University Honors Program courses, with their characteristic small size and active student involvement, replace many required "core" courses. A seminar-style class typically consists of 15 to 17 members; it emphasizes critical reading, writing, and interaction among students and professors.
Courses available exclusively to UHP students include distinctive, interdisciplinary Cultures & Ideas seminars and special classes in critical thinking and writing, psychology, religious studies, and philosophy. The UHP also provides limited-enrollment courses, laboratories, and seminars in such fields as mathematics, chemistry, English, and history.
First-year UHP students take about half of their first-year classes within Honors. Most are enrolled for UHP seminars that complete their core Cultures & Ideas and Critical Thinking and Writing requirements. Honors students are required to complete the courses listed below.
With the agreement of the instructor, an Honors student may get Honors credit for a non-Honors course by adding an enrichment activity or project. The student and the faculty member agree on this added requirement. The goal of the added contract is the student's acquisition of a deeper and richer command of some aspect of the course material. The student may be afforded an opportunity to present the results of the research to the class. Honors Contract courses may be especially valuable in the student's junior year as a precursor to the senior thesis. Students wishing to establish a contract for Honors credit must turn in the appropriate application to the office by the end of the first week of the quarter in which the course is taken.
A seminar devoted to the analysis from different perspectives of some issue, text, or problem in the area of a professor's expertise. This course will hone critical thinking skills and provide students an opportunity to discuss and debate the toughest questions faced by society today.
Honors must be taken for a letter grade. This includes all honors specific courses (classes with the H on the end), HNRS 20, any class taken for honors elective credit or contract class.
Honors Program Core Course Requirements:
Level I Core Courses
1H. and 2H. Critical Thinking & Writing I and II
A two-course, themed sequence for Honors students, featuring study and practice of academic discourse, with emphasis on critical reading and writing, composing processes, and rhetorical situation (ENGL 1H and 2H, PHIL 1H and 2H, etc.). The second course will feature more advanced study and practice of academic discourse, with additional emphasis on information literacy and skills related to developing and organizing longer and more complex documents. Themes may address cultural comparisons, science and society, and other topics. (4 units each quarter)
11H and 12H. Cultures & Ideas I and II
A two-course sequence focusing on a major theme in human experience and culture over a significant period of time (e.g., ARTH 11H and 12H, HIST 11H and 12H, PHIL 11H and 12H). Four Honors sequences will be offered each year. Courses emphasize either broad global interconnections or the construction of Western culture in its global context. Successful completion of C&I I is a prerequisite for C&I II. (4 units each quarter)
Religion, Theology, and Culture OR Ethics in Honors
Level 1 students must take one RTC 1, 2, 3 OR Ethics in an honors section. Each year there will be two RTC1, one RTC 2, and two Ethics Honors sections offered. Each quarter, Religious Studies offers a senior seminar (denoted R) for their majors that they permit Honors students to take for RTC 3 credit.
HNRS 20. Difficult Dialogues
This seminar-style course is devoted to the analysis from different perspectives of some issue, text, or problem in the area of a professor's expertise. This course will provide critical thinking skills and an opportunity for students to discuss and debate the toughest questions faced by society today. Honors 20 is required of all Honors students and is open only to Honors students. (4 units)
195. Honors Program Thesis
Course credit for thesis or culminating project of the University Honors Program. Enrollment limited to students in the University Honors Program. This course is Pass/No Pass. There are no lectures for this course---thesis milestones turned in through Camino. Interim grades of "N" will be given until thesis is successfully submitted. (1 unit)
Level II Core Courses
HNRS 20. Difficult Dialogues
This seminar-style course is devoted to the analysis from different perspectives of some issue, text, or problem in the area of a professor's expertise. This course will provide critical thinking skills and an opportunity for students to discuss and debate the toughest questions faced by society today. Honors 20 is required of all Honors students and is open only to Honors students. (4 units)
195. Honors Program Thesis
Course credit for thesis or culminating project of the University Honors Program. Enrollment limited to students in the University Honors Program. This course is Pass/No Pass. There are no lectures for this course---thesis milestones turned in through Camino. Interim grades of "N" will be given until thesis is successfully submitted. (1 unit)