Undergraduate Studies

Honors Program

About the Honors Program

The Honors Program at Indiana University Southeast is designed to serve the needs and interests of highly motivated students who seek a stimulating and exciting academic experience and formal recognition for completing a challenging program.

Students accepted into Tier One of the Honors Program have the opportunity to choose from at least one multidisciplinary honors elective offered each semester, as well as a two-semester seminar sequence titled Common Intellectual Experience I and II.  Honors H103, the first course in the sequence, is typically taken in the fall, while Honors H104, the second course in the sequence, is offered in the spring.  These courses are offered to a limited number of Honors students by an instructor who has been carefully chosen for his or her teaching expertise and desire to mentor Honors students.

Additionally, these courses are designed to fulfill selected goals of Indiana University Southeast's General Education program, permitting students to participate in the program without slowing their progress toward the completion of their degree program.  For those students who do not enter Indiana University Southeast with dual credit in particular classes, Honors H103 fulfills either the general education requirements usually fulfilled by English W131 or the Ethical Questions requirement, while H104 fulfills the requirement usually fulfilled by Speech S121.  It should be clear, however, that students entering Indiana University Southeast with such dual credit are not disadvantaged by taking Honors 103 and 104, because these courses culminate in the completion of a full-year project, created and developed by each student.  Students complete the sequence with the ability to manage a long-term project, which is invaluable in both future academic classes, as well as with work or graduate school life.

Students accepted into Tier Two of the Honors Program have the opportunity to take two multidisciplinary honors electives.  In addition, students may complete an Honors track of their choice.  In order to address the needs of a diverse student population, the Honors Program offers the following tracks:  Discipline-Based Honors, Honors Research Minor, and Individualized Honors.

Honors courses explore important topics in depth, through a multi-disciplinary approach.  The pace of the courses, and the level and quality of work expected of students requires that participants be self-motivated, and that they exercise good time-management skills; however, the small size of each Honors class (fewer than 15 students per section) insures group discussion, interaction with the instructor, and focused guidance and support of each student's academic goals.

In addition to taking Honors classes, members of the Honors Program participate in various co-curricular activities, including group projects, attending cultural events, and participating in the Upper Mideast Honors Conference, which occurs each spring semester.

For more information, please contact the Honors Program at iushp@ius.edu.  The Honors Program telephone number is (812) 941-2196.

The Honors Program invites applications from intellectually curious and motivated students.  Our courses are designed to challenge, but not overwhelm, students with subjects and activities that derive from a variety of disciplines.  The social, conference, and service activities of the Honors Program, like our courses, encourage students to develop their academic and personal strengths, while also venturing into things with which they might be less comfortable.  Thus, students who thrive with applied learning opportunities are able to do so, without losing sight of the academic issues at stake.  For their part, students who are comfortable writing long and thoughtful research projects also learn how to work with other people on group projects, or in service efforts.  Some people hesitate to apply to the Honors Program because they have some sense that Honors students must be "perfect".  None of our students (or staff members, or faculty members) are perfect.  All are human and fallible; but all are also willing to challenge themselves, to discuss important and exciting subjects with other people, and to become the campus experts on subjects of their choosing, under the mentorship of faculty members and other colleagues.

In the Honors Program, student abilities and interests are encouraged, and students are given ample information and encouragement to pursue Study Abroad opportunities, service activities, conferences, and graduate school or post-baccalaureate work.

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