The College offers an Honors Program open to students from all academic units who are highly motivated and academically qualified. The program provides an opportunity for students to broaden and enrich their undergraduate education by offering an alternate route for satisfying distribution requirements. A general education grounded in the traditional liberal arts is emphasized, and special Honors courses, a tutorial and seminar, reduced class size, close student-professor relationships, and interaction with other honors students are included. Students in the Honors Program must fulfill any established requirements for their selected major.

Special features of the Honors Program include:

1. A freshman seminar which focuses on a particular topic but emphasizes examination of method: critical analysis of both primary and secondary texts; historical, interpretive approaches; research techniques and the different ways in which various disciplines pose questions.





2. Four team-taught lower-division interdisciplinary Honors courses, at least one per term during the first two years. Each course deals with the evolution and content of western culture from the vantage points of several academic disciplines: anthropology, art, economics, history, literature, music, political science, psychology, sociology, and the sciences. The four courses provide Honors students with a common body of knowledge, language, and literature. They foster critical thinking, help students gain a perspective on the traditions and problems of western civilization, and equip them with a well-rounded background so that they may more intelligently construct their lives in the modern world.

   The tutorial, a crucial part of the Honors Program, is one of its main features. Tutorials enroll between five and eight students. They are often offered in a non-classroom setting. They meet once a week for three hours and serve to create a sense of collegiality that is frequently lacking on a commuter campus. The tutorials provide an opportunity for intensive concentration, study and discussion. In most cases a major writing assignment will be required.

Students are automatically qualified to apply to the Honors Program if they have a 3.2 high school GPA, have an ACT composite score of 25 or higher, score in the 90^th percentile or higher in PSAT scores, or achieve a combined SAT score of at least 1150. Other incoming freshmen, transfer students, and freshmen or sophomores at UM-D who are genuinely interested in the Honors Program are encouraged to apply.

For more information contact Professor Sidney Bolkosky, Director of the Honors Program, 4026 CB, 313-593-5183.

Honors Program Requirements

English Composition (6 hrs.)

COMP 110 (3hrs.) and COMP 220 (3hrs.).

Foreign Language (8hrs.)

A two-course sequence is required from: Arabic 101 & 102, French 101 & 102, German 101 & 102, Latin 101 & 102, Ancient Greek (MCL) 105 & 106, Armenian (MCL) 111 & 112, and Spanish 101 & 102.

A student with prior knowledge of a language should take a placement examination before registering for a course in that language. For further information, see The Foreign Language Requirement, or consult the Humanities Department at 313-593-5433.

Mathematics (3-4hrs.)

One course in Mathematics to be chosen from Math 104,105, 113, 115, 297 (Honors Math) is required.

Biological and Physical Sciences (7-8hrs.)

At least two science courses are required. One of the two courses must include a laboratory. Select from: Biology 100 or 100+101, 103 & 105, 130, 140, 240; Chemistry 100, 124, 134, 136, 144, 146; Environmental Science 275 or 275+276; Geology 118, 218; Natural Science 120, 121; Physics 100, 125, 126, 130 or 130+131; 150, 151.

Courses with a "+" provide an optional laboratory component. The first number is the lecture course, which may be taken separately. The second number is the optional laboratory course, which may be taken with the lecture but cannot be taken without the lecture. Some courses include an integral laboratory component. Biology 103 & 105 must both be taken to fulfill the requirement; if only one is taken, two other courses must be taken to fulfill the requirement. Natural Science 120 and Biology 100 or 100+101 cannot be used together to meet the requirement.

Western Culture (12 hrs.)

Honors students must complete the four-course sequence of Western Culture I, II, III, and IV. The courses may be elected as Humanities, History, or with Western Culture IV, Sociology and numbered as 261, 262, 263, and 264.

Honors Seminar (3hrs.)

The seminar course (History 365) is usually taken in the first term of the freshman year. The content of specific courses will vary from semester to semester.

Honors Tutorial (3hrs.)

A 3hr. 390 (identified in the Schedule of Classes each term ) course usually elected in the junior year.

Non-Western Culture (6hrs.)

Two courses in Non-Western Culture to be chosen from a list of eligible courses in Anthropology, Art History, English, Economics, Geography, History, Japanese, Music History, Political Science and Sociology are required. At least one course must be an upper (300+) level course.

NOTE: Courses taken to fulfill the Honors requirements cannont be taken Pass/Fail.