The Honors Program stresses the challenge of ideas, breadth of perspective, and depth of understanding. The program provides students with an edge on future goals, is open to all qualified applicants, and has a limited number of scholarships based on academic merit.
The Challenge of Ideas: The Honors Program is an intellectually challenging, reading and writing intensive program. As well, many courses feature in-class debates and computer-assisted assignments. In conformity with the ideal of liberal arts education, the program stresses ideas and knowledge, and consistent with contemporary scholarship, in considers the social context and implications of those ideas.
Breadth of Perspective: All courses are team-taught by faculty from different disciplines, who provide complementary perspectives on the topics studied. Classes cover topics as varied as ancient Greek philosophy, the complexity of policy, culture, and religion in the Middle East, the African-American civil rights movement, the role of gender in social stratification, Asian culture and religion, and modern theories of cosmology and elementary particles.
Depth of Understanding: Each course is divided into modules that provide an introduction, development, and conclusion to the discussion of a topic, and students are encouraged to delve further into each area studied. As a capstone to the program, each student writes an honors thesis on a subject related to any topic studied in an honors course.
An Edge on Future Goals: Honors students have gone on to choice positions in education, government, and industry, as well as professional and graduate school. The program provides an extra edge in honing students' intellectual skills, thereby better preparing them for the career of their choice.
Availability to Qualified Applicants: The Honors Program is open to qualified applicants in any department and school. Students complete the Honors Program as an alternative to most of their General Education, and may major in any field of their choice. In accordance with state policy and the value of diversity, the program supports affirmative action policies aimed at encouraging minorities and other under-represented groups to apply for admission.