We are developing the Honors curriculum for the 2008-2009 academic year and invite you to submit a proposal to teach in Honors. The Honors Program offers faculty greater curricular latitude with students who have committed themselves to doing more than is required; it is also a testing ground for new or reworked courses that enhance both core and major education at the University. Teaching in Honors is an opportunity to work with highly motivated, responsive students and to enjoy the exchange and refinement of ideas. We offer some funding to support new course development.

Honors offers six teaching options:

 

Honors Program (HONRS) Courses: Honors offers a number of general disciplinary titles for faculty who wish to offer courses on specific topics. Honors courses that fulfill core GE requirements include Advanced Writing, Civilization, American Government & Society, Physical Science, and Biology. For a complete listing of recent courses, see the Honors Course Guide. Your departmental course and an Honors course may be cross-listed as well, where there is a natural affinity between them.

 

Departmental Honors Sections: Your department may offer Honors sections of departmental courses, such as Honors Principles of Statistics (Stat 221H), Honors Cultural History of Germany (Germ 330H), and Honors The Book of Mormon (Rel A 121H). Talk with your department chair if you are interested in offering an honors course for your department.

 

Great Works: Faculty may also teach a one- to three-credit hour course (HONRS 290R) on selected works from the Honors Great Works list. Categories include literature, music, theatre, film, and art (or, if you're really brave, all five! Contact us for details.). For a complete list of works go to Downloadable Forms .

Late Summer Honors:A select group of freshmen participate in a one-week intensive Honors experience just prior to Fall semester (August 26-30). They enroll in a one-credit Honors seminar taught in a subject of the faculty member's choice, usually related to the Great Works requirement. We offer a small stipend; for examples of last year's courses and more information on the program, go to http://latesummerhonors.byu.edu.  

 

Summer Scholars Academy: Each summer we offer a handful of courses to high school juniors and seniors with Honors potential. Students meet in the mornings for the week and do larger group activities in the afternoons and evenings. We plan to run two academies each summer (in late June and early July); a small stipend is offered to faculty.

 

The Honors Experience: This course, a one-credit, first-block offering, is intended to give incoming students a chance to get to know a faculty member personally while being introduced to academic practices such as critical thinking and reading, integration of the secular and spiritual, and some writing skills. The class meets once each week, and Honors will cover expenses for a meal in your home with the students.

If you are interested in teaching any of the above, you will find a static proposal form HERE, or an interactive print version HERE that should be used for both new courses and for courses previously taught in the Honors Program. Please submit the proposal form, signed by your department chair, to the Honors Program, 350 MSRB by Thursday, November 15, 2007. The Honors Faculty Council (HFC) will then evaluate each proposal taking into considering class size, teaching methods, writing assignments, qualifications of the instructor, likely student enrollment, and, if the class is intended to fulfill a GE requirement, the alignment of the course with General Education foundation documents. Each professor who submits a course proposal by November 15, 2007, will be notified in writing of the HFC's decision by January 15, 2008.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL, PLEASE CONTACT SHAUNA BARRICK, HONORS PROGRAM ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT AT 801-422-1997.