The UMass Lowell
Commonwealth Honors Program
An Overview
Part I
The University’s Bigger Picture
Part II:
A University-wide Honors Program
Part III:
Joining Honors (partially completed)
Part IV:
Transferring into Honors After You Start College
By Jim Canning - November 2013 ( Version 1.1)
Part I
The University’s Bigger Picture
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Academic Hierarchy
1 University
4 Colleges and 2 Schools
29 Departments and 2 more Schools
83 Undergraduate Degree Programs and
Concentrations
Each of the 83 degrees programs
and concentrations
are
summarized by a curriculum grid.
They vary in their amount of
“freedom of choice”
that a student may have.
For example ….
• Lots of Freedom
– History
– Psychology
• Not Much Freedom
– Chemical Engineering
– Sound Recording Technology
• In-Between Freedom
– Accounting
– Computer Science
– Nursing
Insert the example curriculum grids in this
position.
Embedded inside those grids are
three levels of requirements
…. you need to satisfy
University Level Requirements
College Level Requirements
Department Level Requirements
All students must satisfy university
requirements:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
College Writing I and College Writing II
1 Mathematics General Education course
3 Social Science General Education courses
3 Arts and Humanities General Education courses
3 Science and Technology General Education courses
1 Diversity Badge
1 Ethics Badge
A minimum of 120 college credits
A minimum of a 2.00 grade point average
At UMass Lowell we have
four gen. ed. categories:
•
•
•
•
Mathematics
Social Science (SS)
Arts and Humanities (AH)
Science and Technology (SC, TN)
How can you learn what courses are
general education courses ?
Answer:
www.uml.edu/gened
This website has the approved lists for each of the four gen. ed. areas:
Arts and Humanities (AH)
Social Science (SS)
Science and Technology (ST, TN)
Mathematics
Example English Gen. Ed.
AH
English:
• 40.248 (D, E) Values in American Culture (Also listed as 42.248)
• 40.257 (D) The Family in American Literature (Also listed as 42.257)
• 42.201 Great Books of Antiquity
• 42.205 Great Books of the Modern World
• 42.205 (D, E) Human Values in Western Culture I (Also listed as 59.205)
• 42.206 (D, E) Human Values in Western Culture II (Also listed as 59.206)
• 42.210 Drama
• 42.211 Poetry
English
• 42.212 Short Story
History
• 42.216 (E) Monsters, Apes, and Nightmares
Philosophy
• 42.217 Horror Story
Cultural Studies
Other …
Example Social Science Gen. Eds.
SS
Political Science:
•
46.101 Introduction to American Politics
•
46.110 (D) Introduction to Politics
•
46.112 (D) Comparative Political Systems
•
46.121 (D) Introduction to International Relations
•
46.175 Introduction to Environmental Studies
•
46.215 (D) African Politics (Also listed as 57.225)
•
46.218 (DE) Introduction to Politics and Sports
•
46.231 (E) Intorduction to Political Thought
•
46.235 (D) Constitutional Law and Politics (and honors section)
•
46.237 (D) Civil Liberties Law and Politics (and honors section)
Peace and Conflict Studies
•
PCS.205 (E) Restorative Justice (Also listed as 41.210)
Psychology:
•
47.101
•
47.209
•
47.232
•
47.255
General Psychology
(D) Social Psychology
Psychology of Personality
(D) Community Psychology
Political Science
Psychology
Criminal Justice
Sociology
Economics
Other …
Part II
The Commonwealth Honors
Program at UMass Lowell
What We Are
The UMass Lowell Commonwealth Honors program is a universitywide academic and social enrichment program whose graduates
need to satisfy four requirements.
They are:
CHP-1:
Earn a 3.25 GPA or higher.
CHP-2:
Submit one approved enrichment form (E1) each semester.
CHP-3:
Satisfy the H1-H8 honors course requirements.
CHP-4:
Create and present either an Honors Project or an Honors Thesis.
What Commonwealth Honors is Not
First:
We are not Latin Honors.
• Summa Cum Laude 3.850 - 4.0
• Magna Cum Laude 3.500 - 3.849
• Cum Laude
3.250 - 3.499
Second:
We are not a department level honors program.
We are not a …
Computer Science Dept. Honors Program.
Psychology Dept. Honors Program.
Physics Dept. Honors Program.
Third:
We are not a College Level Honors Program.
Not a …
College of Sciences Honors Program
Manning School of Business Honors Program
College of Engineering Honors Program
Fourth:
We are not a national organization.
Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Kappa Phi
Pi Mu Epsilon
If you satisfy our four CHP requirements:
• Your transcript will identify you as a Commonwealth Honors
Scholar.
• Your diploma will have a nice shiny gold embossed sticker on
it.
• You will be recognized at graduation.
• Your honors project or honors thesis will be hard-bound and
displayed forever
– in full glory and with pride!
One principal aim of the honors …
… program is to ensure that students take a
number of dedicated honors classes that are
populated mostly with other honors students.
These classes are taught by highly motivated
faculty who love teaching undergraduates. They
are some of the finest teachers on campus.
Another principal aim … is to allow you
… to express and practice your research/creative
skills while being supported by a caring faculty
mentor who will help you complete either a six
month or a twelve month honors project or
honors thesis.
A third principal aim is to …
strengthen your
•
•
•
•
Complex reading skills
Writing skills
Presentation skills
Critical Thinking skills
A fourth aim is to …
plant a few seeds:
• You can earn an advanced or terminal degree.
• You can do research and create.
• Exploration and creativity is fun.
Have you conquer the “bunny slope”.
Before working on the “double-blacked diamond”.
If you are a member of the
Commonwealth Honors Program …
• You have the option of living in honors
housing.
• You are able to register for classes before most
of the other students on campus.
• You get to receive lots of emails from Jim.
Our standard honors curriculum is an 8-course,
24 credit program that includes:
• a minimum of 5 dedicated honors courses
populated with other honors students. At least
four of these have majors from many disciplines.
• either
– a one-semester, 3-6 credit, Honors Project or
– a two-semester, 6 credit Honors Thesis
• at most one graduate level class or at most one
300/400 level Honors-By-Contract.
Our honors curriculum
grid can overlay 80 of the 83
undergraduate
programs without requiring any
extra classes.
We are likely just a conversation
away from including the final
three.
Recall our four CHP Requirements
CHP-1: 3.25 GPA or higher
CHP-2: One enrichment form (E1) per semester.
CHP-3: The H1-H8 honors course requirements.
CHP-4: One honors project or one honors thesis.
CHP-1: Earn a 3.25 GPA or Higher
If your GPA drops below 3.0 we will withdraw you
from the Commonwealth Honors Program.
If your GPA drops below 3.25 but remains at 3.00 or
higher, we will put you on “honors probation”.
If you are on honors probation for two consecutive
semesters we will withdraw you from the program.
Students on honors probation cannot compete for
honors scholarships given by the honors program.
CHP-2: Enrichment Requirement (E1)
We want you to attend a campus-event or activity
and report on it. You need to do this once per
semester. We encourage you to do more than one.
It should be an event that is not directly tied to your
major. It should not fulfill a class requirement.
If you do not submit an approved E1 form for a
given semester, we will put you on “honors
probation”. If you miss two semesters in a row, we
will withdraw you from the honors program.
CHP-3: H1 – H8
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
These eight honors course requirements do not
need to be extra courses, they are enhanced or
different courses that are already embedded
into your major’s curriculum grid.
You must earn a B or better in each of these
classes.
Honors Course Requirements H1 – H8
The Harry Chapin Approach
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
At least four are at the 300/400 level
300/400
level
courses
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
They can be taken in different orders.
H2
H1
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
You can double up in one semester.
H1
H3
H2
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
Here is another possible order.
H1
H3
H2
H4
H6
H5
H8
H7
H1 and H2
H1
HON 110: FYSH
H2
(Arts and Humanities Gen. Ed)
Honors College Writing II
42.102 Section 3xx
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
H4
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
There are two ways to fill
this H4 requirement.
H4: Take an Honors Gen. Ed.
H1
H2
H3
H4
First Way:
Take an Honors Section of a
General Education Course
( AH, SS, ST, Math)
H5
H6
H7
H8
How can I identify if my section is an
honors section?
Answer: It is an honors section if
the section number begins with a 3.
For example, 301, 302, 303, …
Honors Gen. Ed. Courses
Mathematics
Science and Technology
92.141 Honors Calculus I
92.142 Honors Calculus II
92.241 Honors Calculus III
92.244 Honors Differential Equations
95.161 Honors Physics I
84.135 Honors Chemistry I
84.136 Honors Chemistry II
Social Science
Arts and Humaniites
41.261 Introduction to Legal Studies
44.248 Terrorism
44.360 Gender, Race, and Crime
46.110 Introduction to Politics
47.101 General Psychology
47.260 Child & Adolescent Development
48.101 Introduction to Sociology
48.330 Fast Food, Hot Planet
49.201 Economics I
49.202 Macroeconomics
42.217 Horror Story
42.249 Lit. on Tech.and Human Values
42.258 Disability in Literature
42.311 The South in Amer. Literature
43.111 US History to 1877
58.101 Art Appreciation
74.261 Music History I (~)
74.262 Music History II (~)
HON 110 FYSH
How do I know what honors gen. eds.
are offered this semester?
Answer: www.uml.edu/registrar and then click
on the semester of interest.
… and then click on honors courses.
… then scope down the column labeled gen. ed.
And do not forget – any Honors math, Honors
Physics I, Honors Chem I, Honors Chem II are
gen. eds. too!
H4: Use an Honors Seminar
H1
H2
H3
H4
Second Way:
Take an Honors Seminar
Ex. HON 320: Power: What it is …
H5
H6
H7
H8
What is an Honors Seminar?
An Honors Seminar is a 300/400 level dedicated honors course that has
the following properties:
• It has an enrollment of 19 or less.
• It is accessible and available to many majors across campus.
• It does not have any firm pre-requisites.
• Issues based critical thinking and communication are prevalent. This
implies a fair amount of analysis and synthesis. This normally
translates into a course that involves a substantial amount of reading,
writing, discussion and/or presentation.
Honors Seminars
•
HON 310 Honors (Thesis) Workshop
•
HON 320 Honors Topics
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Difference Makers: Past, Present, and Future
The Radiance of Being
Power: What it is. What it Does. Why it is Important.
Heroes Through History
Smart Thinking: How to Analyze and Argue
Ideas Worth Spreading
Literary Works that Changed the World
Gender and Sexuality in Theater and Film
•
•
•
•
•
95.316 Science and Technology in the Impoverished World
48.330 Fast Food, Hot Planet: A Sociological Approach ...
42.342 Women Writers and the Past
43.311 The South in American Literature
41.489 Seminar in Law
•
PCS 473 Seminar in Peace and Conflict Studies
– Perspectives on Human Rights
– Bridging Minds for Peace
How do I know what is an honors
seminar?
At present, you need to either:
1. ask Jim, Beth, Elizabeth, or Megan
2. Read the email that Jim sends to you on the
honors listserver.
We are working on a better way to distribute this
information.
H6
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
Honors Seminar
H7
H8
One Example of H1, H2, H4, and H6
H1
H2
42.102, Section 308
Honors College Writing II
H3
H4
47.101 Section 301
An honors section of
General Psychology
H5
H6
95.316, Section 301
Science & Technology
in the Impoverished World
H7
H8
HON 110: FYSH
(AH)
Another Example of H1, H2, H4, and H6
H1
H3
HON 110: FYSH
(AH)
H2
42.102 Section 312
Honors College Writing II
H4
92.141 Honors Calculus I
H5
H6
48.330 Section 301
Fast Food Hot Planet (SS – Gen. Ed.)
H7
H8
A Third Example of H1, H2, H4, and H6
H2
H3
42.102 Section 301
Honors College Writing II
H1
HON 110: FYSH
(AH)
H4
58.101 Section 301
Honors Art Appreciation
H5
H6
HON 310, Section 301
Honors Thesis Workshop
H7
H8
Replacing H1 and H2
Sometimes there is a very valid reason why a student
cannot take HON 110 FYSH or cannot take an honors
section of 42.102 College Writing II.
In this case, the student must replace H1/H2 with
either an honors AH gen ed or an honors SS gen ed
or an honors seminar.
In such cases, a student should identify the
replacement course and submit an Honors Petition
for Exception Form (see www.uml.edu/honors).
H3
H2
H1
H3
H4
There are two ways to satisfy the
H3 requirement
H5
H6
H7
H8
H3
H2
H3
H1
First Way:
H4
Any 200/300/400 honors course
H5
H6
H7
H8
H3
H2
H3
H1
60.201 Section 301
H4
Honors Acct/Financial
H5
H6
H7
H8
H3
H2
H1
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
66.210, Section 301
Honors
Professional Communications
H3
H1
H3
H2
91.201, Section 301
H4
Honors Computing III
H5
H6
H7
H8
H3
H1
H2
H3
H4
HON 320: Topics
H5
H6
H7
H8
H3
H1
H3
H2
Second Way:
H4
An Honors Gen. Ed.
H5
H6
H7
H8
H3 and H4
The two courses that are used to satisfy the H3
and the H4 must be from different departments.
H5
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
There are three ways to
satisfy the H5 requirement.
H5
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
First Way:
Any graduate level class.
H5
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
Second Way:
H6
Any 300/400 honors course.
H7
H8
H5
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H7
Third Way:
Any 300/400 level
Honors by Contract
H6
H8
What is an Honors-By-Contract?
An honors by contract is an honors add-on to a
non-honors class that is negotiated between the
honors student and the faculty of record for the
course.
The contract must be approved by the director
of the honors program.
Satisfying the H7 and the H8
Three ways:
1. A two-semester honors thesis experience
1. A two-semester honors project experience
1. A one-semester honors project experience
plus another approved honors class.
Mechanical + Commonwealth Honors: Possible
One Semester Project Experience
H1
H3
HON 110: FYSH (AH)
H2
Honors College Writing II
Honors Calculus I
H4
49.201, Section 301
An honors section of Econ I
H5
22.381 Fluid Mech.
with an Honors by Contract
H7:
ME Graduate Course
or an
Honors Seminar
H6
95.315, Section 301
Sci. & Tech. Imp. World
( ME Tech Elect)
H8
22.423 Section 30x
Capstone Design +
an honors add-on.
Mechanical + Commonwealth Honors: Possible
Two semester honors thesis experience
H1
H3
HON 110: FYSH (AH)
H2
Honors College Writing II
Honors Calculus I
H4
49.201, Section 301
An honors section of Econ I
H5
22.381 Fluid Mech.
with an Honors by Contract
H7:
23.492, Section 301
ME Directed Study
H6
95.315, Section 301
Sci. & Tech. Imp. World
(ME Tech Elect)
H8
23.492, Section 301
ME Directed Study
Accounting + Commonwealth Honors: Possible
One Semester Honors Project
H1
HON 110: FYSH (AH)
H3
66.310, Section 310
Honors
H2
Honors College Writing II
H4
49.201, Section 301
An honors section of Econ I
Professional Communication
H5
66.301 Section 301
Honors
Organizational Behavior
H6
H8
H7:
60.499 Independent Study
HON 320: Topics
Smart Thinking: How to
Analyze and Argue
66.490, Section 301
Strategic Management
Nursing + Commonwealth Honors: Possible
Two semester honors project experience
H1
H3
HON 110: FYSH (AH)
H5
An honors by contract
alongside 33.310
Health Promo. & Risk
47.101, Section 301
H2
H4
H6
Honors College Writing II
48.101, Section 301
HON 320: Topics
Smart Thinking: How to
Analyze and Argue
H8
H7:
33.412 Comm. Health
with an honors add-on
33.415 Community Project
with an honors add-on
The Honors Project
The goal of an honors project is either to solve an
applied problem or to produce a creative artifact.
All Honors Project Experiences across campus have
the following five components:
–
–
–
–
–
A creative project
A written piece produced by the individual Honors Student
A presentation given by the individual Honors Student
An Honors Project Advisor
An Honors Project Committee
The Honors Project
(modeled after Colorado State)
Honors Project Experiences can be linked with
mandatory within major requirements such as:
– An engineering design/capstone project
– An artistic project
– A sound recording mix
– A software project
– A business-plan
– A required in-the-field experience
The Honors Project
Linked-honors project experiences will also contain:
– A reasonable “value-added” honors component that
has been approved by both the student’s Honors
Project Advisor and the Honors Director.
This value-added component must always include a
7-15 page context paper. In addition to this, the
student will often do an extra technical piece too.
The Honors Project
• Honors Project Experiences that occur primarily within a team of
students will have an individual contribution written piece.
• Honors Projects are either 6 months (1 semester) in length or they
are 12 months (2 semesters) in length.
• A two-semester Honors Project Experience will satisfy both the H7
and the H8 honors course requirements.
• A one-semester Honors Project Experience will satisfy the H8
honors course requirement. If a student engages in a one-semester
project experience then the H7 course requirement needs to be
fulfilled in another manner with the approval of the Honors
Director.
The Honors Thesis
The Honors Thesis Experience is always a two-semester, 6credit research activity. The goal of this activity is new
knowledge.
The student must find a faculty mentor who will guide the
student through the process. In the ideal, this is a twelve
month experience.
The student will typically sign up for two independent study
courses.
The Honors Thesis Experience will satisfy both the H7 and the
H8 honors course requirements.
How Does One Join the Honors Program?
Method 1: Automatic Invite as you enter UMass
Lowell from High School.
Method 2: Automatic Invite as you enter UMass
Lowell from another college.
Method 3: A student seeks to join without an invite.
Method 4: Automatic Invite as you enter honors
from within UMass Lowell.
Transferring into Honors
We encourage transfer students to enter the
honors program, but they must do so knowing
all the honors requirements and they must sit
with an honors advisor to develop an Honors
Program of Study.
As such we have the following transfer
guidelines:
Transfer Guideline
If you transfer 29 or less credits into the Commonwealth
Honors Program you must satisfy all H1-H8 course
requirements.
However, it may be that H1 and/or H2 need to be
replaced with another dedicated honors course.
These replacement courses must be either:
– An honors SS gen. ed.
– An honors AH gen. ed.
– An honors seminar
Transfer Guidelines
If you transfer in 30 or more college credits
either your H1 or your H2 would be waived.
All other course requirements must be met.
If you transfer in 60 or more college credits both
of your H1 and your H2 course requirements
would be waived. All other course requirements
must be met. It may be possible to waive the H3
requirement in lieu of waiving either H1 or H2.
Transfer Guideline
Honors courses taken at another Commonwealth
Honors Program (ie. UMass Boston, Fitchburg State,
Middlesex CC ) could be used to satisfy the H1, H2, H3,
and/or H4 honors requirements.
Honors courses taken at a non-Commonwealth Honors
program will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Transferring into Honors
Most students who transfer into honors will not need to take an extra
class or two.
However, it is possible that an extra course may need to be taken.
This could happen when the student:
–
Has already satisfied all gen. ed. requirements and is in a major with little or no “freedom of choice”.
–
Is aggressively pursuing a double major.
–
Plans to graduate early ( less than 8 semesters).
–
Some combination of the above three items.
When You Enter Honors Matters
If join our honors program during a semester,
your first full semester in honors is the next
semester.
The number of college credits you bring into your
first full semester as an honors student is what is
used when applying the transfer guidelines.