The core of the Honors College curriculum is a set of five seminar-based courses. These courses emphasize the development of skills in critical reading, writing, and analysis. The first two courses, HON 106 and HON 106 are taken during the freshman year. The remaining three courses, HON 201, 301, and 401, are taken during the three subsequent years.
An examination of the structure and content of knowledge, as well as the ways in which various kinds of knowledge are constituted. The course examines some classical epistemological and ethical texts and also considers the ways in which modern epistemological theories, as well as knowledge forms characteristic of the natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities, have altered and/or affected our understanding of the nature of knowledge.
Examination of the many different modes of being - aspects of the ways in which people think of themselves and behave in the world - through analysis of literary works and through texts that derive from the various social sciences, including psychology.
An exploration of the interconnections between art and society, using the biographies and autobiographies of notable visual artists, performers, and composers when appropriate, but also using other texts that focus on art works by anonymous creators such as the architects and sculptors who designed and created medieval cathedrals or the anonymous lyricists and composers who created the songs and dances of traditional cultures. Close examination of the works themselves is an integral part of the course, generally involving field trips.
An examination of the mutual relations among science, technology, medicine, and society: how the sciences and various technologies affect society and, at the same time, are affected by it. This examination is conducted through the perspectives of disciplines outside the sciences - such as history, philosophy, sociology, and economics--in combination with the natural sciences, applied sciences, clinical medicine, and engineering
Using historical, geographical, sociological, political, and economic perspectives, students examine global issues. This examination may be either topical or regional and may be oriented either toward the past, the present, or the future.
All Honors College students must do a six credit capstone research or creative project, must submit an individually authored thesis (to the project supervisor and to the Honors College Faculty Advisor), and must present the results of the project at the Honors College Symposium. Rules and regulations for completion of this project will be discussed, at length, during the junior year.