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What is the University Honors Program? |
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Presidential Scholar Brian Brush
2005 Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Recipient |
| It is a community of academically motivated students who think for themselves, are willing to take responsibility for their own learning, like to read and discuss ideas, engage in argument combined with critical thinking, and enjoy small interdisciplinary classes. They also participate in community service, fund-raising for scholarships, outdoor activities, and special seminars, conferences, and symposia. |
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| How and when do you apply for the Honors Program? |
| You can apply anytime, even before entering MSU. The application process requires a completed application form; an essay on a topic of your choice, not to exceed 500 words; a statement about your academic career plans; a reference letter from a faculty member; and an official high school or college transcript. |
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What are the Requirements of the Honors Program? |
| Once admitted to the University Honors Program, students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average. Students whose grade point averages fall below 3.0 are dropped from the program and cannot live in Honors residence halls. Honors students are required to take UH 201 and 202 (see below), preferably in their first year at MSU. These courses do not have to be taken in sequence; however, both courses are prerequisites for the 400-level Honors seminars. |
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To graduate with an Honors degree, students must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average, 16-28 hours of Honors courses (depending upon the level of the degree), and one year or equivalency of a single foreign language. Please see Honors Degree Requirements for specific requirements. |
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| An Honors degree is awarded as a separate degree in addition to the degree a student earns in the major department. A special commencement is held for those receiving Honors degrees. |
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What are Honors courses? |
| Most Honors courses are equivalencies for university core courses. Therefore Honors students can, with careful planning, get an Honors degree without taking additional credits. Honors courses, however, are more challenging and usually require more reading and writing than other courses. Enrollment rarely exceeds 15 students, and classes are taught by top faculty, usually in seminar-style. |
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| The University Honors Program courses are designated by the UH rubric. UH courses have restricted entry; contact Amanda Drysdale, UHP Program Assistant, in Quad D for registration information regarding University Honors Program courses. |
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| Honors Courses |
UH 201 "Texts and Critics: Knowledge"
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| UH 202 "Texts and Critics: Imagination" |
| These courses are required of all Honors students, most of whom enroll in their first year at MSU. As interdisciplinary seminars with 15 or fewer students, they include critical reading and analysis of seminal texts in the humanities, arts, social studies, sciences, and the history of ideas. There is particular emphasis on analysis and criticism of ideas through argument, writing, and oral communication. These classes are taught by the Honors Director, Associate Director, and other distinguished faculty from all departments in the university. Upper-class Honors students co-teach the classes as well. Instruction is Socratic-style and includes writing and oral argumentation tutorials. UH 201, "Knowledge," is a "US" (University Seminar) core course, and UH 202, "Imagination," will substitute for an "IH" (Inquiry Humanities) course for Honors students. Please inform your advisor that you are taking these courses for core credits so you do not duplicate these core designations unless you choose to do so. |
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UH 204 "Great Expeditions" |
This course combines a semester course with a trip to a special place at the end of the semester. Past "Great Expeditions" have been to the Green River, the Baja Peninsula, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, the Vancouver Straits in Alaska, France, and England. No prerequisite. |
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Great Expeditions 2006 |
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The Vienna Woods to the Black Forest:
Music and Economics from Bach to Berg |
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| Great Expeditions |
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| Students Exploring the Vancouver Straits |
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| UH 210-01 "Mentoring Gifted Children |
| This is a service program in which Honors students teach within the Bozeman Public Schools Gifted and Talented Education program. No prerequisites; may be repeated. |
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| UH 400-404 Honors Seminars |
| The seminars change from semester to semester, and range in topic. See Honors Seminars for the current academic year seminar offerings. Honors seminars have core designations. With careful planning, students can fulfill both the Honors degree requirements and specific core designations. |
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| Honors Contract |
| This contract permits a student to complete extra work in an upper-division departmental course in order to receive Honors credits for it. Director's approval required. |
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| Individual Problems |
| These are independent research projects or studies directed by faculty members. |
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| Honors Tutorials |
| Tutorials occur in two forms: independent studies with faculty members OR serving as a student instructor for "Texts and Critics." |
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| Honors Thesis |
| The thesis, required for an Honors degree with highest distinction, is a research/creative project supervised by a faculty member and may be in the student's major. |
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| Honors Sections of Core Departmental Classes |
CHEMISTRY
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| CHEM 141: Honors General Chemistry I |
| CHEM 142: Honors General Chemistry II |
| CHEM 314: Honors Organic Chemistry I |
| CHEM 315-01: Honors Organic Chemistry II |
| (Report to 108 Gaines for registration.) |
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| ECONOMICS |
| ECON 250IS: Honors Economics |
(spring semester only)
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| (Register in the Honors Program office in Quad D.) |
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| MATH |
| MATH 191Q: Honors Calculus and Analytic Geometry I |
| MATH 192Q: Honors Calculus and Analytic Geometry II |
| MATH 235Q: Honors Calculus of Functions of Several Variables |
| STAT 226Q: Honors Elementary Statistics |
| Eligibility includes a math score of 690 on the SAT or 29 on the ACT. |
| (Register in the Honors Program office in Quad D.) |
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| MUSIC |
| MUS 248IA: Honors Music and Society |
| (spring semester only) |
| This program provides an academically rigorous and stimulating course, incorporating music appreciation and music history from Bach to Jimi Hendrix. |
| (Register in the Honors Program office in Quad D) |
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| PHYSICS |
| PHYS 221: Honors General & Modern Physics I |
| PHYS 222: Honors General & Modern Physics II |
| (Report to EPS 264 for registration.) |
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| SOCIOLOGY |
| Sociology 110IS: Honors Sociological Inquiry |
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For more details on the Honors courses,
see the Current Honors Courses or the MSU Bulletin.
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| Advanced Placement Courses |
| These courses may be used for university credit but not for Honors credits. |
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| CLEP (College Level Examination Program) |
| CLEP tests are available in certain subjects (see current MSU Bulletin) for university credit. The tests may be taken daily on an appointment basis. Go to 243 Reid Hall to pick up an application and register. You may satisfy the Honors Program foreign language requirement with a CLEP test in French, German, or Spanish. Other languages may be tested through arrangements with the Modern Language Department. |
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| Honors Residence Halls |
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Honors students may choose to live in Honors residence halls, Atkinson Quadrangle B, D, and E. The "Quads" are gracious buildings surrounded by giant blue spruce trees, an expanse of lawn, and flowers. The buildings are coed, with women on one floor and men on another. Each residence hall has a first floor living room with a wood-burning fireplace, a full-size, equipped kitchen, dining room, and laundry. Honors dorms are typically quiet, and students often form study and discussion groups. Although meals are served in the nearby Hannon Hall cafeteria, residents of the Quads often hold dinner parties on the weekends. The University Honors Program office and Directors' offices are in Quads D and E. |
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| Publications |
The University Honors Program produces two publications. The first, Arête, is the Honors Program literary magazine. Students from the Honors Program submit poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for selection by an editorial board. |
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| The Honorarium is the Honors student newsletter which is published throughout the school year. It goes out to all Honors students and is a major source of information and announcements. |
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| "Hike and Read" |
| Before fall semester classes begin, Honors students, faculty, and guest speakers stay in the beautiful Paradise Valley between Livingston and Yellowstone National Park at Camp Templed Hills for a three-day retreat. The invited speakers select readings that are sent out to all participants in advance. After a day of floating down the Yellowstone River and another day of hiking, students interact with outstanding speakers on stimulating topics covered in the readings. The cost is reasonable, the meals are filling, and the setting is spectacular. Other activities include singing with folk singers, dancing, fireside seminars, and a dip in the Boiling River in Yellowstone. It is great fun, a wonderful way to meet fellow Honors students, and an extraordinary way to begin one's college experience. |
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| National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) |
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Each year the National Collegiate Honors Council meets in a large American city. Honors students from around the nation and Honors directors attend special sessions in which they present academic research papers, attend poster sessions, and share ideas about their individual programs. Outstanding researchers, writers, and artists speak at plenary sessions. Also, students take tours to special places in the host cities to study "The City as Text." Montana State University students have been selected to make presentations at the National Collegiate Honors Council conferences for several years, and have had their research papers published in the National Honors Report. |
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