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Honors Timeline
To graduate with All-College Honors, you will need to take a total of eight Honors courses one of which may be an Honors Thesis in your major department your senior year. For students who study abroad for a semester, the requirement is reduced to seven courses one of which may be an Honors Thesis.
First Year
In first-year Honors Symposium, students are introduced to the ways of thinking and communicating that characterize all Honors courses. In small classes you will examine timeless ideas, question your understanding of the world and defend your interpretations of important texts. First -Year students also have the opportunity to take an Honors course in Philosophy, Honr 250. There may be other lower division Honors courses that fit into your schedule. Please feel free to enroll as space allows.
Sophomore and Junior Years
Sophomores and Juniors choose from a wide variety of upper and lower division courses, many of which are interdisciplinary in nature. In an Honors fine arts course, for example, a student will study human creativity by examining works of visual and musical artists while reading their biographies. Normally sophomores and juniors in Honors enroll in one or more Honors courses each semester. The "Honors Option" is also possible -- taking a regular course in any department but doing an extra project with the professor. Under the Honors Option, this course will also count toward your honors requirements. Normally no more than two honors option courses will be counted toward graduation with All-College Honors even if the student chooses to do more than two. Another way to fulfill Honors requirements is to participate in "Reading Groups". These groups are created at the request of students and involve a faculty moderator. Participation in four reading groups counts the same as an Honors course requirement.
In addition to the above, Juniors in Honors may take the year-long "Great Books" Seminar. For many Honors students, this is a most memorable experience within the Honors program. During the spring semester, if you intend to complete an honors thesis or research project in your major department, you will also take a 1-credit thesis preparation course, HONR 396, which will help you choose an advisor and formulate a research topic.
Senior Year
In your senior year, you will choose another course or two to complete the eight-course requirement within Honors. If you have chosen the thesis track you will also focus on your Senior Thesis. The Senior Thesis is an opportunity for students to gain valuable experience in conducting near graduate-level research in the humanities, arts or sciences -- or completing a creative project in the arts. Non-traditional or unusual thesis topics are encouraged, as they allow a student to stretch and explore the possibilities of research and creativity.