B-W: Honors Program Requirements & Course Descriptions

The Baldwin-Wallace College Honors Program exists to assist students of outstanding promise who hope to make meaningful contributions to society through professional careers and public service. The Honors Program promotes academic excellence, engages students in the development of ethical global perspectives, promotes civic involvement and encourages leadership development. Eligible incoming students are invited to apply for admission to the Honors Program. Current students may apply for consideration as rising sophomores.

The Honors Program		Computer Code: HON
Minimum credit required: 24 (plus prerequisites as indicated)
Required Courses
HON 150	Introduction to Honors Study	2 credits
ENG 131H	Honors Workshop in Exposition and Argument	3 credits
LAS 200H	Enduring Questions in an Intercultural World	3 credits
MTH 140	Precalculus Mathematics	4 credits¹
FRN 202, GER 202, SPN 202, CHI 202 or ARA (299B)	Intermediate French, German, Spanish, Chinese or Arabic	4 credits¹
HON 491 or Thesis in major or minor (Honors Thesis)		3 - 4 credits²
Elective Courses (total of at least 13 credits) Students may take any of the following:
All courses with an HON prefix (topic may not be repeated, but course number may).³
Any college core course with an �H� after the course number (examples: ECN 101H, GEO 111LH, PHL 205IH, REL 293H)³

Honors Option⁴		3 - 4 credits
400 Level Courses⁵ (taken in the first 4 semesters of residence)		3 - 4 credits
Faculty Student Collaboration (FSC)⁶		3 credits
Internship that fosters civic engagement⁷		1 - 3 credits
Total Honors Program		24 - 27 credits

¹ These courses will count towards the Core, but will not count towards the minimum number of Honors credit (24) required by the Honors Program for Honors recognition. Other language study may be considered (See Honors Program Director).
² Departmental CAPSTONE Courses may be acceptable (See Honors Program Director).
³ Non-Honors Program students of sophomore status or higher and who have obtained at least a 3.5 GPA may elect these courses if space is available.
⁴ The Honors Option (which requires approval by faculty, department, and the Honors Program Director) will result in an �H� designation for existing courses when satisfactorily completed.
⁵ 300 level courses may be considered if approved by the faculty advisor, department or division chair, and the Honors Program Director.
⁶ These courses facilitate the engagement of students and faculty in the deep learning required for the creation, practice, and sharing of knowledge or works in their area of professional study. Enrollment in the course is competitive and requires that collaborating students and faculty submit a project proposal. See FSC Program, Section II.⁷ With the permission of the Honors Program Director, Honors students can apply internship credit in any field towards the Honors Program if the internship meets at least two of the Honors Program goals, one of which has to be �to foster civic involvement.�

Honors Program Courses (Open to invited first year students only):

HON 150 (2 credits): Open only to students formally accepted into the Honors Program starting fall 2009. This short, intensive seminar is intended to introduce students to one another, the director, and upper-class Honors students from across the curriculum who will serve as course assistants. Faculty and administrators will be invited as periodic guests to share information pertinent to enrichment opportunities relevant to the Honors planning (FSC, LAC, CIG, Study Abroad, Nationally Endowed Scholarships, etc.)

ENG 131H (3 credits): Open only to students formally accepted into the Honors Program starting fall 2008. This course is a common experience for all Honors students. Assignments in writing expository and argumentative prose with particular emphasis on content development.

LAS 200H (3 credits): Open only to students formally accepted into the Honors Program starting fall 2008. This course is a common experience for all Honors students. It investigates cultural differences and explores the influence of culture upon human values and perceptions. Students will read influential texts from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Honors students will also participate in a course-related study tour, a service learning project, or a scientific investigation.

Honors Courses (Open to Honors Program students and to non-Honors Program students with at least a 3.5 GPA): The remaining courses required to complete the Honors Program will be selected from special offerings in the College curriculum. �H� or HON courses will be offered by the Divisions of Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. These courses will be designed to be academically rigorous and relevant to Honors Program goals. Students will not be awarded credit for duplication of courses; for example, PSY 110 and PSY 110H.

HON 050(I) Credits to be arranged: INDEPENDENT STUDY. See Independent Study Program,
Section II.

HON 070 (1-4 credits): INTERNSHIP. See Internship Program, Section II.

HON 200 (3-4 credits): HON 200 is a course with an intentional perspective from two core divisions (Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences). The themes range from the narrow to the broad. This interdisciplinary approach is intended to help the student understand how different disciplines address current problems, how thinking has evolved, and how to integrate modes of thinking across disciplines.

HON 250 (1-4 credits): Special Topics courses (Example: Problem Solving, Constructing Scientific Knowledge, Freedom vs. Equality, Ethical Clashes)

HON 350 (1-4 credits): Advanced Special Topics courses. Junior or Senior status required.

HON 259/359/459 Faculty Student Collaboration (3 credits): Through the FSC courses Baldwin-Wallace College encourages and supports faculty-student collaborators as they tackle the inquiry-based, unscripted problems typical of research, scholarship and other creative endeavors. These courses facilitate the engagement of students and faculty in the deep learning required for the creation, practice, and sharing of knowledge or works in their area of professional study. Enrollment in the course is competitive and requires that collaborating students and faculty submit a project proposal. See FSC Program, Section II.

HON 491 Honors Thesis (3-4 credits): This Honors Program course will be offered on an independent study basis and is suggested for students in their junior or senior year. The topic must be approved by the Director of the Honors Program.

Admission into the Honors Program:
There are two ways a student can participate:
(1) An entering student who meets criteria for candidacy will receive an invitation to apply to the Honors Program. These criteria include superior high school graduation rank, high SAT or ACT scores, and other criteria relevant to academic performance.
(2) Rising Sophomore Admission. Consideration will be given to students upon completion of a full time freshman year (minimum 24 credits). While students will formally apply through the Honors Program office in May of their freshman year, they are encouraged to meet with the Program Director early in the freshman year.

Honors Recognition:
All courses in the Honors Program must be taken for a letter grade, A+ through F; they may not be taken on an S/U basis. Students who successfully complete the required Honors courses (earning grades of 3.0 or better) and who have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher will, upon graduation, receive appropriate recognition on their transcripts. Students will also be awarded the Baldwin-Wallace College Honors Program medallion to be worn at graduation.