INTERDISCIPLINA R Y PROGRAMS HONORS PROGRAM Director: Ronald L. Holt Location: Library, Room 30 Telephone: 626-6230 General Objectives The Honors Program is designed to offer students of superior ability and motivation opportunities to broaden and enrich their academic program and accelerate their preparation for graduate work. The Honors Program provides a separate curriculum including courses that fulfill a part of a student's general education requirements. In addition to general education classes, workshops, seminars, upper division classes, tutorials, and independent study and research classes are offered. Students are encouraged to write a senior thesis as a capstone experience. Honors Program classes are limited to a maximum of twenty students and are taught by a select faculty. Honors faculty members are distinguished by their commitment to academic excellence and for their ability to work and communicate with highly motivated undergraduate students. Our teaching method emphasizes reading original sources, writing essays, and socratic dialogue. The Honors Program also creates a learning community of students and faculty through exttacurricular social and cultural activities, guest speakers and study groups. Honors Certificates Official recognition will be given for the completion of Departmental Honors and General Honors. Notation of these achievements will be made on the graduating Honors student's transcript and diploma and will be entered into the graduation bulletin. In the event a student completes Departmental Honors requirements in more than one department, notation for each will be made on the transcript. Entrance Requirements A student may make application for entrance into the Honors Program at any time after formal acceptance by the college Admissions Office. However, in order to take advantage of the many options available, early entrance is recommended. An application form is available in the Honors office. The applicant is asked to: • Provide evidence of a Grade Point Average of at least 3.3. • Provide a recommendation from a college professor, a high school teacher or counselor, or another professional educator. • Have an interview with the Director of the Honors Program. It is recognized that a strict adherence to a Grade Point Average standard may at times bar students whose abilities and motivation are of Honors potential. Therefore, any student may present a special petition for admittance. Students who are strongly motivated towards Honors work are urged to make this special petition to the Honors office. Retention Standards for the Honors Program To stay in the Honors Program, participants must maintain a cumulative 3.3 GPA and take an Honors class at least every other quarter. In courses taken to fulfill requirements in General Honors, only grades of B or higher will be acceptable. The progress of Honors students will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. An Honors student having apparent difficulty in maintaining the aforementioned standards will be offered counseling and assistance from the Honors Office. Availability There are two Honors designations: Departmental Honors and General Honors. With certain limitations, both designations are available to Honors students graduating with any one of the undergraduate degrees offered by Weber State College. Departmental Honors are available in the event a particular department has designated a Departmental Honors Program. Honors candidates for Bachelor degrees will be required to take Senior Project credit for graduation in Departmental Honors and must complete at least ten hours of upper division Honors courses. Departmental Honors To qualify for Departmental Honors students must complete a required number of credit hours in courses taken on an Honors basis in their major. The total hours (in no case less than ten) and the major courses available for Honors credit are described in the catolog entry of the respective majors. In addition, to qualify for Departmental Honors, a student must complete at least ten hours from the General Honors curriculum. (A student in Nursing or Health Occupations may make a substitution for the ten hours in General Honors courses through an equivalent number of hours in courses taken on an Honors basis from majors other than the student's major. Such courses must be approved in advance by the chairperson of the student's major department, by the director of the Honors Program, and by the chairpersons of the departments in which such courses are taken on an Honors basis. Any departmental course upon which the foregoing three persons agree is available for credit on an Honors basis.) In the case of Honors students graduating with the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees the Honors courses within the major must include Senior Project credit. Additional requirements may be made at the determination of the particular major department. In Honors Program General Informatior 32 the event a department does not have a course allowing for a Senior Project, a student with departmental approval may utilize Honors 499 which credit would count as Honors credit within the major. Please consult the catalog entry of a particular department for a description of that department's requirements in Honors. General Honors To graduate with General Honors a student must complete forty hours of Honors courses. Ten of these hours may include Departmental Honors courses. The student may acquire these hours through formal participation in a Departmental Honors Program connected with the major or minor. The student not participating formally in a Departmental Honors Program may acquire these hours by taking Departmental Honors courses in any department or departments with the permission of the Director of the Honors Program and the chairperson of the appropriate department or departments. Sixteen hours may include AP (Advanced Placement) and CLEP credit as defined below. A maximum of 12 hours in Honors 283 and 483 (Directed Readings, Projects, and Research) may be applied towards graduation. The student should consult with the Director of the Honors Program concerning the optional ways below for acquiring Honors credit. AP and CLEP as Honors Credit For each AP course passed at a score of 3 or higher for which credit has been granted at Weber State College, an Honors student may waive 4 hours of the General Honors requirement up to a maximum total of 12 hours. For each CLEP general examination passed at a score of 525 or higher for which credit has been given at Weber State College, an Honors student may waive 4 hours of the General Honors requirement up to a maximum total of 12 hours. A maximum total of 16 hours in combined AP and CLEP Honors credit waiver is available. HONORS COURSES m NS150. Perspectives in the Physical Sciences (2-4) May be repeated with different course content. NS15I. Perspectives in the Life Sciences (2-4) May be repeated with different course content SS152. Perspectives in the Social Sciences (2-4) May be repeated with different course content HU153. Perspectives in the Humanities (2-4) May be repeated with different course content PD154. Perspectives in the Applied Arts and Sciences (2-4) May be repeated with different course content 283. Directed Readings, Projects, and Research (1-4) Individualized tutorial with a professor who may be selected from many possible disciplines. 290. Honors Colloquium (1-3) Varied topics as described in the quarterly schedule; topics will be drawn from disciplines across the entire college; may be taken more than once with different course content: restricted to lower division students: may be offered in conjunction with 490. 292. Short Courses, Workshops. Institutes and Special Programs (1-6) In order to provide flexibility and to meet many different needs, a number of specific offerings are possible using this catalog number. When the number is used it will be accompanied by a brief and specific descriptive tide. The specific tide with the credit authorized for the particular offering will appear on the student transcript. HU or SS 331. Intellectual Great Ideas of the West in the Classical and Medieval Eras (4) HU or SS 332. Intellectual Traditions: Great Ideas of the West in the Modern Era (4) HU or SS 333. Intellectual Traditions: Great Ideas of the East (4) 483. Directed Readings. Projects and Research (1-4) Individualized tutorial with a professor who may be selected from many possible disciplines. 490. Honors Colloquium (1-3) Varied topics as described in the quarterly schedule; topics will be drawn from disciplines across the entire college; may be taken more than once with different course content; may be offered in conjunction with 290. 492. Short Courses, Workshops, Institutes and Special Programs (1-6) In order to provide flexibility and to meet many different needs, a number of specific offerings are possible using this catalog number. When the number is used it will be accompanied by a brief and specific descriptive tide. The specific tide with the credit authorized for the particular offering will appear on the student transcript. 499. Honors Senior Project (1-4) May be taken by students whose major department offers no Senior Project course; or may be taken in conjunction with a departmental Senior Project course when amplitude of the project merits additional credit. The Senior Project may be offered as a scheduled seminar course, or taken on an independent tutorial basis. Student Services Interdisc. Programs Allied Health Sciences Arts& Humanities Business & Economics Education Natural Sciences Social Sciences Technology 33 Continuing Education