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The Sociology/Anthropology Department awards what the college calls "distinction" on a yearly basis to senior majors who meet the criteria and complete the process listed below.  The guidelines for distinction reflect a departmental desire to encourage scholarly excellence, to provide students with an opportunity to summarize their experience in sociology and anthropology, to utilize the perspectives in their major to examine their development during their career at St. Olaf, and to promote dialogue between students and faculty regarding their major and its importance to them.

Application:

Senior majors will be notified that they may apply for distinction.

A one-page letter will need to be written, due November 15th, which explains how your work at St. Olaf has been distinctive. In the letter please highlight your academic performance in the major and in your other courses, along with your relevant sociology-anthropology work off-campus or on. Such work might include your involvement in student organizations, internships, study programs, or anything else appropriate.

The department will review the nominations and then confirm who will proceed with distinction projects.  Working with a faculty member, distinction candidates will develop a proposal for a public project of some kind, which might be a presentation, a web site, an annotated bulletin board, or something else that meets the department’s criteria.  These projects will be completed by April 15th.

For further information, contact any of the faculty in the department.