Selected Studies - Lower Division

The "First-Year Honors Experience": A Foundation for Honors Students, "First-Year Honors Experience" is a year-long sequence consisting of HON 101, "Manoa Campus and Its Neighborhoods," and HON 102, "Research at Manoa," that introduces students to the Manoa campus and its surrounding communities, to the research being conducted on the campus, and to themselves as students embarked on the adventure of an undergraduate liberal education at a Research I university. Students are placed in cohorts and work collaboratively on a project. With peer mentors, faculty mentors, advising for registration, and experience working on a research project, "First-Year Honors Experience" is the fast-track to success at Manoa.

"A" Section Courses: These selected classes are drawn from the large, required general education courses: history, literature, mathematics, political science, etc. Honors "A" sections encourage students to challenge assumptions. They challenge students to take responsibility for their education. They foster students' engagement with their education. These "A" sections are special in three ways. First, the classes are small, even though they are 100 and 200 level introductory courses. Often the enrollments are as low as 20, which encourages discussion and greater student engagement with the material and closer interaction with faculty. Second, Honors students have a pre-registration process that guarantees them seats in the class. Third, the courses are staffed by some of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's most distinguished teachers. An intimate atmosphere with motivated students and dedicated instructors create a formula for excellence.

"Honors Tutorial": This variable credit course (HON 190) is usually a one-credit supplement attached to courses that departments are unable to offer as low enrollment "A-Sections," for example Math 100. HON 190 is also used at times to supplement a science lab class, being added, for example, to BIOL 171L and BIOL 172L. Departments have a standing syllabus for the Honors Tutorial that allows students to earn an Honors credit as they meet for an additional contact hour with the instructor to study the subject in more depth than usual. Students who wish to add HON 190 to a course that is not already authorized by a department will need the instructor's permission and assistance in constructing a syllabus and submitting it to the Honors Director for approval.

SOPHOMORE CURRICULUM

"Sophomore Seminars": These three credit courses (HON 291) are taught in seminar style, with an enrollment of 15, and the classes are selected to meet different diversification areas in the General Education curriculum. Topics are specially designed by faculty and are structured by an inquiry-based process.

HON 301: "Research and Public Policy" encourages second-year students to undertake disciplined inquiry, specifically, to explore issues of ethical principle or public policy. HON 301 is especially appropriate for those students who were unable to enroll in HON 101 as freshmen because it serves as a bridge for engaging in research between HON 101 and HON 495, in which juniors prepare for independent work on their Senior Honors Project.

Honors - Upper Division

HON 491 "Junior Honors Seminar" (3 credits)
Topics vary from semester to semester, and enrollment is limited to twelve students. Courses are offered by some of the most innovative professors, are interdisciplinary in nature, and challenge students to look at the world through different perspectives.

Completion of the Senior Honors Project requires the following course sequence:

HON 495 "Introduction to Research" (3 credits)
This course is designed to give the student a broad look at research problems and methodologies. Students are also given an opportunity to begin exploring and developing possible topics for their Senior Honors Projects.

HON 496 "Senior Honors Project" (3 credits)
A two-semester sequence in which students in the first semester continue developing the foundational work they started in HON 495, and complete the project in the second semester. Honors students receive guidance in their project from a faculty member of their choice.