Honors Curriculum Overview

Honors Curriculum Overview
  • HON 101 The Quest: Introduction to the Honors Program – This three-credit course will introduce students to various forms of scholarship and the skills necessary for serious academic inquiry.  Heavy emphasis will be placed on writing and research.  Students will also be introduced to the discussion-based seminar and the tutorial method. This course substitutes for EN 101.
  • Advanced Honors Seminars – At least nine credits (three courses) must be completed in Honors Seminars above HON 101. If a student joins the Honors Program after their first semester, they must take twelve credits of Honors Seminars. These credits may be fulfilled in Honors-designated sections of Liberal Arts Core classes, in graduate seminars, and in Honors Contract Courses.  This approach provides breadth to the Honors curriculum while simultaneously allowing students to earn Honors credits in specific interest areas and majors.
    • Liberal Arts Core Honors Seminars – Students may choose to take Honors sections of courses that satisfy the university’s Liberal Arts Core requirements.  Honors sections of these courses, developed and offered by individual professors and departments, will present a greater challenge to those enrolled and be discussion and writing based.  Past examples include TRS 100, PH 301, PSY 311, and HI 203.  On rare occasions, these Honors sections will be opened to students outside the program with approval from the Honors Director and the instructor.
    • Honors Contract Courses – Junior and Senior Honors students who have successfully passed a traditional Honors Seminar may work with a faculty member to make a non-Honors course count for Honors credit. Together, the student and faculty member must develop a contract of additional work which merits Honors status, and submit the contract to the Director for approval by the second week of the semester. At the end of the semester, the faculty member will fill out a decision form and submit it to the Director indicating whether the student should earn Honors credit for the course. The student must earn a B or higher, in addition to completing all Honors work to earn Honors credit
    • Graduate Courses – Honors students may petition to take a graduate course for Honors credit.  They will need the approval of the instructor, the Associate Dean, and the Honors Program Director.  This is normally done during the junior or senior year and is especially encouraged for students who intend to pursue graduate study in their field.
  • Traditional/Advanced Tutorials (HON 200/300) – The traditional undergraduate tutorial is an intensive learning experience.  Normally the tutorial consists of one faculty member meeting with 1-3 students, once a week for approximately eight weeks.  During this 1-2 hour meeting, each student is expected to have completed readings from an agreed-upon list and to have produced a short response paper which s/he will read and on which s/he will receive comments. Tutorials are offered at both the introductory (200) and advanced (300) levels and are worth three credits each.
​Honors Curriculum Overview
  • HON 399 Research Tutorial: Thesis Proposal – Each student, during their junior year, will identify a faculty mentor and work with him/her on a scholarly research project in a three-credit research tutorial. At the end of the semester, the student will be required to submit at least a 15 page research proposal, which incorporates minimally 12 scholarly sources. WI
  • HON 400 Research Tutorial: Honors Thesis – Honors students, during their senior year, will work with the same faculty mentor to complete their thesis in a three-credit research tutorial. The final thesis paper must be at least 30 pages long and incorporate at least 15 scholarly sources. Successful completion and defense of the thesis are required to graduate with Honors.  Prerequisite: HON 399. (3).
​Honors Curriculum Overview