Any of our majors can be taken with a Majors Honors Designation. To obtain this designation, applicants must meet three criteria: taking certain major classes with an honors designation (such as Inorganic Chemistry or Physical Chemistry), a few extra credits of Honors Colloquium (HON395) to experience a wide range of topics, and an Honors Thesis Project. Majors Honors may also be combined with General Studies Honors, as well, allowing students additional recognition for their achievement.
Obtaining an Honors designation for your degree is a sign that you have gone “above and beyond” the normal degree requirements. It allows you to stand out in a crowded field of your peers as a mark of a person who decided to take greater advantage of their college experience.
While at MWSU, being a member of the Honors Program grants the following benefits:
- Priority registration for classes
- Enrollment in Honors Colloquia, classes that discuss interesting and stimulating topics not normally found as a part of a student’s degree requirements
- Pursuit of membership in the Student Honors Organization
- Pursuit of membership in Alpha Chi National Honor Society
- Residence in the Academic Achievement floor in Vaselakos Hall
- Use of the Honors Lounge, Spratt 202
In addition, the Honors Thesis requirement is an excellent preparation for a M.S. or Ph.D. program, and the Honors designation on a degree can make an already strong application to a competitive professional school program just that much stronger.
But do you know what the real benefit is to obtaining an Honors designation on your degree?
Many chemistry students already fulfill many of the requirements for the Majors Honors program, in the normal course of their academic studies!
The majority of chemistry students:
- Participate in research projects under the direction of a faculty mentor
- Present their research results at regional or national conferences
- Write a research-style paper
All of these activities can blend very well with the requirements for the Majors Honors designation.
So why not take the few extra steps to get formal, documented recognition for work that you, most likely, are already going to do anyway?
A recommended timeline of events:
Year 1 or 2: Maintain a cumulative 3.5 GPA and complete Honors courses with an A or B.
| Majors Honors | Majors Honors & General Studies Honors |
|---|---|
| Seek out a department faculty mentor and begin discussing an honors research project.
Enroll in and begin completing 6 credits of Honors Colloquia (approximately 3 classes, 2-3 semesters, these do not have to be chemistry related) |
Seek out a department faculty mentor and begin discussing an honors research project.
Enroll in and begin completing 10 credits of Honors Colloquia (approximately 5 classes, 4-5 semesters, these do not have to be chemistry related) Take 6 courses of Honors section General Studies courses |
Year 2-3: In the semester before you start your thesis project, fill out the Majors Honors Approval Form with your faculty mentor and determine a thesis committee with your mentor’s help.
Begin working on your thesis project. This may be accomplished independently or for credit as CHE 490
Begin the TWO required major level courses with an honors designation. Many of these courses are already part of the major sequence and only require an honors designation.
Year 3-4: Complete your thesis project and thesis document, submit it for approval to the thesis committee. Submit your thesis to the Honors program with the Majors Honors Progress Report.
Present your research at a national or regional meeting (or submit it for publication).
Majors Honors
To earn Majors Honors, students must:
- Be accepted to the Honors Program and in good standing,
- Work under the direction of a professor within the department of their chosen major to conduct investigative research,
- Complete six hours of colloquia, or four hours of additional colloquia if the student had achieved General Studies Honors for a total of 10 hours of colloquia,
- Complete two three-credit hour major classes, determined by the student鈥檚 department and the Honors Program Director, and
- Present his or her work at a regional or national conference, or a professional venue, or submit his or her work for publication in a professional journal.
Students must receive a grade of A or B in all Honors Courses in order for them to count toward Majors Honors.
Students wishing to pursue this option need to complete the 鈥淢ajors Honors Approval Form鈥� before the onset of the project, which is available in the Forms tab.
The Majors Honors designation will appear on the student鈥檚 transcript. The student will be awarded a medal the semester in which he/she is graduating to be worn at the commencement ceremony.
General Studies Honors
To earn General Studies Honors, students must:
- Be accepted into the Honors Program and maintain good standing,
- Complete six General Studies courses with an Honors designation, and
- Complete six credit hours of Honors Colloquia.
Students must receive a grade of A or B in all Honors Courses in order for them to count toward General Studies Honors.
The achievement of General Studies Honors appears on the student鈥檚 transcript.听 The student is awarded a medal the semester in which he/she is graduating to wear at the commencement ceremony.
Each semester, departments across campus offer a variety of general studies honors courses designed for 10 to 20 students.听 One of the unique features of the Honors program is the colloquia,听which are听theme-based experiences听involving panel discussions,听presentations, guest speakers, outside readings, films and field trips. Different colloquia are offered each semester, and recent colloquia topics included Climate Change, Global Warming, Ice Ages and the Future of Human Kind and Nineteenth-Century Paris: La Belle Epoque. Some have included trips to Paris, New York City or New Orleans.
