Category Archives: Honors Curriculum

Texas Tech Honors College Offers Direct Paths to Law, Medical School

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The Honors College at Texas Tech University is one of only a few honors programs that offer fast-track options to attend law or medical school at the same university, and the joint program between the honors college and the medical school even allows honors students to skip the MCAT before entering med school.

The joint Early Acceptance Program allows Honors College students to waive the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and to apply early to the School of Medicine during their junior year.

“To be eligible for the Early Acceptance Program, you must be enrolled in the Honors College, have entered Texas Tech University as a freshman, maintain residency in the state of Texas, and acquired a composite score (earned in one test administration) of at least 1300 on the SAT or at least 29 on the ACT upon matriculation at Texas Tech University.”

“The Honors College and the Texas Tech School of Law have collaborated to create two exciting new opportunities for Honors students who plan to attend law school. The Early Decision Plan allows eligible students who intend to attend the TTU Law School to receive notice of their acceptance as juniors but complete their undergraduate degrees prior to entry into the law school. The Early Admission Program (“3+3 Plan”) allows eligible Honors Arts & Sciences students to enter law school prior to graduation after they have completed 100 hours of coursework. The “3+3″ program enables eligible students to complete both a baccalaureate and a doctor of jurisprudence in approximately six years.” [Emphasis added.]

Eligibility for the honors college as a freshman requires a minimum SAT score of 1200 or an ACT of 26  or a place in the top 10 percent of the applicant’s high school class to be considered for admission.  Admission is not, however, guaranteed with these credentials.  Applicants with International Baccalaureate diplomas are assured of admission.  Current students are also considered for admission if they have earned a 3.4 GPA.

The regular honors curriculum requires 24 hours of honors course work for freshman entrants, and 27 hours for students who enter later.  Six hours must be in upper-division courses, six must be in 3000-4000-level courses, and freshman entrants must also complete a first-year series.

In order to graduate with highest honors, students must also complete an additional six hours of research and thesis work.

The honors housing at Tech appears to be a strong option: students in Gordon Hall share two-bed suites that have private baths and that share a common living area with the adjoining suite.  Gordon hall as its own laundry, and the Fresh Market Cafe serves both Gordon and neighboring Bledsoe Hall.  Gordon Hall is on the east side of campus, closest to science and engineering classrooms and farther from business, English, foreign language, and philosophy classrooms.



ASU Barrett Honors Students Spend Summer at Sandia Labs

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A recent Arizona State University engineering graduate and two current engineering students–all from Barrett Honors College–spent the past summer as interns at one of the United States’ most prominent national research centers.

Sandia Labs is especially important to homeland security research and development.  (Please see Maryland to Add Cybersecurity Honors Program in 2013 as a related post on how honors students can contribute greatly to cybersecurity and related efforts.)

Robert Fruchtman, Dominic Chen, and Bijan Fakhri worked for three months for the Sandia National Laboratories facility in Albuquerque, N.M., along with engineering student Michael Reeves.

Here’s the story from ASU’s Jessica Slater:

The U.S. Department of Energy laboratories (including a facility in California) focus on national defense projects applying science and engineering to support homeland security, counterterrorism and military operations, as well as security-related energy and climate research.

“Sandia’s work covers almost every area of engineering,” says Fruchtman, who also was an intern at Sandia in the summer of 2011. “They tackle really big problems, and you are surrounded by a lot of really smart people. So it’s a great experience.”

Fruchtman graduated from ASU in May after majoring in computer science in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, one of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He was also a student in ASU’s Barrett, The Honors College. He’s now pursuing a master’s degree in computer science at Purdue University.

At Sandia, the graduate of University High School in Tucson had opportunities to apply his education by assisting in projects involving technology used to process and analyze data provided by satellite observations.

Junior computer systems engineering major Fakhri and Chen, a junior majoring in computer science and mathematics – both Barrett honors students – worked in Sandia’s Center for Cyber Defenders.

Fakhri, a graduate of Horizon High School in Ahwatukee, assisted on projects to develop unclonable silicon wafers and speed up the performance of software-defined radio communications systems using digital signal processors.

Chen, a graduate of Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee, helped with designing a system debugger for the Android smartphone platform, and piloting a Department of Homeland Security competition to develop secure voting machines.

“It was fun because it was very much a teamwork-oriented environment,” Fakhri says. “You could ask a question out loud in a room and soon there would be three people at your desk arguing about the best way to solve a problem.”

He expects some of what he learned at Sandia to be useful in his student researcher role with ASU’s Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC), which focuses on design of devices to assist people living with perceptual or cognitive challenges. Fakhri is helping develop wireless devices to help stroke survivors regain motor control.

Chen will apply his Sandia experience to his work at ASU assisting faculty members with research in computer security and development of a mini-submersible device for exploring a lake in Antarctica.

Fakhri summed up what his fellow engineering students agree was the most valuable lesson gained from their Sandia internships: “I learned that I don’t know nearly as much as I thought I did.”

 

Maryland to Add Cybersecurity Honors Program in 2013

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In association with the Northrup Grumman Corporation, the University of Maryland at College Park will launch the nation’s first honors program in cybersecurity aimed at producing highly capable graduates who can answer the demand of this important area of economic and national security.

The new curriculum track, called the Advanced Cybersecurity Experiences for Students (ACES) program, has received $1.1 million from Northrup Grumman to launch it and will receive matching corporate and university support.

According to the university, “ACES will engage a highly talented, diverse group of students–majors in computer science, engineering, business, public policy and the social sciences–in an intensive living-learning environment that focuses on the multifaceted aspects of cybersecurity and develops team-building skills.

“Students will take on an advanced, cross-disciplinary curriculum developed through industry consultation, and will interact directly with industry and government cybersecurity mentors. Student enrolled in the program will have the option of interning with Northrop Grumman and preparing for security clearance. ACES will produce skilled, experienced cybersecurity leaders highly sought by corporate and government organizations.”

The curriculum “will include general cybersecurity courses, as well as a variety of other topics, including cybersecurity forensics, reverse engineering, secure coding, criminology, and law and public policy. In year-long capstone courses, teams of seniors will apply their knowledge and skills in solving complex cybersecurity problems.”

Northrup Grumman has headquarters in nearby Falls Church, VA.  The university is extremely well-suited to partner with the company on the cybersecurity program because of its nationally recognized living/learning honors communities and its strong academic departments in cybersecurity-related subjects.

“UMD is one of only 6 universities in the world with top 25 programs in Computer Science, Engineering, Economics and Business, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Physics, and Social Sciences, according to the Academic Ranking of Worldwide Universities.”

The program also offers a clear career path.  “Summer internships will augment coursework with real-world projects and develop a pipeline of talented students. Throughout, Northrop Grumman will provide guest lecturers, participate in an industry advisory board, pose real-world problems for students to solve, and provide advisors and mentors for capstone projects.”

Speaking of job “security,” see what Alex Fitzpatrick at Mashable.com has to say about the growing field of cybersecurity:

“Alec Ross, senior advisor for innovation at the State Department, has a piece of advice for students tasked with the nerve-rattling dilemma of choosing a college major.

“’If any college student asked me what career would most assure thirty years of steady, well-paying employment,” said Ross, ‘I would respond, ‘cybersecurity.’”

“That’s because cybersecurity is a field where the rules of the recession seem flipped: There’s plenty of jobs, but relatively few qualified applicants.

“The government needs to hire at least 10,000 experts in the near future and the private sector needs four times that number, according to Tom Kellermann, vice president at Trend Micro and former member of President Obama’s cybersecurity commission. Booz Allen Hamilton, a private security firm in Mclean, has hired nearly 3,000 cybersecurity experts in the past two years, and that trend is expected to continue.”

Currently, cybersecurity grads do not earn as much as those going into computer software design and computer engineering, but the pay is certain to increase with the ever-increasing demand.  The story by Fitzpatrick states that the average starting salary in 2009 was $55,000 a year, with many of the jobs now in the public sector.  The joint effort by UM and Northrup Grumman are an indication that the demand is now strong in the private sector as well.

Iowa Enhances Honors Curriculum for 2013

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The University of Iowa Honors Program will implement significant changes to honors curriculum requirements, effective Fall 2013, and also require all honors students to accept a formal invitation to participate and then attend a comprehensive honors orientation.

The first 12 hours of the curriculum, the honors foundation or core, requires completion within the first four semesters and allows only one honors contract course to be counted toward the core requirement.  The emphasis is “building knowledge” in this first half of the curriculum.  All honors students must take at least one honors course in their first semester.

The second half, at least another 12 hours, is more experiential in its focus.  Honors students will have several ways to meet these requirements:

i.    Honors in the major (completely satisfies the second level requirement), which typically includes a thesis;

ii.   Mentored research (12 semester hours or the equivalent);

iii.  Study abroad for a minimum of two semesters (fall and/or spring) or the equivalent;

  • Single semesters of study abroad, including summer and between-semester experiences, may count for up to half of the second level requirement
  • Requires students to conduct/carry out an independent project while abroad and to submit a report on the project

iv.  Internships may count for up to half (6 semester hours) of the second level requirement;

  • In some cases, e.g. Engineering and Business, internships may count for the entire requirement (12 semester hours or the equivalent)
  • Requires students to conduct/carry out an independent project while interning and to submit a report on the project.

v.   Honors coursework (including graduate course work) may count for up to 6 semester hours.

Students who complete the new curriculum will be eligible to graduate with university honors, a distinction that entitles them to recognition at commencement and formal notation on their transcripts and diplomas.

 


 

 

New for 2013: Oregon’s Global Scholars Hall Has Most Room Options

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In our frequent reviews of honors residence halls, we come across a wide variety of room configurations, with the most typical being the traditional shared double with corridor baths or a combination of traditional rooms with some suite-style rooms that allow four students in two adjoining rooms to share a common bath.

But the Global Scholars Hall at the University of Oregon offers not only these basic options but an amazing six additional options.  The hall will soon have its own dining facility, the Freshmarket Cafe, offering sushi, pasta, rice bows, deli sandwiches, special expresso drinks, and fresh produce.

The Clark Honors College at U of O ranked 24th out of 50 in Overall Excellence and 23rd in Honors Factors in our recent book, A Review of Fifty Public University Honors Programs.  The Global Scholars Hall was not yet open at the time of publication, and if it had been open, the Clark Honors College would have ranked even higher with a stronger score for housing.

Home to students in the Clark Honors College, College Scholars, and global language scholars studying Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, or German.  Students in these groups must apply through their program for a place in the Global Scholars Hall.  There are classrooms and study facilities in the hall, which even has its own librarian.

Here are the room options in the 450-student hall:

1. Traditional double with in-room sink;

2. Enhanced single with in-room sink;

3. Double with its own bath;

4. Triple with three sets of furniture, in-room sink, and no private bath (the least expensive option);

5. Single with its own bath;

6. Four-person suite, featuring two double rooms with a shared bath between them;

7. Six-person suite with one bath, with a private hallway, common living area and furniture, and three double rooms;

8. Two-person suite with bath, where each student has a single room and both students share one bath.

The Global Scholars Hall is open for Fall 2012, but we include it as “new” for 2013 as well.


 

 

 

New for Fall 2013: Indiana’s Hutton Honors College Adds to Great Study-Abroad Rep

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Already recognized nationally for its outstanding study-abroad program, Indiana University and Hutton Honors College have received two more recent gifts that will provide honors students with greater financial support for studying abroad.

A $500,000 gift for the Edward L. Hutton Foundation will provide needed funding for high-achieving students who seek international experiences but are challenged by difficult economic times.

“Given the current economy and the surge in costs for airfare, living expenses and program fees, this generous gift and the IU match couldn’t come at a better time,” said Matt Auer, dean of the Hutton Honors College. “We’re thrilled that a second generation of Huttons shares our passion for study abroad.”

With the new funding and match from IU, the Hutton International Experiences Program will enable 600 students annually to incorporate international experiences into their academic programs.

Another gift of $100,000, to be divided between HHC and the College of Arts and Sciences, has come from an alumnus, Devesh Shah, through a Goldman Sachs charitable giving program.  The funds will be used to support students studying abroad in developing nations, and to support those thriving academically who have financial needs.

Shah graduated in 1997 with an individualized major in applied mathematics in finance.  When he arrived at IU, he knew no one on campus, but among several university faculty who helped and mentored him, he included former Hutton Honors College Dean Julia Bondanella.

According to Hutton Honors College Dean Matt Auer, the Goldman Sachs Scholarship is open to any undergraduate who meets academic and financial requirements.

“Over the past few years, the Hutton Honors College has encouraged high-achieving IU undergraduates to ‘go off the beaten track’ when they travel abroad to study, intern and volunteer,” Auer said. “This generous gift from Devesh Shah and Goldman Sachs is in sync with our goal of promoting profound learning experiences and personal development opportunities in nontraditional locations worldwide.”

In 2011-2012, HHC provided almost $745,000 for overseas study and volunteer experiences, along with nearly $324,000 for grants for research and internships and approximately $15,000 through a student funding board for student-generated extracurricular programs.

 

 

New for Fall 2013: South Carolina Adds Courses and Staff

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The Honors College at the University of South Carolina, ranked number one in our category of Honors Factors, now offers an extremely impressive choice of honors courses–a projected 464 courses for 2012-2013, up from about 300 in previous years.

In our recent book, A Review of Fifty Public University Honors Programs, the Honors College had the strongest overall curriculum ranking and was one of only a handful of honors colleges or programs that received the highest possible score for honors housing.

In order to provide advising and other services to support this range of courses, the staff size has grown from 18 to 20 and is in the process of growing to 22 in the next month or so.

The Honors College will provide over $200,000 in 2012-2013 to Honors undergraduates for research and travel.  This funding is in addition to resources that students can access through the undergraduate research office (available to all students).

And now the College offers priority registration for all classes for honors students, not just for honors classes.

The College also provides 100% of its students with some form of scholarship funding.

 

New for Fall 2013: Florida Changes Completion Requirements

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This post about the University of Florida Honors Program is the first post about honors changes effective for Fall 2013.  We  anticipate several additional posts in this series, including upcoming discussions of Indiana University’s Hutton Honors College, the South Carolina Honors College, the Texas A&M Honors Program, and others.

Previously students in UF honors had to complete four honors courses and at least one enhancement experience, which could be an internship, study-abroad course, research project, or a leadership activity.

But in some cases students found it difficult to complete these requirements, so now program completion requires at least cum laude achievement in the college of the student’s major along with 14 honors points, eight of which must be academic (A) points and six of which must be enrichment (E) points.

Below is a list that shows the point correlations to course and enrichment activities:

Activities worth 1 Honors point

  • 1- or 2-credit Honors course (grade of B or higher) (A)
  • Apply for a nationally competitive scholarship or fellowship (e.g., Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, Fulbright) (A)
  • Induction into Phi Beta Kappa or Phi Kappa Phi (A)
  • A publication in a refereed undergraduate journal (such as the UF Journal of Undergraduate Research) (A)
  • Complete a minor (A)
  • A regional conference presentation in a discipline relevant to the student’s major (A)
  • Short-term study abroad (E)
  • Participate in a Partners in the Parks program (E)
  • Participate in leadership activities (e.g., hold a leadership position in a student organization or activity) (E) (note: a maximum of 3 points is allowed for this type of activity)
  • Participation in a leadership conference (e.g. LeaderShape, Gatorship, UF Women’s Leadership Conference) (E)
  • Participation in a Florida Alternative Breaks trip (E)

Activities worth 2 Honors points

  • 3+ credit Honors course (grade of B or higher) (A)
  • Graduate course (grade of B or higher) (A)
  • A publication in a refereed professional journal (A)
  • Complete a second major (A)
  • Faculty-directed independent study or research (A)
  • A national conference presentation in a discipline relevant to the student’s major (A)
  • Six-week summer or semester study abroad (E)
  • Complete at least 50 hours of community service (documentation required, hours may come from multiple sources) (E)
  • Complete an internship at least 45 hours in duration (E)

Activity worth 3 Honors points

  • Complete an Honors thesis as part of requirements to graduate magna cum laude or summa cum laude (A)
  • For students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, complete the CALS upper-division honors program (A)

Please note that IDH 4917, Honors Research, and IDH 4905, Independent Study, do not count as  Honors courses for these purposes, but they do serve as proof of faculty-directed independent study or research; that is, you may not receive points for both IDH 4917/4905 and performing research/independent study.  The same comment applies for IDH 4940 and internships.

Note also that the maximum number of points that can be earned for community service is two; that is, performing 100 hours of community service is not worth four points.

sis as part of requirements to graduate magna cum laude or summa cum laude (A)

  • For students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, complete the CALS upper-division honors program (A)

Please note that IDH 4917, Honors Research, and IDH 4905, Independent Study, do not count as  Honors courses for these purposes, but they do serve as proof of faculty-directed independent study or research; that is, you may not receive points for both IDH 4917/4905 and performing research/independent study.  The same comment applies for IDH 4940 and internships.

Note also that the maximum number of points that can be earned for community service is two; that is, performing 100 hours of community service is not worth four points.

 

 

 

Colorado State Honors: Well-structured, Good Housing and Food, Great Scholarships

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Our planned post on updates and improvements to honors programs will appear in the near future, and we hope at least a few programs will provide information about new scholarship opportunities.  In the meantime, thanks to the transparency of the Colorado State site, we can report that there are some great opportunities for entering honors students there, even if they are out-of-state residents.

All students admitted to the honors program receive a $1,000 scholarship, and remain eligible for renewal through four years if they maintain program requirements.

But highly qualified OOS students are eligible for a $9,000 renewable scholarship, whichcovers about three-fourths of the OOS tuition and fees.  To be eligible, applicants must meet the February 1 priority deadline and have a 1300/ACT 29/ and at least a 3.8 GPA.

All National Merit finalists, Boettcher finalists and scholars, Monfort Scholars, National Hispanic Scholars, and National Achievement Scholars also receive this scholarship automatically if they apply by the February 1 priority deadline and list CSU as their first choice school.

The good news doesn’t end there.  OOS students with SAT 1230/ACT 27 and a GPA of at least 3.6 are eligible for a $7000 a year scholarship.

The regular application deadline for honors is March 1.  Admission is based on a combination of test scores and GPAs, allowing students with very high GPAs to be admitted with somewhat lower test scores.

The average SAT of admitted students is 1340, ACT 31, and weighted GPA 4.15

But admission is also likely with the following test/GPA combinations:

SAT 1310/ACT 30/ GPA 3.7;

SAT 1280/ACT 29/GPA 3.8;

SAT 1240/ ACT 28/ GPA 3.9;

SAT 1200/ACT 27/ GPA 4.0.

All also require a recommendation from a high school counselor, who will be contacted.

Automatic invitations are issued to students with the following combinations of test scores and GPAs:

SAT 1400/ACT 32/GPA 4.0;

SAT 1440/ACT 33/GPA 3.9;

SAT 1490/ACT34/ GPA3.8.

Once admitted, students can choose between two honors tracks.  Track 1 requires 13 hours of honors core classes and seminars; 6 hours of honors credit in the department, college, or major; and a total of 4 hours for honors research and thesis.

Track 2 is essentially an honors in the major track.  It totals 17 hours of honors credit, including the 1 hour freshman honors seminar, 12 hours in the major, and 4 hours for the thesis and research.

The strongest departments at CSU are biological and agricultural engineering 23rd in the nation; civil engineering, 37; environmental engineering, 41;  and overall engineering, 67. Chemistry ranks 45th, statistics 40, and all science departments are ranked number 82 or better in the nation.  Of special importance to pre-vet students is the very high ranking–number 3 in the nation–of CSU’s vet school.

Honors students have a great residential opportunity.  About 240 of the 360 new honors entrants each year can enjoy the amenities of the Honors Academic Village.  The residence hall features two-person suites with a private bath.  Immediately adjacent is one of the best campus dining facilities, Rams Horn Hall.  After freshman year, honors students may live in nearby Edwards Hall, an older facility with traditional rooms and corridor baths.

 

 

Transfer and current CSU must have 3.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Hampshire Honors College: Clarity in the Curriculum

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As we review honors curricula we sometimes encounter so many options that we find it difficult to emerge with a clear impression of the requirements.  The curriculum for the University of New Hampshire Honors College is that rare combination of clarity and flexibility that can be readily understood.

Moreover, the curriculum is extensive, requiring 32 hours of honors credits for graduation if students pursue the University Honors Designation.  This option includes 16 hours of honors seminars, usually limited to 20 students, which also count toward general education requirements.  Then students go on to complete another 16 hours in Honors in Major courses, including at least 4 hours of which are the honors thesis.

This kind of clear integration between honors general education requirements and departmental specialization, including a thesis, strikes us as one of the most sensible ways to structure the honors curriculum.  Students who do not choose to receive the University Honors Designation simply go straight to the Honors in Major track when they reach upper-division status.

A typical first-semester freshman entrant should have an ACT/SAT of at least 29/1970, and rank in the top 10 percent (or equivalent) of her high school class.  Second-semester freshmen may also apply if they rank  in top 10 percent of their college; if students have a 3.4 college GPA but do not rank in the top 10 percent of their college, they may submit a personal essay and teacher recommendations to the honors advisor.

Honors students may apply to live in Hubbard Hall, a co-ed hall that houses about 250 students in traditional rooms with corridor baths.  Hubbard is not as close to some classes as other dorms, but it is still in a good location near Williamson and Christensen residence halls.  All three are very convenient to Philbrook Dining Hall, one of the major dining locations on campus.

Hubbard Hall is definitely the place for the most serious students on the UNH campus.  Here is what some of them say:

“The Hubbard Hall community is perfect for incoming freshmen; it allows them to be around other freshmen and some upperclassmen. Also, it provides a good balance where one can explore social things in a safe way, and still have a quiet place to live and study to come home to.”

“Hubbard is a nice dorm which has an environment that provides many social and academic opportunities for students who wish to make a bunch of new friends as well as maintain their grade point average.”

Among the best academic programs at UNH are earth sciences, history, sociology, and English.  The intellectual law program at the law school is one of the leading programs of its type in the nation.