Required Honors Courses
Students entering the UHP as freshmen are required to complete the Honors Core Course Requirements (listed below) as well as four Honors electives for a total of 21 (or more) Honors credits.
Students entering the UHP after their freshman year are typically required to complete the Honors Core Courses and three Honors electives for a total of 18 (or more) Honors credits.
Transfer students who qualify for the UHP may be eligible for the UHP's Transfer Student Pathway, which consists of the Honors Core and one elective for a total of 12 (or more) Honors credits.
HONORS CORE COURSES
Honors Seminar: HNRS 175 (3 credits):
This interdisciplinary seminar is required of all Honors students and is designed to help students see how several different academic disciplines approach a shared theme or topic. Recent topics have included "Truth," "Revolution," "Ethics," "Beauty," and "Science and Religion."
Culture Connection: Honors 275 (3 credits)
The purpose of this course is twofold: To assist students with cultivating strategies for engaging with cultural experiences and events and to further their development as writers.
To that end, students will read a selection of essays on cultural criticism as well as cultural critiques of theatrical performances, music recitals and concerts, art exhibits, etc. In addition, students will be expected to attend cultural events on campus or in the communinity and to write critiques on those events.
Culture Connection II: Honors 272 (1 credit)
Available Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 only to students who have already completed HNRS 271.
An extension of HNRS 271, Culture Connection II (HNRS 272) permits students to focus on events related to their majors. Students are required to attend cultural events and write three critical essays per semester. Students must have completed Culture Connection I to be able to enroll in Culture Connection II.
Click here for some helpful Culture Connection Tips.
Senior Capstone (3 credits)
Before graduating from the UHP, students must choose EITHER the Senior Seminar or the Honors Thesis.
Senior Seminar: Honors 475
The Seminar is offered every Spring and will focus on a single topic, which will be examined within a broad, interdisciplinary perspective. Students will explore that topic through readings and activities assigned to the whole class and through an individually tailored seminar project. The latter typically reflects an intersection of the seminar theme and the student's major or minor. Recent course topics have included "Bioethics," "Race," "Terror," "Evil, Ethics, and Faith," and "Living with Dementia." Prerequisites: Good standing in the UHP and 90 total credits earned before enrolling in the Senior Seminar.
Honors Thesis: XXX 474
The Honors Thesis might be thought of as a mini-master's thesis. An Honors Thesis may be either a traditional "scholarly" project or a "creative" project but, in either case, it is one that engages with current questions/problems in a particular field and involves significant research. The student who chooses this senior capstone experience works closely with a faculty advisor who has expertise in the particular field the student is exploring. Recent thesis projects have included "The Application of Nanomaterials to Solar Energy," "Use of Screen Real Estate on University Homepages," "Bioengineering More Effective Antifungal Drugs," and "Shooting a Rock Star: The Making of an Independent Short Film."
There are many benefits to completing an Honors Thesis. First, the credit will be applied to a student's major or minor. Second, the thesis itself is especially useful for students intending to go on to graduate school, both for application purposes and for experience tackling a graduate-style project. Third, an undergraduate thesis on the resume is impressive to potential employers. Fourth, completion of such a project represents a milestone in a student's personal development.
The Honors Thesis requires two semesters. In the first semester, students work with their faculty advisor and with the UHP director to develop a plan for the project that is documented in a prospectus, which must be approved by the UHP Director. In the second semester, the research (or experiments, surveys, studies--whatever the case may be) is completed. Students then have the opportunity to present their results at the fall or spring Honors Thesis Symposia. If you would like more information about the Honors Thesis, please contact Dr. Maguire by phone: (920) 424-7364 or by e-mail: maguire@uwosh.edu.
