Honors Program | University of the Arts

Description

The University Honors Program at the University of the Arts is intended to provide academically exceptional and creatively gifted students with a rigorous and enriching intellectual and artistic experience while pursuing their undergraduate degree. The University Honors Program will provide an opportunity for students to be a part of a community of Honors Scholars with a high level of commitment to investigating the role of the performing, visual and writing arts in contemporary life. Coursework leading to the fulfillment of the University Honors Program will challenge Honors Scholars to expand the limits of their intellect, artistry and imagination.

The Honors Program comprises a total of 15 credits. Honors Scholars begin the program with one of three courses: Honors sections of either FYWT*112, First-Year Writing Seminar II Honors, UACC*101 Creative Practices Honors, or Humanities Seminar (HUMS), which serve as the gateway course to the Honors program. Scholars must also complete one honors-enriched course in each of the following: one course in their major field of study or discipline; one course from the Division of Liberal Arts; and, one course in a major or discipline outside of their own field. Scholars must also complete the Honors Thesis Tutorial and Colloquia in which scholars complete an Honors Thesis related to the capstone work in their major.

In addition to the Honors coursework, Honors Scholars must also complete 15 hours of community service each semester of the Honors Program for a total of 75 hours to complete the Honors Program requirements. Honors Scholars must also participate in one field experience related to their major through practical professional experiences like internships, apprenticeships, and alumni shadowing.

While not required, Honors Scholars are strongly encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to study internationally in order to broaden the scope of their understanding of their field of study. Scholars can accomplish this through a study abroad semester or other short-term travel experiences and courses.

Program Objectives

Professional preparation
Honors Scholars at the University of the Arts are preparing first and foremost to become artists, designers, writers, and performers, engaged in a creative professional life. This means providing students with the tools that they will need to be successful as creative professionals including:

The ability to communicate their vision
The ability to understand the nuances of the global and economic factors of their profession
The ability to present themselves well to potential employers, funders, supporters, etc.

Provide field experiences that further Honors Scholars’ professional preparation
Honor Scholars should have the opportunity during the course of their studies to explore their field through practical professional experiences like internships, apprenticeships, and alumni shadowing.

Provide an intellectual breadth and the critical and analytical skills to effectively communicate their own vision as an artist, performer, writer, or designer and their role in society
We expect that Honors Scholars will have a high level of curiosity about their particular fields of study and how their work is situated in historical and global contexts. We also expect that they will possess the skills to think deeply and critically about their fields and their role in their society.

Provide opportunities for Honors Scholars for the development of effective research skills and the ability to synthesize or translate research into a tangible, concrete creative expression
We expect that Honors Scholars will engage in critical inquiry or investigation that makes or creates an original or creative contribution to the discipline. By developing effective research skills, scholars will enhance their learning and creativity.

Provide an environment that fosters innovative, collaborative, and interdisciplinary work
Honors Scholars at the University of the Arts will be expected to explore the traditional boundaries of their disciplines and to work with peers from other disciplines to develop new and exciting means of creating and designing new work.

Integrative learning
It is critical that Honors Scholars understand that their degree program is not merely a set of requirements taken in a prescribed order and fashion. Rather, they must understand how each of their courses relates to and relies on other course work to help them achieve an education as an artist, performer, writer, or designer that is both broad and deep.

Encourage the development of a sense of commitment to and engagement with the community and an understanding of the roles of the artist, performer, writer, and designer in the community
Aligned with the University of the Arts mission statement, which begins, “The arts have the power to transform society,” Honor Scholars will engage in community service that communicates, especially to those outside the University, how art and performance form an essential facet of our culture and can improve people’s lives,. Honors Scholars will work with organizations with which the University has established collaborative relationships.

An understanding of how their own work is situated in a global context
Honors Scholars at the University of the Arts must have an understanding that their creative works exist in a global market and that culturally constructed boundaries are permeable.

An understanding of how their own work is situated in an historical context
All of the disciplines at the University of the Arts have rich historical traditions. Honors Scholars will have a deep understanding of how their work both fits into these historical traditions, as well as challenges the historical notions of these fields.

A sense of entrepreneurship
To be an entrepreneur is to be innovative and transformative. We expect that Honors Scholars will have drive and ambition to become the creative entrepreneurs of the next generation. We will help them to build the foundation that will allow them to challenge, question, create, and innovate in their fields.

Admission to the Program

Students are invited to apply to the Honors Program by Admissions based on their high school GPA and admission test scores. Students with a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 after completion of one semester of coursework at the University of the Arts, will also be invited to apply. Honors Scholars must maintain a 3.75 cumulative grade point average in order to continue in and complete the Honors Program. Students who fall below the 3.75 minimum cumulative average will be placed on Honors Probation and will be dismissed from the Program if their cumulative score remains under 3.75 for two consecutive semesters. Scholars who fall below a cumulative average of 3.5 are automatically dismissed. Transfer students are eligible to apply to be Honors Scholars if their cumulative grade point average from their previous college or university is 3.75 or higher.

Program Requirements

Required Courses

Honors First-Year Writing II, Honors Humanities Seminar, or UACC*101: Creative Practices Honors 1.5 - 3 credits
One course in your major area of study with honors designation 3 credits
One Liberal Arts course with Honors designation 3 credits
One course outside your major area of study with Honors designation 3 credits
15 hours of community service each semester of the Honors Program 75 hours total
HNRS 401 Honors Tutorial & Colloquium I 1.5 credits
HNRS 402 Honors Tutorial & Colloquium II 1.5 credits