Honors Program University of Michigan-Flint

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The Honors Program consists of a Freshman/Sophomore core curriculum of Honors courses and a Junior/Senior concentration that includes an Off-Campus Study Semester, a Senior Thesis, and a Senior Honors Seminar.

Students completing the entire program are named University Honors Program Scholars and have such recorded on their transcripts and diplomas along with departmental and/or school honors. Students completing the two-year Junior/Senior Transfer Program are named Junior/Senior University Honors Program Scholars and have such recorded on their transcripts and diplomas along with departmental and/or school honors.

Admission Requirements

Entering freshmen who have been accepted into the University of Michigan-Flint submit a separate application for the Honors Program available online at www.umflint.edu/honors.
Selection is based on a variety of factors including strength and diversity of curriculum and extracurricular activities, a writing sample, ACT scores, grade point average, and class rank.
GPA of 3.5 or higher and Composite ACT score of 26 or higher are recommended.

The Four-Year University Honors Program

Requirements.

Completion of the Following

HON 155 , HON 156 , HON 251 , HON 252 , HON 393 .
Five Honors Elections or independent study projects.
One Off Campus Proposal HON 494 and one Off Campus Study Experience in the student’s major HON 495 .
Honors Thesis HON 496 .
Senior Seminar HON 498 .
Foreign language requirement fulfilled in one of the following ways:
1. Completion of the 211 course of any foreign language currently offered at the University of Michigan-Flint.
2. Completion of a one-credit Honors directed reading course in the language of choice, FRN 205 , GER 205 , LAT 205 , SPN 205 or the 205 level of any foreign language currently offered at the University of Michigan-Flint.
3. Placement out of the 211 course and into a higher-level language course.
Completion of all university requirements and requirements for the major area of concentration.

The Junior/Senior Transfer Program

Admission Requirements

Sophomores students at the University of Michigan-Flint and students with sophomore standing who transfer into the University of Michigan-Flint may submit an application for the Junior/Senior level of the Honors Program available online at www.umflint.edu/honors.
Selection is based on a variety of factors including strength and diversity of curriculum and extracurricular activities, a writing sample, grade point average, and two letters of recommendation.
GPA of 3.7 or higher is recommended.

Requirements.

Completion of the Following

HON 355 , HON 393 .
Two Honors Elections or independent study projects.
One Off-Campus Proposal HON 494 and one Off-Campus Study Experience in the student’s major HON 495 .
Honors Thesis HON 496 .
Senior Seminar HON 498 .
Foreign language requirement fulfilled in one of the following ways:
1. Completion of the 211 course of any foreign language currently offered at the University of Michigan-Flint.
2. Completion of a one-credit Honors directed reading course in the language of choice, FRN 205 , GER 205 , LAT 205 , SPN 205 or the 205 level of any foreign language currently offered at the University of Michigan-Flint.
3. Placement out of the 211 course and into a higher-level language course.
Completion of all University requirements and requirements for the major area of concentration.

Honors GPA Requirement

In order to remain in good standing in the freshman/sophomore phase of the program students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.3.
In order to receive funding to go off-campus, students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.4.
In order to graduate from the four-year program, students must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Special Features of the Honors Program

Honors Elections
Honors Elections are independent study projects completed in conjunction with any course except HON 155 , HON 156 , HON 251 , HON 252 , HON 355 , HON 498 . They may be completed in conjunction with HON 393 and HON 292 .

Four year program students are required to complete a total of five honors elections.
Two elections must be outside the student’s major area of concentration.
One election may be a service election.
Junior/Senior transfer students are required to complete two honors elections.

To complete an honors election, the student develops an independent study project involving about 15 hours of extra work in conjunction with any regular course. The student approaches the professor early in the semester and plans a study project. The student and the professor agree upon a time line and sign an Honors Election Contract.

Honors election projects serve to supplement in depth or in breadth the regular content or experience of the course. They may include the following:

a short essay, lab report, book report, or research paper.
an additional assignment for the course.
a performance review.
an oral presentation.
a performance.
field work or report on field work.
a conference paper or poster presentation.
a study of another culture attached to a foreign language course.
any project considered appropriate by the instructor as a means to extend the breadth or depth of the course.

Honors Elections do not receive a grade. Instead, the work is evaluated as satisfactory or unsatisfactory by the instructor and reported to the Honors Program Administrative Assistant by e-mail. The evaluation is not used in arriving at a grade for the course. See the Honors Handbook and the Program website for further information.

Service Elections

A service election requiring a minimum of 30 hours of service may be fulfilled by volunteering service hours for the Honors Program or in conjuction with any service-oriented club or organization in the university.

The Off-Campus Experience

The core of the Junior/Senior phase of the program is the Off- Campus Study Project. Students begin preparing for this project in their junior year, with the aid of their Honors Advisor. Students submit a proposal for their Off-Campus Study project, and a budget estimating expenses.

Students are eligible for up to $3000 in expenses from the Honors program, and may apply for additional research support through the Office of Research in order to cover the costs of traveling and conducting research. Students are encouraged to travel to other states and other countries in order to benefit from a new and different context.

Sites for the Off-Campus Experience may include:

university campuses
research institutes
hospitals or other similar institutions
places of business
political offices (internship in Washington, DC, for example)
a site in the field for work in biology, anthropology, archeology, health care
an appropriate site agreed upon by the student, the Honors advisor and the Honors Director

Possible projects may include:

original research either in the field or in a laboratory, generally working with a professor at another university campus or on site
an internship connected with the student’s area of specialization
a summer program in the United States or abroad
foreign language study to gain proficiency in the language
travel connected with the student’s research, creative project or performance
an appropriate project agreed upon by the student, the Honors advisor, and the Honors Director

Project Proposal: The Research Methods Course

During their junior year, students enroll in a 300-level Independent Study/Research Methods course (HON 494 or the equivalent in their concentration). This course is designed for the development of the Off-Campus Study Proposal. In order to complete this course satisfactorily, students should:

work one-on-one with their departmental Honors Advisor to develop a project.
conduct individual research to find several potential sites for the Off-Campus Study Experience.
consult the Honors Director concerning required format of the proposal.
submit the proposal and a budget estimating expenses for the Off-Campus Study Experience to the advisor for approval.
submit the proposal to the Honors Director who in turn submits it to the Honors Council for approval.

Funds are released and credit for HON 494 (or the equivalent) is given only after the completed proposal has been approved by the Honors Council.

Project Development: Honors Thesis I HON 495

In conjunction with their Off-Campus Study Experience students enroll in HON 495 (or the equivalent in the concentration), an independent study course, which provides four credits for the Off- Campus Study Experience. To allow for flexibility in scheduling, the student may enroll in HON 495 or its equivalent before, during or after the Off-Campus Study Experience.

The student may arrange for additional credits in one or more of the following ways:

Arrangements may be made for credits to be transferred from a summer course or study program, if applicable.
The student may undertake an additional independent study course, such as HON 494 , with the approval of the Honors advisor and the Honors Director.

Note: The student receives no credit and no final grade for HON 495 (or its equivalent) until the Honors Thesis (HON 496 or the equivalent) is satisfactorily completed. Until that time, the student receives the grade of Y, which is designed for work in progress.

Project Production: Honors Thesis II HON 496

Following the Off-Campus Study Experience, the Honors student completes a Senior Thesis or creative project under the supervision of the Honors Advisor. The Honors Thesis or project is designed to provide expertise in the student’s discipline and further enrichment of the student’s curriculum.

The Honors Thesis is generally a research paper ranging in length from 25 to 60 pages depending on disciplinary expectations. The paper should be well written, carefully documented and organized.

A creative project also could meet the requirements of the senior project. The production, performance or creative work should be fashioned according to the requirements of the student’s specific area of study, and must be deemed appropriate by agreement of the Honors Advisor, the Honors Director, and the Honors Council. Examples include:

the writing and directing of a play
the production of a film
the creation of a piece of music or art

The Honors Thesis or project may represent original research or a new finding in the field or may be an original creative work. It may also result in conference presentations and publications in scholarly journals. However, originality in the form of new findings in the field is not required for the completion of a satisfactory thesis, nor is publication or presentation at a conference.

Completion and Approval of the Honors Thesis

To complete the Honors Thesis satisfactorily, the student should:

develop drafts of the Honors Thesis in cooperation with the Departmental Honors Advisor.
consult with the Honors Director concerning Honors Thesis format.
submit the final approved draft to a committee of readers generally consisting of the advisor, a second member of the department, an outside reader, and the Honors Director or an Honors Council member.
give a Thesis presentation before the committee or at a conference.
submit a final draft of the Honors Thesis for binding.

Final Submission

The student does not receive a grade for HON 495 and HON 496 (or their equivalents in the concentration) until the student has submitted the final revised draft of the thesis in the department.

Senior Honors Seminar: HON 498

Students generally enroll in the Senior Honors Seminar, HON 498 , in the winter semester after they return from their Off- Campus Study Experience. The seminar allows Honors students from different disciplines to come together to share ideas and perspectives from a cross-disciplinary perspective.