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A Warm Welcome
Dear Visitor,
Welcome to the University Honors Program Admissions web site!
Here you will find more information about us than is ever mailed to
you in any of the University's recruitment packets. We hope that you
will not only browse through the Admissions section, but also take time
to look elsewhere on our web site for information about Honors Program
academic opportunities, awards and honors, and co-curricular activities.
This web site will give you a thorough introduction to what an Honors
education is all about at the University of Delaware. And if questions
remain, we urge you to contact us at honorsprogram@udel.edu
or by calling our main office, (302) 831-1195.
University Honors Program
Honors Program Educational Mission Statement
The University Honors Program is an essential component of the University
of Delaware's commitment to educate all of its students to the highest
levels of their individual capacities. Preparing students to make valuable
contributions to society by virtue of their individual interests and
abilities, the University aspires to develop in all of its students
skillful and informed thinking (both cognitive and creative), clear
speaking and writing, sound judgment, and the ability to work collaboratively.
The Honors Program's goal of nurturing a community of scholars who value
and are committed to intellectual pursuit involves both challenging
classroom experiences and enriching out-of-the-classroom activities
organized through the Honors residence halls.
The University Honors Program does not have a required core curriculum;
not only are Honors courses open to any University student with a 3.00
GPA, but students formally admitted to the program also have the option
of tracking through it in a variety of ways, as is discussed elsewhere
on this web site. However, the following general statements about the
Honors Program's provision of enrichment opportunities hold true. In
Honors courses students are expected to be active in their own learning
and to be far-reaching and demanding of themselves in their efforts.
Honors faculty are expected to interact closely and individually with
the students to reach this end. Additionally, Honors instruction emphasizes
both interdisciplinary study and original analysis. It involves wrestling
with primary texts and data sets, doing advanced laboratory work, meeting
difficult challenges, welcoming the unfamiliar, taking intellectual
risks, examining one's own intellectual presuppositions, participating
in lively and thoughtful discussion, and thinking and writing clearly.
The students themselves, with their ability and their dedication to
learning and the resulting personal interactions, are the heart of the
program.
Past experience amply demonstrates that the University Honors Program
benefits the whole University, not least because it has been, and should
continue to be, an optimal setting for pedagogical experiments and innovations
that benefit the whole campus. The University is justly proud of the
numerous innovations that began in Honors and then found wider applications
across the campus. Honors piloted the Undergraduate Research Program,
problem-based learning in the sciences, peer tutoring in the Writing
Fellows Program, faculty presence in residence hall activities and co-curricular
programming, and especially effective admissions recruiting techniques.
The energy, talent, and dedication of these students, living and learning
together, serve as the mainspring of such ventures. Moreover, Honors
students bring to other classes and campus contexts the skills, approaches,
and attitudes toward learning that the Honors experience fosters in
them. In this way, although the program serves directly only a subset
(about 14 percent) of the entire student population, it strives to enhance
the intellectual ambience of the entire university in ways that benefit
all faculty and students.
Visiting Campus
The University Admissions Office holds information sessions and tours
of campus that leave from the Visitors' Center at 196 South College
Avenue. At the information sessions, the admissions staff will answer
questions about the Honors Program. More information about campus visits
can be found on the Admissions
Office web site.
Summer College Program
for High School Juniors
One way to explore the University of Delaware and earn college credit
at the same time is through the University of Delaware Summer College
Program. For five weeks (in late June and most of July) rising high
school seniors take two freshman-level courses with their peers, live
on campus, and participate in a variety of programs that help prepare
them for the transition from high school to college. Courses for Summer
College, taught by the University's faculty, are designed to encourage
students to expand their knowledge in new directions and to provide
a supportive environment where learning is valued for its own sake.
Many of the Summer College students decide to participate in the program
as a way to "try out" the University. That the program succeeds
in this goal is evident from the fact that 89 percent of Summer College
2002 students applied to UD that fall. Ninety-three percent were offered
admission, 24 percent through the Honors Program.
Summer College is administered through the Honors Program. For more
information, please consult the Summer
College web site or call (302) 831-6560.
How to Apply
Freshman Admissions
Entering freshmen usually apply for admissions to the Honors Program
concurrently when they apply for admission to the University. Part I
of the UD application for Admission has a box to check if you are applying
to Honors, and Part II has a section that must be completed by candidates
for the Honors Program. All Honors students are selected by the
UD Admissions Office, not the Honors Program, so please call that office
with admissions questions (302-831-8123). For further information,
please see the Admissions
Office web site.
Those accepted for Honors admission in the fall attend the Honors Program's
sessions at the summer Delaworld 101 (new student orientation) and begin
their Honors coursework and experience in their first semester. A few
freshmen enter the University at midyear; they begin their Honors work
in the spring.
Freshmen admitted to the Honors Program are housed in the Russell Complex
or the adjacent Lane and Thompson residence halls. Living there is a
requirement for all Honors Freshmen; exemptions to live at home are
granted only for economic or health reasons. Under this arrangement
all freshmen Honors students can derive the benifits of living and learning
in an Honors community---one that is not isolated, however, since approximately
40 percent of non-Honors freshmen are included in the mix of residents.
See below for more information on the Russell Complex.
Upper-division admissions
Students who were not admitted to the Honors Program at the time of
application to the University may participate later on. All University
students who have attained a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher in at
least 12 credits at the University of Delaware are eligible to take
Honors courses on a space-available basis. Students who wish to apply
to the University Honors Program must have a 3.40 cumulative GPA at
the University. They must also have completed a minimum of two Honors
courses with grades of B or better and submit an application,
along with two letters of recommendation from Honors faculty members.
The committee reviews applications twice a year; the deadlines for submitting
applications are October 15 and March 15.
Upon acceptance to the program, students are eligible to work toward
the Honors Degree with Distinction, where available. They may also participate
in the extracurricular activities and benefits available to all students
in the Honors program.
Transfer students with high grades from another institution apply for
Honors through the University's application for admission.
For more information on internal transfers, call the Honors Program
Office, (302) 831-1195 or 831-2734. For more information about upper-division
external transfers, call or email Susan
Knight of the Admissions Office at (302) 831-8125.
Current Freshman Class Profile
Becoming familiar with entering statistics of the Class of 2007 is
one way to judge your admissibility to the Honors Program. To see this
year's profile, click here.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to
view this file.
Merit Scholarships
Students who gain admission into the Honors Program generally qualify
for University scholarships. All students whose admission applications
are complete by a date set by the Admissions Office each year are automatically
reviewed for academic scholarships. Awards range from renewable $1,000
awards to the Eugene du Pont Distinguished Memorial Scholarships that
cover full tuition, fees, room, board, and a stipend for books. Contact
the Admissions
Office for more details about scholarships offered through the University.
Freshman Housing
Freshmen admitted to the Honors Program are housed in one of the seven
residence halls that comprise the Russell
Complex. The location is ideal, as it is only a short walk to the
University's Morris Library and academic buildings along the Mall. Also
close by are the Perkins Student Center, the Harrington Fitness Center,
the Russell Dining Hall, and the Harrington Computer Site. Living in
the first-year Honors housing is a requirement for all Honors freshman
(exemptions to live at home are granted for economic or health reasons).
All freshman rooms are doubles, and the halls include attractive lounges
for studying and socializing. All of the halls are coed by alternating
rooms. All rooms are wired for Ethernet, voice mail, and cable TV, including
UD information channels and enhanced FM service.
Honors freshman living in the Russell Complex also benefit from the
mentoring and knowledge of Russell
Fellows--sophomore
and junior students living in the Honors freshmen residence halls. Russell
Fellows plan many enrichment and extracurricular activities for the
freshmen, and are also a wonderful source of inside information and
problem-solving know-how.
To learn more about the first-year Honors housing experience, consult
the Residence Life
web siteand the co-curricular
page of this web site.
Private Music Instruction
A large number of Honors students are accomplished musicians. Typically
close to half of the entering class will indicate proficiency in either
vocal or instrumental music. Most of these students do not intend to
major in music or pursue a musical career. Nonetheless, they are quite
serious about their music study. The Private Music Study Option is designed
to accommodate them.
Individual or small group instruction in either voice or and instrument
is available to incoming Honors freshmen who pass an audition administered
by the Music Department. Please bear in mind that these lessons are
for first-semester Honors freshmen who are already proficient in music.
In other words, this is not a program for beginners.
Auditions are held at the start of the fall semester. Look for information
about Private Music Study at Delaworld 101 or stop by the Music Department
as soon as you arrive on campus in the fall to sign up for an audition.
A limited number of Music Merit Awards are available to allow exceptionally
talented students to continue their music instruction beyond the freshman
year.
The Department of Music at
Delaware offers instruction in the string instruments, brass and woodwinds,
keyboard instruments, percussion, and voice. All students on campus
may audition to participate in one of the department's many choral and
instrumental ensembles, including the two-hundred-member Marching Band.
Freshman Advisement
Delaworld 101
Academic Advising for Honors freshmen begins in the summer before they
actually enroll. Each May, incoming Honors freshmen are assigned an
Honors faculty advisor from their major's department or an Honors professional
staff member if no major is declared. Information describing Delaworld
101 (new student orientation) is then mailed to each freshman, along
with an assigned orientation date in late June or July. Parents are
also welcome, and there are special programs planned for them.
Orientation is a day-long program. You will meet Honors staff and students,
take some placement examinations, and have a conference with your academic
advisor to select and register for your fall classes. By the end of
the day you will know what classes you are taking, when they meet, and
who is teaching them. (You are of course allowed to make changes when
you return to campus in the fall.)
On-campus advisement
Close, sensitive, highly individualized academic advisement is at the
heart of an Honors education. All Honors students will be helped and
guided by either--or both--a departmental faculty advisor or an Honors
Program staff member.
Frequently Asked
Questions--and Answers
What are the advantages
of being in Honors?
Small classes (usually 20-25
students) or separate Honors discussion sections, terrific teaching,
personalized academic advising, enriched degrees, encouragement to do
undergraduate research as early as the freshman year, Honors housing,
Honors extracurricular activities, and contact with many of the brightest,
most highly motivated students on our campus.
Are Honors courses
harder than regular classes?
Honors courses involve
enriched learning experiences that are different from non-Honors classes.
For example, in an Honors calculus course, you may be required to apply
the theoretical concepts you’ve learned to solve real-world problems.
Or in an Honors international relations course, the professor
may have the students demonstrate their understanding of a particular
topic by staging a debate. In Honors courses you will be expected
to go beyond the textbook, the lecture, and the classroom and to engage
in more active learning experiences.
Must I take all of
my coursework in Honors sections?
No. Freshmen only take about half their work in
Honors, and upperclass students take as many or as few Honors courses
as they want. Students decide
each semester, in conversation with their faculty and program advisors,
where and how they’d like to pursue Honors challenges in the classroom.
Do I really want to spend my freshman year living
only with Honors students?
We hope not! At Delaware, Honors students are not
separated from other students. The
Honors freshman halls are 60-65% Honors and 35-40% non-Honors. While you have the support of fellow Honors
students, you are still a part of the wider University. Honors enrolls 500 new freshmen per year; the
University as a whole enrolls approximately 3,200 new freshmen.
Do I have to major in a particular subject?
No. You may major in any department on campus.
Delaware offers over 120 different majors.
Please note, though, that Honors Degrees are available in 84
majors.
When I graduate, what will be the practical benefits
of my Honors work?
It's hard to quantify the value of an Honors education.
We know, however, that during the past 10 years alone our graduates
have included three Rhodes Scholars, a Mellon Scholar, a British Marshall
Scholar, a Mitchell Scholar, a Udall Scholar, a Rotary Club Ambassadorial
Scholarship, and numerous Truman and Goldwater Scholars, as well as
students who are either attending law or medical school or earning graduate
degrees at such schools as Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, California
Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Columbia,
Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, and many, many others.
Having said this, we must also say that gaining admission
into a quality graduate program or landing a prestigious job ought not
to be the primary reasons for seeking an Honors education.
If you are a “bright, high-achieving student,” you will continue
to be a bright, high-achieving student whether you do Honors or not.
But Honors can affect the kind of pleasure you derive
from your education. Bright
students take Honors classes and do undergraduate research because these
experiences excite their imagination and satisfy their intellectual
curiosity and because they are fun.
How does the freshman year differ for an Honors
student?
It differs in two respects. First,
nearly half your coursework (at least 12 credits) must be Honors classes. Honors classes typically involve more work
with primary documents and encourage more seminar-like discussion. The one course unique to the program that is
required of all first-year students, the interdisciplinary Honors
Colloquium, will give you a broadly interdisciplinary exposure to
intellectual and cultural issues. Second, Honors freshmen live
in the Russell Complex, which includes seven residence halls (Russell
A, B, C, D, and E and Lane and Thompson Halls) where the residents are
about 60-65% Honors students and 35-40% non-Honors students. It’s like a "small college" community
with lots of extracurricular social and cultural programming.
What happens after the freshman year?
Upper-division students have no single set of requirements.
They take Honors courses, pursue the General Honors Award or
an enriched degree, do research, or engage in none of these. As for housing: they might stay in the Russell Complex as Russell
Fellows, live in Honors housing in Brown, Sypherd, Harter, Sharp, Cannon,
New Castle or the Ray Street halls, live elsewhere on campus, or move
off-campus.
Will I have time for outside activities?
Yes. UD Honors students are a remarkably active
group: they include former high
school musicians, athletes, debaters, theatre buffs, newspaper and
yearbook editors, peer tutors, quiz bowl and Model UN enthusiasts, and
class officers, and many participants in community service and other
volunteer activities. We expect you to have a life outside the classroom.
In fact, at Delaware Honors students are over-represented
in student activities. For example,
one-third of the University's Marching Band is comprised of students
who entered the University through the Honors Program.
I'm pursuing a professional major.
What's the benefit of my being in Honors?
Honors degrees are available, not only in most of the traditional liberal
arts and science majors, but also in many professional majors, including
business administration, accounting, early childhood education, and
all of the majors in the College of Engineering. What's
more, even students in majors that do not have Honors degrees may take
Honors courses and benefit from small class sizes, Honors housing, and
Honors academic advising. And all Honors students, regardless of major,
may apply their Honors credits toward the General Honors Award, the
Honors Degree, or the Honors Degree with Distinction.
How
do I apply for admission to Honors?
And if I am not admitted to Honors, will I still be considered
for admission to the University?
Part I of the UD Application for Admission has a box to check if you
are applying to Honors, and Part II has a section that must be completed
by candidates for the Honors Program.
If you are not admitted into Honors, your application will still
be automatically reviewed for general admission to the University.
You lose nothing by applying to Honors.
You may also re-apply to Honors as a matriculated UD
student; a cumulative
UD GPA of 3.40, six credits of Honors coursework, and letters of recommendation
from two faculty members are required.
Is
there an added fee for being in the Honors Program?
No.
Contact Information
Mailing address:
University Honors Program
Elliott Hall, 26 East Main Street
Newark, Delaware 19716-1256
Telephone: (302) 831-1195
Fax: (302) 831-4194
E-mail: honorsprogram@udel.edu
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