Course Attributes

The Honors Curriculum and Requirements are organized by the attributes we expect students to have demonstrated by completion of the Program. Those attributes are: breadth, collaborative capacity, global awareness, civic engagement, command of language, and depth. We ask our instructors to help us identify which attributes their courses help students fulfill.

Please read through the attributes below and let us know which requirements students should receive credit for after earning a B or higher in your course.

Breadth—Interdisciplinary

Each discipline and profession has its own way of identifying problems, collecting and analyzing evidence and then making conclusions. Interdisciplinary courses bring these variant methodologies together. You will examine the world through multiple lenses, expanding your ability to relate with scholars and professionals in a range of fields. Diversity of knowledge will increase your capacity to address the problems of the world today.

Collaborative Capacity

Collaborative learning capitalizes on each individual’s resources, making for a more rounded, deeper and wider base on which to build. Dynamic interactivity prepares you to be a team player in the professional and social situations which you will encounter in the future. Please let us know if students will take part in an experience in a group of three or more individuals where the grade for the assessment of the experience counts for a substantial amount of the final grade (30% or more).

Global Awareness

Global connectivity increases daily and with it the need to understand international interdependence as well as the history of power relationships between nations and cultures. Please let us know if your course material covers an area of study (exclusive of the United States) that is historically different in cultural, ethnic and linguistic heritage, and if that area would be considered non-Eurocentric (i.e., non-USA/European; the study of First-Nations/Native American peoples and cultures qualifies as non-Eurocentric).

Command of Language—Public Presentation

Courses in public speaking, broadcasting, and acting will routinely satisfy this condition. Any other course may qualify, by petition, if it requires a public presentation of at least 15 minutes that is subject to critical faculty review.