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Honors Program Progression Path and Advising Guide

TYPICAL FIRST & SECOND YEAR “CORE” COURSES

By design, the Honors curriculum gets more flexible the longer a student attends Western Oregon University. It’s not uncommon, for instance, for a student to take three Honors courses every term during her first year but only 1-2 courses each term during sophomore year. Completing the following requirements in your first two years means you are “on track.”

☐ CA 101H: Honors Music (3 credits)- Not required for music majors/minors- AP/IB/etc. music classes may apply- Non-performance based

☐ CA 102H: Honors Art (3 credits)- Not required for art majors/minors- All pre-education majors can take A 115 or A 130 instead (A 130 is a pre-req for AE 433, required in many Ed tracks)

☐ CA 103H: Honors Theater (3 credits)- Not required for theater majors/minors

☐ ENG 107H: History of Western Literature I (4 credits) ☐ ENG 108H: History of Western Literature II (4 credits)

- AP/IB/etc. literature can apply to either 107H or 108H, not both - AP/IB/etc. writing credits do not apply

- Both required for English lit majors, regardless of AP/IB

☐ PHL 201H: Honors Philosophy I: Intro to Metaphysics and Epistemology (3 credits)☐ PHL 202H: Honors Philosophy II: Intro to Ethics (3 credits)

- IB Philosophy credit can apply to either PHL 201H or 202H- Required for all Honors students, including philosophy majors/minors

☐ GEOG 106H: Introduction to Economic Geography (4 credits)☐ GEOG 107H: Introduction to Cultural Geography (4 credits)

- AP/IB/etc. history credits apply to only 1 GEOG course- Non-honors LACC social science credits prior to college or as required in a major/minor can apply to 1 GEOG course

☐ Non-Honors: Social Science Requirement (3-4 credits)- One course, chosen from non-honors 100- and 200-level social

science offerings listed on the LACC guide - AP/IB/etc. history credits apply here first- PSY 201, 202, and 218 are also allowed

☐ GS 201H/L: Honors Biology (4 credits)- Not required for science or exercise science majors- When BI 102 is required in a major/minor, students should take

BI 102 instead of GS 201H- Early Childhood/elementary Ed majors should take GS 201H because

BI 101 is required in that track. If these students also take BI 102, then BI 102 will count for either GS 202H or 203H

- AP/IB/etc. biology does apply

☐ GS 202H/L: Honors General/Earth Science I (4 credits)- Not required for science or exercise science majors- GS 202H/L counts also in ED track earth science requirements

☐ GS 203H/L: Honors General/Earth Science II (4 credits)- Not required for science or exercise science majors- GS 203H/L counts also in ED track earth science requirements

HONORS COLLOQUIA (PREVIOUSLY “ELECTIVES/SEMINARS”)

During an honors student’s junior and senior years, the focus shifts to working on major/minor requirements, completing honors colloquia, and working on the honors thesis/senior project. Students who choose to study abroad often do so in either sophomore or junior year.

☐ Honors Colloquia (3 courses required, 9-12 credits total)

During the 2014-15 academic year, the Honors Program implemented the new name “Honors Colloquia” to refer to all Honors elective and seminar courses.

The colloquia requirement must be satisfied with Honors courses; no substitutes or AP/IB etc. credit can apply.

A course counts as a colloquium if it is not listed as one of the bolded courses above.

Colloquia topics change annually, based on proposals submitted by faculty to the Faculty Senate Honors Committee. Examples of some recently offered courses are:

LIB 399H: History of the Book as Disruptive TechnologyLING 210H: Introduction to Linguistics (Honors)PHL 399H: Mysticism in World Religious TraditionsPS 399H: Environmental Politics PSY 199H: History of Cognition

HONORS THESIS/SENIOR PROJECT

All Honors students must complete a thesis or culminating project, typically in their junior and senior years. These projects can be creative, scholarly, scientific, pedagogical, or community-service based. All Honors students write thesis proposals that are evaluated by the Faculty Senate Honors Committee. Students learn more about the thesis process by taking the following required courses:

☐ H 303: Honors Thesis Orientation (2 credits)

- Taken during fall term, six terms prior to graduation (junior yr.)- Math majors should take this class fall term of their final year

☐ H 353: Honors Thesis Development (2 credits)- Taken during spring term, four terms prior to graduation- Not required for history, psychology, math, computer science, or health/exercise science majors, who receive credit for such courses as PSY 467, MTH 403, CS 430, and HE 473.

☐ H 403: Honors Thesis Independent Study (1-6 credits)- Not required for math, psychology, or history majors, who receive credit for such courses as PSY 468, and MTH 404- Repeatable for up to 6 credits but only 1 credit is required- If needed, can be taken twice in same term (say 4 + 2 credits)

WAIVERS

Participation in the Honors Program waives students out of the following WOU requirements. If a student drops out from the Honors Program, they will need to complete the regular LACC requirements and the following requirements will be reinstated:

☐ WR 135: College Writing II☐ COM 111: Public Speaking☐ PE 131: Individual Health and Fitness☐ PE Activity: Physical Education Activity Courses☐ ED 200: Foundations of Education (waived for any/all

elementary-focused ED majors)

It’s important to remember that although a requirement might be waived, the academic content and benefits of that subject should not be discounted. This is especially true for physical activity, which has demonstrable effects on cognition.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADUATION

Participation in Honors does NOT waive students out of the following WOU degree requirements. These are required of all WOU students who are pursuing bachelor degrees .

Bachelor of Ar ts

☐ Computer Science: CS 101 or above (2-3 credits required)☐ Language Proficiency: through second year, ie. courses numbered 203☐ Writing Intensive requirements are satisfied by Honors courses☐ Mathematics: MTH 105 or above (4 credits) * ED students satisfy this requirement with MTH 211, 212, and 213, although all 3 courses must be completed to count.

Bachelor of Science

☐ Computer Science and Mathematics: CS 121 or above and MTH 111 or above(12 credits required, at least one math and one CS)

* ED students satisfy this requirement with MTH 211, 212, and 213, although all 3 must be completed to count. ☐ Cultural Diversity requirements are satisfied by Honors Courses☐ Writing Intensive requirements are satisfied by Honors Courses

To continue in WOU Honors past sophomore year, a student must earn a minimum 3.0 WOU-cumulative G.P.A.

To graduate from WOU Honors, a student must earn a minimum 3.25 WOU-cumulative G.P.A. To graduate from WOU, all students must complete a minimum of 62 upper-division credit hours

(300 or 400-level classes) and 45 of the final 60 credits must also be completed at WOU.