Professor Hakkenberg,Director;Associate Professor Sarisky,Associate Director
Honors courses address the same learning outcomes as Intellectual Inquiry courses but employ more challenging or sophisticated approaches and include engagement components that reach beyond the classroom. HNRS 110 and HNRS 300 are open to Honors students only. HNRS 120 may also be open, by application, to qualified non-Honors students who are interested in joining the program. The 200-level Honors courses are open to all students with a minimum 3.2 cumulative grade point average. These courses will satisfy the parallel Intellectual Inquiry course requirements without using one of the student’s allowed substitutions.
110 Honors Seminar
Introduces students to critical thinking in higher education, taking as its starting point a focused topic in a scholarly field. Critical inquiry will be taught in the context of careful reading of important intellectual works, as well as inquiry-based writing assignments. Research and collaborative skills will also be developed in an integrative setting designed to promote a student’s journey toward a life of critical inquiry. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 110 and INQ 110.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
Prerequisite:Admission to Honors Program.
111, 112 Portfolio Seminar I
A two-semester sequence that connects students to the campus and community through an exploration of cultural, intellectual, and service activities as well as academic and personal goals. Includes initial development of the Honors Portfolio. Pass/Fail (1⁄4, 1⁄4)
Lecture: 1 hr/wk.
Prerequisite:Admission to the Honors Program.
113, 114 Portfolio Seminar II
A two-semester sequence that encourages students to develop deeper connections to the campus and community by focusing on a single cultural, intellectual or service activity each semester while further developing academic and personal goals. Provides a foundation for the Distinction Project and continues development of the Honors Portfolio. Pass/Fail (1⁄4, 1⁄4)
Lecture: 1 hr/wk.
Prerequisite:Admission to the Honors Program.
120 Living an Examined Life
Investigates questions of values, individual and communal, from the standpoint of a particular field of learning.The course will teach reasoning skills through reading, writing, and oral communication by linking key works with broader traditions of critical reflections on the good life. Students will be encouraged to explore ways in which they can use the course mate- rial for their own reflections on what it means to live well. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 120 and INQ 120.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
Prerequisite: HNRS 110 or permission.
240 Statistical Reasoning
Provides an inquiry-focused introduction to statistical methodologies. Students will gain an understanding of how decision making is accomplished using modern statistical techniques. Topics include descriptive statistics, graphical methods, estimation, elementary probability, and statistical inference; students will apply the techniques of data analysis to data sets and statistical studies that address questions of the perspective. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. Open to Honors students or non-Honors students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 240 and INQ 240.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
241 Mathematical Reasoning
Further develops the ability to use quantitative, mathematical, and computational reasoning by exploring a problem or issue. Through a focused topic, students gain insight into mathematics or computer science as a mode of inquiry. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the Open to Honors students or non-Honors students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 241 and INQ 241.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
Prerequisite: HNRS 240, INQ 240, or a Mathematics or Statistics course; sophomore standing is recommended.classroom.
250 Scientific Reasoning I
Introduces the methodologies of the natural sciences through an inquiry-focused approach to a topic. Students will explore the types of questions that science asks and how it attempts to answer them by defining and classifying information, develop- ing models, identifying patterns, and drawing conclusions based upon data. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. Open to Honors students or non-Honors students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 250 and INQ 250 from the same discipline.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.; Laboratory: 3 hrs/wk.
251 Scientific Reasoning II
Further develops the ability to use the methodologies of the natural sciences by exploring a science topic in depth.The course will be narrowly focused within science while allowing connection to a social, political, ethical, or historical issue. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. Open to Honors students or non-Honors students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 251 and INQ 251.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
Prerequisite: HNRS 250, INQ 250, or a laboratory science course; sophomore standing is recommended.
260 Social Scientific Reasoning
Introduces the methodologies of the social sciences through an inquiry-focused approach to a topic.The course seeks to develop students’ critical thinking skills through the exploration and application of social scientific methods. Individual sections will be taught in a particular discipline. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. Open to Honors students or non-Honors students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 260 and INQ 260 from the same discipline.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
270 Human Heritage I
Develops a sense of historical perspective and the ability to use the methodologies of the humanities or the fine arts by exploring a subject drawn from the period before 1500. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. Open to Honors students or non-Honors students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 270 and INQ 270.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
271 Human Heritage II
Develops a sense of historical perspective and the ability to use the methodologies of the humanities or the fine arts by exploring a subject drawn from the period from 1500 to the present. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. Open to Honors students or non-Honors students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 271 and INQ 271.) (1)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
300 Contemporary Issues
Asks students to look back on their experiences and their work in the Honors curriculum in order to make explicit, meaningful connections to contemporary issues. In addition to individual written assignments, students will work in small groups to research and develop a proposal concerning a concept, approach, or solution to a problem that will be presented in a formal defense. Includes an engagement component that reaches beyond the classroom. (Credit cannot be received for both HNRS 300 and INQ 300.)
Lecture: 3 hrs/wk.
Prerequisite:Admission to the Honors Program and completion of all 100-level and 200-level HNRS requirements.
405/406/407 Independent Study
An independent project used as part of the Honors Distinction project, which is conducted under the direction of a faculty member. (1⁄2, 1, 1⁄2)
Prerequisite: Junior standing in the Honors Program or permission.
416 Internship
An internship used as part of the Honors Distinction project, which is conducted under the direction of a faculty member. (1)
Prerequisite: Junior standing in the Honors Program or permission.