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Mission

The mission of the University Honors Program is to provide an education rooted in a classical humanities curriculum, particularly as it is shaped by the Jesuit ideals of rigorous academic inquiry, a habit of reflection on knowledge and experience and, growing from these, a desire to bring about justice in the world. This curriculum is designed for a diverse body of motivated students who are especially well prepared for and impassioned by learning processes that are characterized by intense intellectual engagement. The Honors curriculum strives to enhance a student’s regular university curriculum by enriching its core components, facilitating recognition of the essential relatedness of the core components to each other and to the student’s intellectual discipline, and encouraging application of the core components to the student’s visions, decisions, and actions in the world. The primary goal of the Honors Program is to offer students a transformative learning experience that provides more than a knowledge base and set of skills that can influence their interactions with the world; rather, the Honors curriculum is deliberately designed to foster a way of seeing, thinking, valuing and behaving that necessarily influences a person’s interactions because it has become an authentic and intrinsic element of his or her identity and humanity.

The Honors Program cultivates such transformational learning by creating academic situations that (a) bring students in closer contact with their teachers and peers, (b) engage topics and issues in greater depth, subtlety, and complexity than is possible in larger non-honors courses that necessarily must serve a wider range of learning levels, (c) place more of the impetus for learning on the students themselves and (d) allow for a more individualized realization of educational objectives.

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Curricular Overview

Two basic elements define the Honors curriculum: Honors Program Foundation Courses and an Honors Program Seminar Series. Honors Program Foundation Courses, in keeping with the University Core of Common Studies, develop in students the fundamental abilities to think critically, reason analytically and express themselves coherently. In addition, these courses provide an appreciation for core academic areas of inquiry central to Jesuit education. Foundation Courses constitute the first mainstay of the Honors curriculum.

The second mainstay consists of Honors Program Seminars. These seminars focus on specific intellectual topics and are taught from a communal perspective that relies upon the efforts, insights, and perspectives of all individuals participating. They build progressively on one another from year to year and are designed to encourage the type of developmentally-staged learning that is essential to an integrated educational experience.

This distinctive curriculum turns a more typical college curriculum into a clearly-defined “Honors experience.” Because the Honors curriculum enhances rather than replaces a student’s disciplinary curriculum, it has been carefully structured to complement the wide variety of major and college requirements across campus.

To be more specific, the Honors Program Foundation Courses are either specially-designated sections of University Core courses (e.g. PHIL 1001 or 2310) or are courses that have been specially created by departments for the Honors Program (e.g. ENGL 1301 and 1302). Smaller than ordinary, restricted to Honors Program students, and taught by instructors committed to the educational ideals of the Honors Program, both types of Foundation Courses enrich the core curricular experience and provide an important foundation for participation in Honors Program Seminar Series.

The Honors Program Seminar Series consists of a four-year seminar sequence designed to promote the integration of knowledge gleaned from multiple content areas. The Second-Year Seminar, for example, builds upon the First-Year Seminar to develop progressively the student’s abilities in communication, critical reasoning and analysis. Upon entering the Junior Year Seminar program, the student is required to use these skills to begin to make connections between a variety of fields of inquiry and/or research. This integration of knowledge culminates in the final component of the Honors curriculum, the Full Circle Seminar that is taken during the student’s senior year. Refer to the descriptions below for more detailed explanations of the Seminar Series.

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Honors Program Curricular Requirements

Foundation Courses

Honors Program students are required to take the eight Foundation Courses listed below, all of which can be applied simultaneously to the University Core Curriculum (UCCS) requirements as well as to various college core curricula. Students should consult the University Bulletin for the specific core requirements of individual majors and colleges. The Foundation Courses are generally taken during the first and second year at the university.

Note: Students who complete ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302 with a grade of B or higher and who did not receive AP/IB or other college level equivalent to ENGL 1001 and ENGL 1002before entering college, will have satisfied the Core of Common Studies Rhetoric requirement (ENGL 1001 and ENGL 1002). Either ENGL 1301 or ENGL 1302 will also satisfy the Core of Common Studies Literature and Performing Arts requirement (i.e., one of these courses may satisfy both the Rhetoric and the Literature and Performing Arts core requirements). Students may select any approved Core of Common Studies course to complete the necessary credit hours.

ENGL 1301	Honors English 1	3
ENGL 1302	Honors English 2	3
PHIL 1001	Philosophy of Human Nature	3
PHIL 2310	Theory of Ethics	3
HIST 1001   & HIST 1002	Growth of Western Civilization to 1715    and Growth of Western Civilization since 1715 (Course awards via Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or transfer credit for American, European or World History exempts Honors students from HIST 1001 or HIST 1002.)	3
THEO 1001	Introduction to Theology	3
Second-Level Theology, must be Honors-designated; check with Honors Program office for more information		3
Total Credit Hours		21

Seminar Series

Each year Honors students are required to take one course in the Honors Program Seminar Series. These seminars build progressively upon earlier Honors experiences to nurture the type of intellectual acuity, independence, and maturity characteristic of Honors Program graduates. Note that all seminars can be taken either semester except for HOPR 1953 Honors Program First Year Seminar, which is offered only in the fall semester.

HOPR 1953	Honors Program First Year Seminar	1
HOPR 2953	Honors Program Second Year Seminar	2
HOPR 3955	Honors Program Undergraduate Research Seminar	3
or HOPR 3953	Honors Program Junior Seminar
HOPR 4953	Honors Program Senior Full Circle Seminar	3
Total Credit Hours		9

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General Four-Year Course Plan for Honors Students

Because Honors Program students come from every college on campus, no single curricular plan is applicable to everyone. Both the Honors Program Director and the student’s major adviser assist in designing individualized plans that best suit each individual’s unique academic objectives. The typical sequence of Honors courses, however, is listed below. You should pair this chart with that provided for your major to come up with your individualized four-year plan.

Freshman
First Term	Hours	Second Term	Hours
ENGL 1301	3	ENGL 1302	3
HIST 1001	3	HIST 1002	3
HOPR 1953	1
	7		6
Sophomore
First Term	Hours	Second Term	Hours
PHIL 1001	3	PHIL 2310	3
THEO 1001*	3
HOPR 2953*	2
	8		3
Junior
First Term	Hours
Second-Level Honors THEO*	3
HOPR 3955 or 3953*	3
	6
Senior
First Term	Hours
HOPR 4953*	3
	3
Total credit hours: 33

*	Can be taken either semester

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Academic Standards

Students must achieve a 3.200 cumulative grade point average in order to graduate with an Honors Program degree. If a student drops below a 3.200 in any given semester, he/she will receive a letter of warning from the director. If a student drops below a 3.200 cumulative GPA, he/she will be placed on Honors Program academic probation until the 3.200 cumulative is reattained. Students must earn a grade of C or better in a course for it to count toward the Honors Degree.

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Associated Academic Programs

Study Abroad

The Honors Program believes that study abroad is a vital aspect of a student’s college experience. While study abroad is not required, we encourage students to take advantage of the numerous opportunities offered through the University Study Abroad Office. Up to two Foundation Courses can be taken abroad in fulfillment of Honors Program requirements. Please contact the Honors Program and Study Abroad offices for more detailed information.

Les Aspin Center

The Honors Program supports student internships at the Les Aspin Center. Again, credit for Foundation Courses is possible; students considering a semester at the Les Aspin Center should meet with the director at least one semester prior to their departure in order to make curricular arrangements.