Honors Learning Communities
Honors learning communities are timed experiences that support your growth and success across your undergraduate career. While each year and associated learning community are distinct, all learning communities emphasize: CONNECTING you to peers and mentors, helping you PLAN to maximize your educational experience and success, encouraging REFLECTION on your experiences, and making sure you can access the RESOURCES you need.
First-Year Learning Communities
The first-year learning community is a year-long course sequence (HONOR 1010/1020) designed to engage you with current societal challenges and diverse perspectives on those challenges: What is education for? How do we navigate disagreement and find common ground? What is the nature of a good life? You meet with a group of fellow first-years, and a team of mentors to take up these questions, and to practice creating a sense of community in Honors. You will also create a plan for success that you can revisit, and reflect on yourself as a developing scholar.
Second-Year Learning Communities
In your second year, we emphasize expanding your connections beyond Honors. You choose from professional/career, leadership, community-engagement, or personal growth pathways, and identify activities and events that further your development. Career/professional pathway students might attend research talks in their area, join a pre-professional club, or attend a conference. Community-engagement students might take on a volunteer position, and leadership students might run for student government. Along the way, you are asked to engage in reflection on these experiences, and to revisit your plan for success with an eye to preparing for thesis work.
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“This semester has shown me that teamwork also goes a long way when volunteering in the community, and that by working together we can all make a difference in the community. I look forward to taking part in more volunteering opportunities in the future.”
Anonymous
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“After a semester of service, I found the projects to be especially rewarding for me, as I was able to give back to the community and dedicate my spare time to causes that I know would be making a difference in the lives of others.” ”
Anonymous
Third-Year Learning Communities
In third-year learning communities, you will be connected with experiences that support a successful Honors thesis – with the goal (for most students) of submitting your thesis proposal by the end of third year. You will identify your “why” for thesis work, and connect with the people who will support you through the project – including finding a thesis mentor and developing a project plan.
Fourth-Year Learning Communities
In fourth year learning communities you will experience continued support for completing your Honors thesis – including for writing and presentation. You’ll also have access to resources and workshops on post-graduation steps. Honors coursework and thesis projects mean you have more experience than others in writing, communication, managing a complex project, and working autonomously. These are invaluable skills whether you are looking for work or going on to graduate or professional school. You’ll learn how to present your Honors experiences to stand out in job markets and graduate/professional school applications. You will also be supported in reflecting on your overall path to graduation, and have a chance to provide inspiration and insights to more junior peers at our annual Spring Showcase.
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“Writing the thesis was a good opportunity to really develop relationships with a handful of professors. Whether you have one professor helping you out or more, it's a good experience to build those deeper relationships with mentors and people who really want to see you succeed.”
Ariel Flores Mena
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“The thesis writing process synthesized everything I had learned throughout my entire undergraduate experience into a final piece showcasing my technical knowledge and communication skills. I learned how to manage my own time and schedule effectively under the guidance of my thesis advisor. While every thesis is different, my thesis allowed me technical freedom in exploring the problem space, which you don't often get to do in undergraduate courses.”
Kylee Fluckiger