Capstone/Honors

Capstone Projects

"All majors will designate one 400-level course taken in their senior year as their capstone course. In addition to the normal coursework, the capstone includes a substantive individual project and a public presentation." (Course catalog.)

General guidelines

The student should designate their capstone course during course registration (i.e., in the semester before taking the course), in consultation with their major advisor, and immediately notify the instructor and the chair of their decision.

With the approval of their major advisor, in some cases students may fulfill their capstone requirement independent from their 400-level coursework in Hispanic Studies, either through coursework in other programs or, in very exceptional cases, through Private-Reading work with one or more faculty.

The project is meant to showcase what the student has learned in their four years at Oberlin, in particular through their coursework in Hispanic Studies and related fields.

The precise length, topic, and scope of the project will be determined at the latest one week before semester break in consultation with the course instructor (and, if desired, the department chair). At this time, capstone students will submit a one-page abstract and bibliography.

Normally the project will consist of an extended critical essay or research paper (15-20 pages) written in Spanish. Depending on the course and the student, however, other projects may be acceptable as well, including translations, performances, exhibits, or other creative work. In the latter three cases, the student will be expected to provide a shorter accompanying essay in Spanish.

At the end of each semester, the Department will organize an event at the Casa Hispánica at which all graduating seniors who have completed a capstone project will give a 10-15 min. presentation on their project (in Spanish).

Grade

The capstone project will receive two grades, one for the written and one for the oral component. Both grades will be collectively determined by the continuing Hispanic Studies faculty, and will be incorporated into the final grade for the capstone course.

Honors as Capstone

An Honors project in Hispanic Studies automatically fulfills the capstone requirement. Honors projects in other related fields may count as the Hispanic Studies capstone provided a significant portion of the project is conducted in Spanish, subject to approval of the Chair in consultation with the major advisor. All capstone projects include an oral presentation in Spanish.

Double Majors

Students double-majoring in Hispanic Studies and related fields (such as Latin American Studies, Comparative Literature, Comparative American Studies, Cinema Studies, etc.) are encouraged to propose a single capstone project that pulls their majors together, as long as a significant portion of the project is conducted in Spanish. Students double-majoring in Hispanic Studies and Comparative Literature may combine the two capstone requirements-provided, again, that a significant portion of the project be done in Spanish.

Honors

The Honors Program in Hispanic Studies is a two-semester sequence of six hours of independent study, in consultation with a faculty sponsor, culminating in either an honors thesis or a special project, e.g., a translation, creative writing, or video project. Students may be invited to participate in the program, but are also encouraged to express their interest to the faculty.

The Honors program provides the opportunity to work in a sustained and in-depth manner on an independent project of interest to the student. Honors projects should address topics related to the languages, literatures or cultures of the wider Spanish-speaking world, and are written in Spanish.

To be considered for admission into the department Honors program a candidate must normally have a 3.25 overall GPA and a 3.5 GPA in courses taken for the major at Oberlin. Every potential candidate is strongly advised to complete the basic course work for the major before undertaking an Honors project.

Honors Timeline

1. Normally a formal application is submitted to the department for approval by April 15 of the candidate's junior year. In exceptional cases those students absent from campus during that time may present a proposal at a later date but in no case later than the first week of classes of the senior year.
2. The application should include a proposal for the project to be undertaken as well as the candidate's interest and qualifications to carry out and complete the project. The proposal must also come with the approval of the faculty member who will serve as project director.
3. By September 15, the candidate is required to submit an annotated bibliography assembled in consultation with the thesis advisor. By December 1 the candidate is required to submit to the department a well-developed prospectus and bibliography. At this time, the candidate will meet with the reading committee for the project who shall recommend continuing or abandoning the project. It is expected that a first draft (or equivalent, for technology projects) will be completed by the end of the January Winter Term. By Spring Break of the second semester the project should be nearing completion. A copy of the completed project should be submitted to each member of the reading committee for consideration by April 15. A date for the oral defense is set in relation to the deadline for the department's recommendation sent to the College Committee on Honors at Graduation. Customarily this date falls in the first week of May.
4. One week before the scheduled presentation, the candidate will submit to each member of the Hispanic Studies Faculty an outline of the Honors Project and the complete bibliography.
5. Should the candidate's progress be deemed unsatisfactory as a result of the oral presentation, the honors credit may be turned into a private reading credit.
6. By a designated date in late April of the senior year, the candidate will submit two clean, bound copies of the Honors Thesis to the primary readers and two clean, collated photocopies for the rest of the faculty for evaluation.
7. The Senior Oral Examination is not to exceed sixty minutes and will focus on the content of the Honors Thesis. The time designated for the oral defense will be divided according to the following schedule for purposes of questioning the Honors candidate: First reader: 20 minutes; second reader: 10 minutes; other faculty: 30 minutes.
8. After the defense, the candidate will supply two clean, revised bound copies of the honors thesis for archiving, one for the library and one for the department.
9. The degree of honors to be awarded at graduation (Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors) will be determined by the Hispanic Studies faculty.