Honours Thesis Project (ENGL 4990) allows students to propose, develop, and create a thesis project on an original research question while working closely with an English faculty supervisor who has expertise in the area. The course works similarly to a guided study, so you will not find it in the normal registration channels. Instead, interested students who have already declared in Honours and have met the pre-requisites will approach a faculty member who is willing to supervise. With the supervisor, students will sign a supervisory contract and a study contract before the course is added to their schedule.
A few details to keep in mind:
- The pre-requisites are 1) Declaration in English Honours, 2) Completion of ENGL 3300 or ENGL 3305, and 3) Completion of at least one 4000-level course.
- Interested students must approach a supervisor by the end of classes the semester before they wish to take ENGL 4990 to complete the necessary steps for registration. Earlier in the semester is better.
- Available faculty are listed below.
Please see the PDF of the supervisory contract below to learn more about the expectations of the course.
ENGL 4990 Honours Thesis Project Contract.pdf
Faculty Member | Area | Availability | Available as second reader |
| Unita Ahdifard | Travel Writing, Literature and Gender, 18th & 19th-Century Literatures | Summer | yes |
| Kirsten Alm | Canadian Literature | Fall, Spring | yes |
| Gillian Bright | Postcolonial & Diasporic Literatures | Fall, Spring | yes |
| Heather Cyr | Children's & YA Literatures | Fall, Spring | yes |
| Kelly Doyle | Critical & Film Theory, Horror & Gothic Film and Literature | Spring, Summer | yes |
| Jennifer Hardwick | Indigenous Literature, Canadian Literature | Fall, Spring | yes |
| Leanne MacDonald | Medieval Literature & Medievalisms | Fall, Summer | yes |
| Joakim Nilsson | 20th-Century American Literature, Film Studies | Spring/ maybe Summer | yes |
| Paul Ohler | American Literature, Critical Theory | Fall, Spring | yes |
| Robert Pasquini | Victorian Literature, Science Fiction | Fall, Summer | yes |
| Gavin Paul | Shakespeare, Renaissance Drama, Graphic Novels | Fall, Spring, and Summer | yes |
| Lindsey Seatter | Romantic Literature, Digital Humanities, Women's Writing | Fall, Spring | yes |
| Craig Stensrud | American Literature | Fall, Spring, and Summer | yes |
| Jessica Swain | Shakespeare, Renaissance Literature | Spring, Summer | yes |
| Dale Tracy | Contemporary Poetry & Drama, Environment & Literature | Fall, Spring | yes |
| Ann Tso | Urban Studies, Hong Kong Studies, Literary London, World Literature | Fall 2026 | yes |
| Steve Weber | 20th-Century American Literature, Literature in Translation | Fall, Spring | yes |