Overview for Student - Honors 491
Interdisciplinary Junior Honors Seminars

The Interdisciplinary Junior Honors Seminar forms the "breadth" component of the Honors degree requirement, contrasting with the in-depth study within a discipline entailed in the Senior Honors Project, which normally follows the seminar and Introduction to Research, HON 495. Honors 491 can be used toward fulfillment of degree requirements for upper-division electives and the writing-intensive requirement. Enrollment is limited to between ten and twelve Honors students per seminar. Grading is on a CR/NC basis, and your instructor submits a critique of your participation in discussions and your written work, along with a recommendation of  "No Honors,"  "Honors," "High Honors," or "Highest Honors."

These evaluations, along with the ones from the research course, your grade point average, and critiques of the Senior Honors Project, form the basis of the Honors Council's decision on the distinction with which you will graduate:

• Honors
• High Honors
• Highest Honors

Content and Structure
Junior Honors Seminars are designed with enough breadth to interest any Honors student, regardless of major. Ideally, it should take you as far away from your major as possible. To achieve a goal of heterogeneity in the seminar, students from all majors will be together. Each semester, several seminars are offered, one of which is bound to pique your interest. Select the one which interests you. We'll do our best to accommodate your request, within the bounds of heterogeneity, which should be preserved to promote a lively interchange.

Classes meet once weekly for two and a half hours. In these seminars, instructors lecture infrequently. Rather, the class format is generally discussion. Often, one student per week is responsible for a major report and leading the subsequent discussion, but other formats which encourage participation by everyone are possible.

Participation by all is key to the interchange which makes HON 491 a challenging, stimulating class for you. Although speaking up during discussions comes easier to some than others, you will find that with time, you will become more confident and articulate in discussions. Remember, your opinions and ideas are important in these courses

In this writing-intensive course, you will produce about twenty pages of written work. Your instructor will advise you of the nature of the written component on the course syllabus.