|
Close, sensitive, highly individualized academic advising is at the heart
of Honors education. All Honors students are assigned a University faculty
or Honors Program staff member to help guide and advise them. Assignments
are based on a student's major and course schedule, typically during
Delaworld 101 (new student orientation). Students who change majors
or seek a new advisor for any reason will be reassigned, usually by
the department of the student's major but in collaboration with the
Honors Program Office (831-1195).
Advance
Registration FAQs - Spring 2004
Types of Honors Classes
Two varieties: Most Honors classes
are Honors sections of regular University courses. They meet the same
general education, departmental, and University requirements that their
specific non-Honors counterparts do. They occur in two forms:
- "free-standing" Honors sections. Enrollment in these classes is
kept small (usually 20 students).
- "add-on" Honors sections. Students participate in the activities
of a correlative regular section but also have the enrichment experiences
associated with the instructor and a somewhat different pattern
of assignments and expectations.
Courses unique to the Honors Program include the following:
First-Year Interdisciplinary Honors Colloquia
These three-credit writing-intensive interdisciplinary first-year seminars
are broadly conceived, generally going beyond conventional disciplinary
boundaries and focusing on topics of enduring significance. Colloquia
are intellectually rigorous without requiring more than a high-school
background in a field. They are elementary not in the sense of preparing
students for further study in a discipline, but rather in the sense
of preparing them for further skilled, reflection on issues and ideas
of interest to all educated people.
Intensive reading, thoughtful analysis, and good writing are expected
of colloquia participants. Informed discussions, rather than lectures,
and attention to primary sources typify Honors colloquia. All
first-year Honors students, regardless of their intended college or
major, are required to take one Honors colloquium to be eligible for
a General Honors Award. Approximately
ten colloquia are offered each semester; these courses satisfy college
general education requirements.
Honors Forum Classes
Special one-credit course offerings, some lasting an entire semester
and others for only a few weeks, are called Honors
forum classes.
Honors Tutorials
Patterned after the method of instruction in the British university
system, tutorials consist of no more than four students and a faculty
member who meet to discuss "Great Books" -- those lasting
works that are part of the common cultural heritage of educated people.
An Honors tutorial meets the Arts and Science Group A and Second Writing
requirements. It also satisfies the senior capstone course requirement
for the Honors Degree and the Honors Degree with Distinction
if taken in one of the final two semesters of a student's undergraduate
degree. Tutorials are open to any qualified junior or senior in the
Honors Program, but priority is given to senior Honors Degree candidates.
Honors Degree Seminars
These advanced interdisciplinary courses, open to qualified Honors juniors
and seniors, address topics of common interest to students from different
majors. An Honors Degree seminar satisfies the senior capstone course
requirement for the Honors Degree and the Honors Degree with Distinction
if taken in one of the final two semesters of a student's
undergraduate career. Not all "seminar" courses count for
this purpose--only those marked as such in the "Honors Degree Seminar"
section of the Honors coursebook each term will be accepted for the
Honors Degree or Honors Degree with Distinction.
Alison Scholars Seminars
Restricted to Alison Scholars, these interdisciplinary seminars may
be taken by other Honors students by permission. Designed to continue
the additional emphasis on humanistic studies that characterize the
courses of study devised by Alison Scholars, these classes also fulfill
general education requirements at a higher level of study than those
courses typically approved for general education credit.
In many cases, Alison Scholars seminars may be used to satisfy the senior
capstone course requirement for the Honors Degree and the Honors Degree
with Distinction if taken in one of the final two semesters of a student's
undergraduate career.
Individual Honors Sections
A student or small group of students enrolled in a non-Honors section
of an appropriate course can, with the instructor's consent, arrange
to receive Honors credit for the course. They need to complete an application
that includes the instructor's description of the enrichment features
that will justify the Honors credit for the course. The application
form requires the signature
of the instructor, the instructor's department, and the Honors Program;
it must be filed no later than the end of the second week of classes
in the new semester. For more information, call 831-2734.
Independent Study
With the consent of a faculty sponsor and the Honors Program, a student
may enroll for Honors credit in an independent
study course. A form is needed
to initiate the process. This is most often done through the Undergraduate
Research Program. For other sorts of Honors Independent Study, call
831-1195.
Study Abroad
Qualified students may be able to receive Honors credit for courses
offered abroad in some of the programs sponsored by the University.
Brochures and applications for study-abroad programs can be obtained
from the Office of International Programs and Special Sessions. The
Honors Program recommends inquiring about Honors Credit before registering
for a particular course and program (call Honors at 831-2734 or
Marion Bernard-Amos in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures,
831-6458).
Semester Course Listings
Semester Course Listings are viewable only using Adobe Acrobat
Reader; a download is available at www.adobe.com.
To search for a particular class, select the binoculars icon on the
top toolbar and follow online instructions.
Spring 2004 |
Spring
2004 Capstone Courses |
Spring 2004 Recently Added Courses
Winter 2004
Past Semesters:
Fall
2003 | Spring 2003 |
Winter 2003 | Fall 2002 |
Spring 2002 | Winter
2002 | Fall 2001 | Spring
2001 | Fall 2000 | Spring
2000
General Education Group Approvals
for Colloquia
General Education Group Approvals for Colloquia are viewable only using
Adobe Acrobat Reader; a download is available at www.adobe.com.
Note: Dashes in the charts mean that you should see your
college Dean's Office for clarification.
Spring 2004
Past Semesters: Fall
2003 |Spring 2003 |
Fall 2002 | Spring 2002 | Fall
2001 | Spring 2001 | Fall
2000 | Spring 2000 | Fall
1999 | Spring 1999 | Fall
1998 | Spring 1998 | Fall
1997 | Spring 1997
Approved Capstone Courses
At the end of their course of study, UD students integrate
their previous work in a culminating experience such as a senior seminar,
group project, field work, or similar activity. Please consult the Capstone
course list for courses that have been approved for the Honors Degree
and Honors Degree with Distinction.
Senior Thesis
A requirement for the Honors Degree with Distinction and the Degree
with Distinction, the senior thesis is the culmination of a yearlong
major independent research or creative project. It addresses imortant
unanswered questions and makes an original and valuable contribution
to the scholarly, scientific, or artistic community. Its format and
length depend on the discipline involved.
Students should explore topics of interest as early as the sophomore
year so they can select courses for the junior and senior years that
are related to their research needs. An appointment with an advisor
in the Undergraduate Research Office (not the Honors Program) is required
early in the junior year to discuss program requirements and receive
application materials. During the junior year the student will find
a faculty member to direct the thesis and develop a topic.
In the second semester of the junior year, the student will find a
second faculty reader and write a preliminary proprosal, due May 15
of that year. In the senior year the student will take 6 credits of
UNIV 401 and 402, the Senior Thesis course, in successive semesters.
A special feature of the thesis program at UD, this course reserves
a weekly time slot for a series of required meetings that are designed
to assist senior thesis candidates by enabling them to share research
work in-progress with their peers. The course concludes with the Undergraduate
Research Symposium, an important part of Honors Weekend in early May.
At this half-day conference, many senior thesis candidates present their
research to an audience of peers, faculty, and family members. Each
thesis candidate also prepares an individual thesis defense for his
or her committee in May.
Enrichment Opportunities
Honors Program Opportunities
Alison Scholars
The Alison Scholars Program is available by invitation only to ten
to fifteen Honors Program students who have demonstrated a special aptitude
for humanistic studies. The program is named after Dr. Francis Alison,
a colonial scholar and founder (in 1743) of the New London Academy,
regarded as the forerunner of the University of Delaware.
Benefits of the program include Alison Scholar Seminars, which expose
students to major issues in literature and the arts, science, politics,
and world affairs; a faculty mentoring board to help the Scholars devise
their courses of study; early introduction to enrichment activities;
and the opportunity to substitute upper-division coursework for general
education requirements.
First-year Alison Scholars are selected each spring from students majoring
in the arts, humanities, or social sciences who have been offered fall
admission into the University Honors Program. Other students
are invited to join the program at the end of their freshman year.
Writing Fellows Program
The Writing Fellows Program trains advanced undergraduates to work
one-on-one with student writers in a number of different academic settings.
The program rests on two assumptions: (1) writing is an extended process
that generally involves brainstorming, outlines, edits, and revision;
and (2) instruction works best when it is individualized. To accomplish
this goal, advanced undergraduate Fellows are chosen through a competitive
and rigorous selection process to assist faculty members in writing-intensive
courses, including (but not limited to) first-year interdisciplinary
Honors colloquia. Currently, Fellows are also working in the University
Writing Center and with students enrolled in the McNair
Scholars Program, the LIFE Program,
and NUCLEUS. Writing Fellows
are tutors, not teaching assistants: they work with students on such
matters as theses, coherence, evidence, organization, paragraphing,
transitions, and grammar, but they do not assign grades or comment on
the paper's content.
In addition to its obvious benefit to students being tutored in writing,
the Writing Fellows Program has proved to be of equal benefit to the
sophomores and juniors who take a three-credit-hour training course
(ENGL 316, Peer Tutoring/Advanced Composition) the semester before they
begin tutoring. The Fellows work closely with both the Coordinator of
the Writing Fellows Program and individual faculty members teaching
specific courses to which they have been assigned. Many of them report
major strides in their own writing and decide to go on to write Honors
theses. They have also reported that the Fellowship is a central focus
of their graduate and law school interviews. Each year some enter professional
careers in publishing, advertising, and science and technology writing.
For more information about this program, please contact
Ray Peters, 831-8567. The Writing
Fellows Program page features a mission statement and resources
for students, fellows, faculty, and visitors.
University-wide Opportunities
Dean's Scholars
The Dean's Scholar Program serves the needs of students whose clearly
defined educational goals cannot be effectively achieved by pursuing
the standard curricula for existing majors, minors, and interdepartmental
majors sponsored by the University. Driven by an overarching passion
or curiosity that transcends typical disciplinary bounds and curricula,
a Dean's Scholar's intellectual interests may lead to broad interdisciplinary
explorations of an issue or to more intense, in-depth studies in a single
field at a level akin to graduate work.
Working with a team of faculty advisors, Dean's Scholars design an
individualized program to meet their educational goals and are offered
some flexibility in meeting degree requirements. The program is available
in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arts and Science,
Business and Economics, Health and Nursing Sciences, and Human Services,
Education, and Public Policy. Dean's Scholars in Arts and Science and
in Agriculture and Natural Resources may qualify for Honors Degrees.
Information and the application procedures for the
Dean's Scholars Program
may be found at http://www.udel.edu/deansscholar/.
Medical Scholars
The Medical Scholars Program is a cooperative venture between the
University of Delaware and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia
that integrates liberal arts, science, and professional studies for
premedical students. Medical scholars follow an undergraduate curriculum
that includes traditional studies in the life and health sciences as
well as courses in the humanities, ethics, social sciences, economics,
political sciences, and health policy. Students receive a Bachelor of
Arts in Liberal Studies degree, and as early as the end of the sophomore
year, conditional acceptance to Jefferson Medical College. For more
information, contact the director, Dr.
Roger Wagner, 831-8195, or consult the Medical
Scholars web site.
Undergraduate Research Program
This program provides exceptionally capable and highly motivated undergraduates,
while they are still beginners, to participate in what is happening
on the frontiers of knowledge today by serving as assistants or junior
members of research teams. Through hands-on experience, students learn
to formulate significant questions, develop investigative procedures,
gather and examine evidence, follow hunches, detect loopholes, and evaluate
and report results.
For more information, contact the Undergraduate Research Program office
by e-mail at undergradresearch@udel.edu
, by telephone at 831-8995, or by visiting the
Undergraduate Research Program
web site.
Honors Study Abroad
The University of Delaware offers students in any college a variety
of opportunities to participate in one or more study-abroad programs
in the fall and spring semesters and during the winter and summer sessions.
In non-English-speaking countries the language of instruction varies,
depending on the program selected; some are offered in English, some
in the language of the host country. Some programs are coordinated by
a University faculty member who accompanies the students abroad and
teaches in the program. The Center
for International Studies (4 Kent Way) provides overall coordination.
All study-abroad courses carry University of Delaware credit; Honors
credit can sometimes be arranged.
Study-abroad semester programs are currently held in several European
countries. The most recent
offerings and preliminary schedule are maintained on the Study Abroad
web site. The countries in which winter and summer session study-abroad
courses are offered vary from year to year. Recent programs have been
held in Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan,
Martinique, Mexico, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania,
and other countries. For information on participation requirements,
costs, financial assistance, and a brochure describing the programs
available, visit the Center for International Studies at 4 Kent Way,
call at (302) 831-2852, or send an e-mail to Study Abroad at studyabroad@udel.edu.
Consortium Opportunities
Bank Street Five-Step Program
Five-Step is a program for Arts and Science majors in the Honors Program
who are interested in entering the teaching profession. The program
allows these students to begin professional study for the Master's Degree
and teacher certification while they are still undergraduates. Participants
attend Bank Street Graduate College of Education in New York City during
the summer after their junior year. Then, after graduation from UD,
they return to Bank Street for one additional summer and one full academic
year to obtain the Master's Degree. Bank
Street, one of the nation's premier teacher education graduate schools,
emphasizes integration of theory with substantial guided hands-on practice.
Scholarships of $3000 to help cover the cost of the summer session in
NYC are available on a competitive basis from the Undergraduate
Research Program (188 Orchard Rd., 831-8995). Contact Dr.
Joan Bennett, Coordinator of the Undergraduate Research Program,
for more information or help in applying.
|