Honors in the Arts 2025-26
Honors in the Arts is an Interdisciplinary Honors program (IHN), open to undergraduates in any major. Over the course of their senior year, Honors in the Arts students develop a creative thesis project that goes beyond the traditional boundaries of their major. The program supports collaborative or individual projects that center research creation, combine two or more kinds of art practice, or blend art and research in some creative yet rigorous way. All students will work with a faculty advisor and a grad student mentor, and will participate in a weekly workshop with a cohort of interdisciplinary peers.
We are particularly interested in experimental work that engages new forms of expression for a 21st-century audience. Additionally, we are committed to building a cohort that reflects a diversity of identities, experiences, educational backgrounds, and artistic and scholarly interests. Such diversity only enhances our interdisciplinary and collaborative endeavors.
Honors in the Arts can be completed in addition to honors work in a student's home department or alongside another capstone program (such as the senior reflection in biology)
- Workshop classes (ARTSINST 201A, 201B, and 201C) in all three quarters of senior year.
- Thesis projects: Typically creative projects that combine art practice with knowledge from another field or discipline.
- Mentorship: Each student or group will work closely with a faculty advisor and a grad student mentor to develop and complete their capstone.
- Symposium: Students will present their work at a public symposium in Spring quarter.
- Field research: Students are encouraged to see exhibitions, shows, and lectures on campus and in the Bay Area.
- Stanford senior during the 2025-2026 academic year
- A minimum overall GPA of 3.4 (or a petition)
- Completion of at least three courses that prepare the student to successfully execute an interdisciplinary arts capstone project (at least two of which should be completed prior to autumn of senior year)
Admission to the program is competitive.
We realize that many students have taken Leave at some point during the recent academic years and therefore occupy an ambiguous status between junior and senior. If you plan to graduate after spring 2026, but prior to spring 2027, you are still eligible to apply for the 2025-2026 HIA cohort.
Please note: In order to be eligible for the Honors in the Arts program, students may not have their undergraduate degree conferred before spring quarter 2026. This also applies to students in coterminal masters programs. All requirements for an IHN must be completed as part of your undergraduate career.
