Overview
The Honors Program offers an alternative to the Liberal Studies Program for well-prepared, highly motivated students who apply and are accepted to the program. Like the Liberal Studies Program, the Honors Program seeks to widen students’ perspectives beyond their academic majors and encourage critical thinking, self-reflection, and an examination of values. In addition, the Honors Program fosters active, participatory learning; promotes interdisciplinary and cross-cultural studies; requires students to develop facility in a second language and to pursue independent research; helps students see themselves as members of larger communities in which they can be leaders; and assists interested students to prepare for post-graduate education. In order to meet these goals, the program: offers small classes designed for Honors students, organized in a seminar format and taught by faculty committed to the program’s goals; emphasizes cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives in all core courses; advances students’ skills in writing, research, reading and analysis; requires intensive language training; encourages self-directed learning through a third-year research course and the fourth-year seminar or thesis; offers lecture and film series, field trips, and opportunities for public service; and provides information and advising to assist with academic planning.
Some students are invited to apply to the Honors Program upon their admission to DePaul. Invitations to apply are issued on the basis of a student’s academic and co-curricular profile. Students are also welcome to initiate their own Honors application. In some cases, continuing DePaul students and transfer students may be considered for the Honors Program through the second quarter of their freshman year. Students who successfully complete the Honors curriculum will have the designation “Honors Program Graduate” on their official transcript.
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge of the arts, humanities, mathematics, natural and social sciences.
- Comprehensively access, systematically analyze, and critically evaluate data and ideas.
- Construct, support, and effectively communicate complex ideas and arguments in speech, writing, and other media.
- Analyze and evaluate texts, creative works, and other primary sources.
- Evaluate ethical issues from multiple perspectives and identify opportunities and strategies for social transformation.
- Demonstrate respect for human diversity and a critical awareness of their own assumptions, stereotypes, and biases when confronting difference.
- Demonstrate understanding of global interconnectedness and interdependencies.
- Reflect on connections between individual experiences and the Honors curriculum.
- Design, research, and execute a significant interdisciplinary project.