Honors Program

Goal 1: Students will pursue a program of study of interdisciplinary courses and courses offered in traditional disciplines.

Objective 1.1: Explore issues in a multiplicity of disciplines and integrate knowledge from those disciplines.

Objective 1.2: Demonstrate analytic and critical skills in examining literary, artistic, historical, philosophical, theological, sociological, political, scientific, legal, linguistic, or business texts.

Goal 2: Students will engage in rigorous thought, critical analysis, and synthesis in the context of problem solving.

Objective 2.1: Engage in independent scholarly or creative research, analysis, and synthesis that prompt them to invent written arguments that reflect the acquisition of knowledge, insights, and skills.

Objective 2.2: Demonstrate confidence and clarity in speaking in classroom presentation, discussion, and debate that demand data gathering, analysis, and critical reflection.

Objective 2.3: Address topical, social, scientific, cultural, or business issues either inside or outside the classroom, and propose original, creative, and enduring solutions to real world issues and problems.

Objective 2.4: Engage in self-reflection and self-evaluation to promote intellectual self-confidence or spiritual humility.

Goal 3: Students will produce a scholarly or creative project or capstone experience under the guidance of members of the Honors faculty.

Objective 3.1: Engage in independent scholarly or creative research, analysis, and synthesis that prompt them to invent written arguments that reflect the acquisition of knowledge, insights, and skills.

Objective 3.2: Explore aesthetic dimensions in creative works – stories, poems, plays, paintings, sculpture, architecture, film, and music – and learn the style, perspective, and techniques of a major artist or movement.

Goal 4: Students will create an intellectual environment through scholarly, creative, social, cultural, or business activities.

Objective 4.1: Engage in independent scholarly or creative research, analysis, and synthesis that prompt them to invent written arguments that reflect the acquisition of knowledge, insights, and skills.

Objective 4.2: Explore aesthetic dimensions in creative works – stories, poems, plays, paintings, sculpture, architecture, film, and music – and learn the style, perspective, and techniques of a major artist or movement.

Objective 4.3: Address topical, social, scientific, cultural, or business issues either inside or outside the classroom, and propose original, creative, and enduring solutions to real world issues and problems.

Membership in the University Honors Program

Membership in the University Honors Program is usually by invitation of the Honors Director prior to the student’s first semester at the University.

University Honors Program

Graduation with University Honors requires successful completion of a minimum of eight Honors courses as part of the regular undergraduate degree requirements and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5. Two of those courses will complete a College Honors sequence.

Requirements:

Successful completion of University Honors requires at least eight Honors courses. 

The following further restrictions apply to the minimum eight-course requirement:

• Two courses must comprise the College Honors sequence (as outlined in "College Honors Requirements").
• At least two courses must be team-taught interdisciplinary Honors courses. (These may include team-taught Oxford Tutorial courses). Students choosing to complete College Honors with Oxford Tutorial courses or with the HSB capstone sequence may double-count one team-taught College Honors course in this category, but must still complete eight Honors courses overall.  

• Students will select their remaining four or five Honors courses from those offered and approved by the Honors Program. These may include Honors team-taught or Oxford Tutorial courses.

To remain in the Honors program, students are expected to maintain a 3.50 GPA. Students whose GPA is below 3.50 are subject to removal from the Honors Program. Honors students should also, on average, take one Honors course per Fall and Spring semester after entry into the Honors Program. Falling behind by more than Honors one course may lead to removal from the program.

Students are assigned an advisor from each department in which they declare a major. They should, however, consult with the Honors Director as needed to ensure that their course schedules are arranged in such a way as to integrate the fulfillment of university requirements with those of the Honors Program.

College Honors 

College Honors is a distinctive, two-semester experience, crafted by the Honors Program, the student, and/or a major department, specifically with the needs of high-achieving students in mind. Most students in the Honors Program have the option of completing either a two-semester Honors thesis, normally taken in their senior year, or two semesters in Honors-only Oxford Tutorial courses at any point in their studies. Both options involve close, personal attention from a faculty mentor or mentors; the formal, oral presentation of a researched or creative academic work; and the submission of a written final product to the Honors Program in a formal and finished form. Students in the Haub School of Business complete an alternative, Honors-only capstone sequence specific to their course of study, and Education majors engaged in student teaching may complete a senior capstone sequence that provides the opportunity for enhanced reflection and analysis of their student teaching experience. 

College Honors will satisfy two of the eight Honors course requirements for completion of University Honors. Students must choose both courses from one of the options below (with some restrictions based on major); except in usual circumstances and with the explicit permission of the Honors Director, there is no mixing-and-matching between options.

The College Honors thesis is also an optional experience for non-Honors students with a cumulative minimum GPA of 3.5.

The Oxford Tutorial Option

Oxford Tutorial courses adapt the small-group teaching model devised and refined over the course of eight hundred years at the University of Oxford - a model renowned worldwide as the gold standard for high-achieving students. Students meet less regularly with instructors, but in much smaller groups, of three to five students with one professor. To enhance interdisciplinarity, tutorial groups deliberately combine students from different major fields. Socratic and/or student-led discussion moves quickly past introductory concepts into the really important questions presented by a particular field of study. Every Oxford Tutorial course is writing intensive, involving constructive feedback on work-in-progress from both peers and professors. Students present their work at a public conference near the end of the semester and submit a final, written researched or creative academic work to the Honors Program. Oxford Tutorial courses fulfill the aims of the College Honors thesis within a course-based, general education (rather than major-based) alternative. This format is intended for students at all class levels; juniors and seniors bring field-specific academic experience that can benefit first-years and sophomores of all majors. No approval form is needed, as these Honors-only courses are already coded to count for College Honors after two are completed.

The Capstone Option (for Haub School and Education Majors)

While rooted in the liberal arts, the Honors Program recognizes that not every discipline or major course sequence can accommodate a standard College Honors experience. For this reason, College Honors options have been specially designed for students in two particular disciplinary areas. Education majors who complete student teaching in their senior/fourth year will upgrade an upper-level course in the Fall and their student teaching in the Spring, providing the opportunity for enhanced reflection and analysis of their student teaching experience. Education majors should consult with the instructor of their first Honors capstone course option in order to confirm that instructor's willingness to upgrade the course. If the instructor is willing, the student should register for the course when they register for other classes. In the semester prior to taking that course, or at the very latest by the end of the first week of class, they should submit an upgrade approval form, including a statement of additional work to be upgraded, and dated, recent evidence of the mentor’s willingness to upgrade the course. The successful completion of the Fall "upgraded" course and the Spring "upgraded" student teaching will complete College Honors.

Students in the Haub School of Business take a capstone sequence designed by their school and the Honors Program to fit within and extend the curriculum of their major. In the Fall semester, Business students take a team-taught Honors section of Business Strategy (a course already required of all Business school majors). In the Spring semester, they extend that work with a specially designed Management Honors Capstone. To support enrollment in these courses, students with all of their majors and minors in the Haub School of Business must take this capstone sequence or complete a thesis to earn College Honors. (Oxford Tutorial courses are still available to these students, but they will only count as Honors electives or team-taught courses.) No upgrade form is needed, as these Honors-only HSB capstone courses are already coded to complete College Honors.

The Thesis Option

Every Honors student in good standing (and every student in the university with a cumulative GPA above 3.5) is eligible to complete a College Honors thesis. The College Honors thesis should be original in its conception and analysis. This may mean the discovery of new knowledge, the reinterpretation of standard methods, theories and assumptions, or the formulation of data produced from fresh investigations. The College Honors thesis should be the result of serious research, original thinking and a clear understanding of the context in which this research is conducted. Students submitting a proposal for a College Honors thesis should provide evidence of background knowledge and requisite skills before they begin their work. Interdisciplinary projects involving the student’s minor as well as major are encouraged, but these require the approval of the Honors Director and the Department Chairs of both the student’s major and minor.

The College Honors thesis may take many forms: traditional narrative/analysis, in-depth study of specific texts or themes, empirical research, practical applications, or a creative/inventive endeavor appropriate to the student's course of study. Projects involving empirical research should develop a coherent hypothesis and test it professionally and systematically. Length may vary according to each subject; however, it is expected that the College Honors thesis will be substantial in scope, length, and bibliography, and that it will be documented in accordance with the standards of the relevant discipline and include an abstract, title-page, table of contents, introduction, notes and bibliography. It should generally be modeled after the work that would be done for a master's thesis in the same field or discipline (understanding that interdisciplinary projects may borrow elements from multiple fields or disciplines); projects designed solely, primarily, or substantially for publication in a campus student journal or newspaper are thus ineligible for the College Honors thesis. The final result will be shared in an oral presentation (the thesis "defense"), as well as in a written thesis, and should place the specific topic in a broader scholarly context by demonstrating familiarity with the authoritative literature and research on the subject.

College Honors Thesis Procedures and Deadlines

By the end of their junior year, students should confirm with the Director of the Honors Program their intention to pursue the College Honors thesis. They will be expected to outline a general area of research and to name their primary mentor for the project. Students who plan to begin thesis work in the fall semester will be expected to remain in touch with their mentors throughout the summer months as they conduct preliminary research into their topics. 

The First semester of the College Honors Thesis

By the end of the first week of class, each student must submit an approval form, including a proposal outlining the project’s general objectives, a bibliography, and a schedule of meetings to be held during the semester, as well as evidence of the mentor’s willingness to supervise the thesis. (For examples of successful recent Honors thesis proposals, students should visit the Honors Canvas course page.) After approval, the registrar will be asked to create the first-semester Honors thesis course. After the creation of this course, the mentor should submit one of two initial Research Assessment forms: one for research projects, or another for creative projects. During this first semester, each candidate, in consultation with their mentor, should also select a second reader for the thesis. The second reader may be from any department, and should have a compatible interest in the thesis topic. The second reader will serve to offer advice, criticism and suggestions throughout the process of the College Honors thesis. During this first semester, the Honors Director will also assign a member of the Honors Program Committee as a third reader of the thesis. These three faculty together form a thesis committee. The candidate must schedule a meeting with this committee that should take place before the last day of classes to present a clear progress report of the work completed and an outline of what lies ahead. This meeting is for the committee to learn about the project's current and planned state, to ask questions, and to give targeted, constructive feedback; it not open to the public or to other students. Finally, the mentor should submit a second mid-year research or mid-year creative Research Assessment form.

The Second Semester of the College Honors Thesis

The second semester of the College Honors Thesis culminates in an oral presentation (the thesis "defense") and formal submission of the written Honors thesis. By the end of the first week of class, each student must submit another approval form, including an updated proposal and new evidence of the mentor’s willingness to continue supervising the thesis. After this form is approved, the registrar will create the second-semester Honors thesis course. Prior to midterm of the second semester, the candidate must present a first draft of the entire project to the mentor for critical review. In the final month of the second semester of thesis work - a week or more before the oral presentation discussed below - the candidate must submit a final draft to their mentor and the members of the thesis committee, including the second reader and the appointed representative from the Honors Program Committee. The candidate and mentor may also invite additional faculty members from related fields to the oral presentation, provided that those faculty members will also read the thesis. This presentation should occur by the last day of classes. Like the Fall presentation, this event is closed to the public. However, students are encouraged to present their work in other venues, including public lectures, conferences, and publications. As soon as possible, the date, time and location of this presentation should be posted in shared documents made available by the Honors Director. After the presentation, the mentor will complete a final research or final creative online Research Assessment form. The thesis committee should also sign a thesis cover sheet (available on Canvas). An electronic copy of the thesis, with signed cover sheet, should be sent in .pdf format to the Honors administrative assistant and the Honors Program Director no later than the conclusion of the examination period. This material must be filed with the Honors Director before recognition can be given at graduation.