The Honors Program
Faculty
Dr. Joshua Wright, Associate Professor of Global Affairs and Director of the Honors Program
Dr. Rewa Burnham, Associate Professor of English
Dr. Nyesa Enakaya, CBL Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Steven Gable, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Dr. Shizuka Hsieh, Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Jeannine Marino, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Dr. Hans Momplaisir, Associate Professor of Sociology
Dr. Allen Pietrobon, Associate Professor of Global Affairs
Dr. Jamey Ann Piland, Associate Professor of Communication
*Honors Program advisor: Ms. Roniesha Hardee, Assistant Director of the Center for Student Success
Description
The Trinity Honors Program offers seminar-style classes that provide a platform for College of Arts and Sciences students to think and reason critically, engage with and generate original and creative ideas, and participate in advanced academic discourse. Upon completing the program, students will be prepared to explore the intersection between informed theory and applied practice.
In addition to reinforcing the goals of the general education curriculum, the program emphasizes the following:
- Academic Excellence: The program encourages students to achieve at their highest potential, both in their major fields and in the broader context of their liberal arts education. Students must earn a grade of “B” or higher in all honors courses and maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to remain in the program.
- Conscientious Leadership: The program challenges students to develop greater insights into the values, attitudes, and assumptions they hold about themselves and others and to explore the connection between these values and the world around them. Scholars will learn to become effective leaders who promote social justice.
- Intellectual Ambition: The program inspires students to investigate novel areas of intellectual development, participate in new methods of learning, examine the connections between disciplines and approaches, and engage in original research.
First-year students are invited to participate in the Honors Program on the basis of their high school GPA, standardized test scores, and the college admissions essay.
Students who are accepted in the Honors program will complete 6 honors-designated courses that include a research project with a focus on Social Justice within the candidate’s field of study. The Honors candidate must pass each class with a grade of B or better in all Honors courses, maintain a 3.0 overall GPA, and provide 20 hours of community service by the end of their senior year. The student will have the notation “Honors Scholar” added to their transcripts at the time of graduation.
Honors Curriculum
Students should consult the Honors advisor and enroll in the HONORS sections of the below courses as indicated in the schedule of classes in Self-Service.
First Year
COM 150 Critical Reasoning and Oral ArgumentationThe course is designed to improve the capacity for reasoning and to gain the strategies necessary for assessing the variances in messages in everyday interactions. The course also assists students to construct convincing arguments and critically evaluate the claims and premises in written and oral communication. The course fits into the larger first year curriculum by giving a set of methodological tools with which to critique complex arguments, assess the sufficiency and relevance of social scientific evidence, and prepare creative and well-reasoned arguments in a variety of written and oral communicative contexts.
3 credits
Prerequisites: None/PHIL 150 Critical Reasoning and Oral ArgumentationThe course is designed to improve the capacity for reasoning and to gain the strategies necessary for assessing the variances in messages in everyday interactions. The course also assists students to construct convincing arguments and critically evaluate the claims and premises in written and oral communication. The course fits into the larger first year curriculum by giving a set of methodological tools with which to critique complex arguments, assess the sufficiency and relevance of social scientific evidence, and prepare creative and well-reasoned arguments in a variety of written and oral communicative contexts.
3 credits
Prerequisites: None
CRS 102 Critical Reading and Writing Seminar IIThis course further develops the critical reading and academic writing skills addressed in CRS 101 through engagement with texts in a particular academic discipline. Students will choose a CRS 102 course that addresses an interesting, meaningful or important disciplinary question, and build reading and writing skills through close readings and written responses to the assigned texts. CRS 102 courses are offered on a variety of academic topics, and students choose the one that is most compelling to them.
All students will be expected to work toward the following learning goals:
-Describe and apply comprehension strategies
-Summarize textual ideas accurately and in their own words
-Compare, contrast and organize textual ideas and arguments into writing
-Apply revision and editing strategies to writing
-Acknowledge sources according to disciplinary conventions
-Locate, differentiate between and evaluate the credibility of academic sources
Formerly CRS 102 - CRS: Prof & Career Success in the Health Professions.
3 credits
Prerequisite: CRS 101.
This course is usually taken simultaneously with English 107.
ENGL 107 College CompositionDevelops effective writing of evidence-based, thesis-centered academic essays. Emphasizes the research and documentation skills necessary for successful academic writing. Focuses on argumentative essays that build to a substantive research paper. Formerly ENG 107 College Composition.
3 credits
General Education: Foundational Skills Area
FLC Area I Core Area I: Skills for Work and Life
RST 101 Religion and Human ExperienceAn introduction to the study of religion as an academic discipline. Students examine contemporary expressions and understandings of religion, especially religious traditions other than their own, and the role that religion plays in our time not only in constructive but also in destructive ways. The course examines the expression of religious experience in history as well as psychological and sociological perspectives on religious experience. In addition to methods for studying religion, attention is given to the roles of myth, creed and symbol in religious discourse.
3 credits
Prerequisites: None
General Education Area: Values and Beliefs
Second Year
ENVS 101 Discovering Planet EarthIntroduces non-science majors to evolution, earth science, and plate tectonics with an emphasis on the mid-Atlantic region. Labs include use of the scientific method, development of observational skills, computer-assisted learning, and several field trips. There is an additional laboratory fee for this course. Formerly ENV 101 Discovering Planet Earth.
4 credits
General Education: Knowledge and Inquiry Area
FLC Area IV
Core Area II: Understanding Self, Society, and Nature OR SOCY 200 Social ProblemsExamines social political and economic organization and its impact on social problems. Parses the social nature of social problems and how they stem from cultural and social arrangements. Critical interrogation into how political and economic processes impact social bias and affect current responses to social issues leads to understanding of why so many social policies fail. Formerly SOCY 105 Social Problems
3 credits
General Education Curriculum: Knowledge and Inquiry Area
FLC Area V
HIS 346 History of Protest in the Modern WorldExamines global protest movements from the 19th century to today, exploring how citizens resist exploitation, discrimination, war, oppression, and environmental harm. Analyzes what forms of protest and activism?both violent and non-violent?succeed or fail, and how people take action when governments suppress civil society. Hones research skills and effective methods for advocacy and civil engagement. OR WST 368 Women and LeadershipExplores women's leadership issues at the intersection of race, class, and gender. Key themes include the relational aspects of leadership, authenticity, identity and power, and the voice of leadership.
General Education Applications Area: Leadership
3 credits
Third Year
INT 310 Honors Research SeminarIntegrating research skills developed in pre-requisite honors courses, students will learn the stages of the interdisciplinary research process: choosing a mentor, formulating research questions, evaluating sources, generating and presenting analyses. Course readings invite students to explore the relationship between academic research and promoting social justice. Written assignments guide students to research questions and source materials that speak directly to social justice issues in their local communities, resulting in appropriate social justice research topics.
*3 credits
Prerequisites: ENG 107 (H) ENG 299, INT 309
INT 497 Honors Independent ResearchFocuses on managing research projects, working with research mentors, and presenting findings of original research
3 Credits
Prerequisites: INT 310