Honors College Programs

About

The Honors College is a small, selective college within the university that offers exceptional academic experiences for highly motivated undergraduates. Honors College is an educational partner with the “discipline” colleges of the University in which Honors students pursue their academic majors. Small class sizes allow more time and opportunity for thought-provoking discussion and increased interaction with select faculty drawn from across the University.

All Honors College students enjoy a host of additional benefits such as priority registration, personalized advising, special research and professional opportunities, and access to the Honors College suite comprised of a private study lounge, dedicated computer facilities, conference room, and faculty and staff offices.

Available Options

University Honors

The University Honors Program is designed to complement and enhance every major at 51�ԹϺ�� and is an excellent alternative to 51�ԹϺ��’s general education core requirements. The University Honors core curriculum offers highly-achieving students intellectual opportunities beyond those normally found in the lecture halls of a large university: smaller and enriched classes, direct and personal contact with top faculty members, a challenging and interdisciplinary core curriculum with a special emphasis on written and oral communication, and a learning community that rewards and encourages students to strive for excellence, regardless of their discipline major. This program is primarily designed for incoming freshmen but can also accommodate transfer and continuing students.
Research and Creative Honors

The Research and Creative Honors Program provides high-achieving students with the opportunity to complete a major research project or creative work (Honors Thesis) under the supervision of faculty in their major. In addition to the Honors Thesis, students also complete a set of interdisciplinary HON 400-level seminars with a special emphasis on written and oral communication. This program is particularly suitable for transfer students, as well as for continuing 51�ԹϺ�� students who have completed the bulk of their general education courses. University Honors students may choose to complete RH and graduate with two honors distinctions.
Service-Learning Honors

The Service-Learning Honors Program provides an opportunity for high-achieving students to engage in meaningful research and service to an underserved community group. The program is open to students who earn an Associate of Arts degree prior to enrolling at 51�ԹϺ��, to transfer students from other universities, as well as continuing 51�ԹϺ�� students who have completed the bulk of their general education courses and who are not already participating in our University Honors or Research and Creative Honors programs. In addition to the Service-Learning classes (HON 496), students complete four interdisciplinary HON 400-level seminars.

Accreditation

For information regarding accreditation at 51�ԹϺ��, please head over to Academic Program Accreditations.

Learning Outcomes

University Honors

After completing the lower-division Honors courses in the University Honors Program, students will be able to

Read critically
Write with focus, clear purpose and the effective use of surface features (syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling)
Respond to needs of different audiences and to different kinds of rhetorical situations
Organize ideas for clarity and effectiveness
Develop good arguments and learn to recognize fallacious arguments
Analyze communication situations, audiences, and purposes
Demonstrate strong presentation skills
Become more artful producers and more conscientious consumers of public discourse
Articulate clearly (orally and in writing) an understanding of issues, theories, events and ideas
Apply communication and critical thinking skills in a variety of disciplinary contexts

After completing the upper-division Honors seminars in the University Honors Program, students will be able to:

Analyze a broad range of information in order to determine which source is most credible, what evidence is used to make it credible and how it compares with other information
Synthesize information from a variety of sources and disciplines in order to find common themes and/or contradictions
Articulate clearly (orally and in writing) an understanding of issues, theories, events and ideas
Apply these analysis, synthesis and articulation skills in small creative and/or research processes (research papers, critical essays, etc.)

Research and Creative Honors

After completing the upper-division Honors seminars as part of the Research and Creative Honors Program, students will be able to:

Analyze a broad range of information in order to determine which source is most credible, what evidence is used to make it credible and how it compares with other information
Synthesize information from a variety of sources and disciplines in order to find common themes and/or contradictions
Articulate clearly (orally and in writing) an understanding of issues, theories, events and ideas
Apply these analysis, synthesis and articulation skills in small creative and/or research processes (research papers, critical essays, etc.)

After completing the Honors Thesis (in collaboration with faculty advisors), students who conduct research projects will be able to:

Formulate a plan of action for engaging in an intensive research experience: craft a research question, conduct a literature review, develop a hypothesis, determine the appropriate methodology to best address the research question
Conduct research to determine whether the hypothesis is supported or not by analyzing data (quantitative or qualitative)
Interpret the meaning and applicability of results

After completing the Honors Thesis (in collaboration with faculty advisors), students who complete creative projects will be able to:

Formulate a plan of action for engaging in a creative experience: conducting a literature review, crafting a rationale, and determining the appropriate methodology to best explore the given topic through a creative project
Produce an original creative work that is placed in a larger disciplinary framework and societal context

Service-Learning Honors

After completing the upper-division Honors seminars as part of the Service-Learning Honors Program, students will be able to:

Analyze a broad range of information in order to determine which source is most credible, what evidence is used to make it credible and how it compares with other information
Synthesize information from a variety of sources and disciplines in order to find common themes and/or contradictions
Articulate clearly (orally and in writing) an understanding of issues, theories, events and ideas
Apply these analysis, synthesis and articulation skills in small creative and/or research processes (research papers, critical essays, etc.)

After completing Honors Service-Learning (HON 496) students will be able to:

Identify barriers that the community partner faces.
Formulate a plan of action for engaging in an intensive service-learning experience: conduct a literature review to identify the root cause of the injustice, define the social problem to be addressed, develop a plan of action, determine the appropriate methodology to develop authentic relationships with the community partner
Apply the concept of social justice
Acquire and use workplace/career skills/standards based on engagement with the community partner
Develop career readiness skills in workplace environments including: professional workplace skills, problem-solving skills, communicating with colleagues, working collaboratively with others, acquiring and employing cultural competence

Career Possibilities

Requirements

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