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.
Students entering the UHP after their freshman year are required to complete the Honors Core Courses and three Honors electives.
Honors Core Courses
Honors Seminar: Interdisciplinary Studies 175 (3 credits):
This course is an interdisciplinary seminar required of all first-year 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," and "Ethics."
Culture Connection: Interdisciplinary Studies 271 & 272 (1 credit apiece):
Culture Connection I: Interdisciplinary Studies 271
The purpose of this course offered by the UHP is twofold:
- To heighten student awareness of the range of cultural events and opportunities on campus and in the community, and
- To assist students with developing the skills necessary to evaluate and analyze cultural events and phenomena.
To that end, students study the work of professional commentators, attend cultural events, and write three critical essays during the semester. It is recommended that students take Culture Connection I during their freshman or sophomore year.
Culture Connection II: Interdisciplinary Studies 272
An extension of Interdisciplinary 271, this semester of Culture Connection permits students to focus on events related to their majors. Again, students are required to attend cultural events and write three critical essays per semester. Students must complete Culture Connection I prior to enrolling in Culture Connection II.
Click here for some helpful Culture Connection Tips.
Senior Capstone (Seminar or Thesis) (3 credits):
Before graduating from the UHP, students must take either the Senior Seminar or the Senior Thesis.
Senior Seminar: Interdisciplinary Studies 475
The course 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," and "Terror."
Prerequisites: Good standing in the UHP and 90 total credits earned before enrolling in the Senior Seminar.
Senior Thesis: Interdisciplinary Studies 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 Epidemic of Child Obesity: Causes, Consequences, Prevention and Treatment," "Use of Screen Real Estate on University Homepages," and "Bioengineering More Effective Antifungal Drugs."
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.
If you are interested in more information about the Honors Thesis, please contact Dr. Maguire by phone: (920) 424-7364 or by email: maguire@uwosh.edu.
