Eastern Connecticut State University

Sigma Tau Delta
English Honors Thesis

STD

Membership in Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honors Society, is an outward recognition of personal accomplishment. It provides opportunities for those interested in English language and literature to join with like-minded persons on the local, regional, national, and international levels.

The minimum requirements for membership in the ECSU Alpha Epsilon Delta chapter of Sigma Tau Delta are as follows:

Declared major in English
Completed 45 credits of college course work
Minimum of 2 courses in the major at 200-level or above completed at ECSU
Minimum 3.25 average in the English major
Minimum 3.0 overall GPA

Each spring, department faculty will consider a list of students meeting the above requirements and offer invitations to those whose intellectual ability, course work and character are deemed worthy of this special distinction.

Members of Sigma Tau Delta receive the following benefits:

Members receive a one-year subscription to Sigma Tau Delta publications with their initial fee: the fall and spring Newsletter and the two literary publications, The Rectangle and The Sigma Tau Delta Review.

Members can compete for several $1,000 to $3,000 scholarships and awards.

Members can apply for internship opportunities with a major publishing company.
Members can submit papers for presentation at the International Convention that is held every spring.

Members can submit papers for publication in the The Rectangle and The Sigma Tau Delta Review.

Members meet one of the U.S. Civil Service Commission requirements for entrance at the GS-7 level in numerous professional and technical occupations in the Federal Service (see www.achsnatl.org/achsbene.asp). This also means that students graduating with a B.S. or B.A., many of them entering at GS-5 level, move up considerably in the salary scale (up to $5000 or more per year) for membership in Sigma Tau Delta.

Members can apply for internships through the Washington Internship Institute (WII), the premier internship program in Washington, DC. WII and the Association of College Honor Societies offer $500 scholarships to all Sigma Tau Delta members who participate in WII's program. Internships are available in ALL majors. Scholarships may be applied to either tuition or housing. For more information, visit www.achsnatl.org/wii_index.asp.

Members are eligible to apply for a merit-based $1000 scholarship to attend The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) Summer Institute or Capital Semester. This scholarship is available to one Sigma Tau Delta member though a partnership with the Association of College Honor Societies and TFAS. For more information, visit www.achsnatl.org/tfas_index.asp.

Members are eligible for scholarships to help cover housing expenses in the internship program at The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (TWC) through a partnership with Association of College Honor Societies. TWC is pleased to provide three $1,000 scholarships a year to Sigma Tau Delta members (both undergraduates and recent college graduates). For more information, please visit www.achsnatl.org/twc_index.asp.

Female members can take advantage of a complimentary membership to Women for Hire ($38 value), which offers advice, solutions, networking, tools, tips, and other career resources and guidance. Visit Women For Hire for full membership details. (To take advantage of the membership offer, email michelle@womenforhire.com and include Sigma Tau Delta in the subject line).

For additional information about Sigma Tau Delta, visit their website at http://www.english.org/sigmatd/index.shtml.

Sigma Tau Delta Induction Ceremony

(From left to right: Dr. Barbara Liu, Stephanie Gruessner, Sabrina Lewis, Zachary Mirecki, Krystal Downs, Christopher Brechlin, Dawn Witham, Dr. Elena Tapia)

Students in Eng 203 “Writing for English Majors” who possess an aptitude for writing, an intellectual curiosity, the motivation to work independently, and a minimum grade point average of 3.25 will be identified by their professors as potential honors students. Those wishing to be part of the program are expected to write a letter of intent and produce two letters of recommendation from English faculty. Advisors and other faculty members will recommend that these students take the seminar during their junior year. It is also recommended that English Honors students take ENG 370, Composition Theory and Pedagogy.

English Honors students will normally take their senior seminar (ENG 461 and ENG 462) in their junior year. Following completion of the seminar, under the direction of a faculty advisor, honors students will enroll in ENG 485 and write an honors thesis in which they either expand their seminar paper or write about a special topic. An important final component of the process is a presentation in which the student will be expected to discuss his or her research with an English class or with the thesis committee.

A student who is accepted into the University Honors Program and who writes an acceptable English thesis for that program fulfills the thesis requirement for English Honors; however, he or she must then present that paper to an English class or an English Honors committee.

Any student who is accepted into the English Honors program automatically becomes a member of Sigma Tau Delta, and their membership dues will be paid by the English Department.