PROGRAM
OVERVIEW
The
University Honors Program is Maryland's long established living-learning
program for students with exceptional academic talents. The Honors Program
welcomes students into a close-knit community of faculty and intellectually
gifted undergraduates committed to acquiring a broad and balanced education.
Honors seminars are small classes taught by outstanding faculty who
encourage discussion and foster innovative thinking. Students combine
Honors course work with electives and studies in their major to deepen
their total educational experience. The University Honors Program is
characterized by flexibility and choice, with most students earning
their Honors Citation by the end of 5 semesters (but they remain part
of the Honors Program all four years). Honors students are encouraged
to participate in broad research, scholarship, internship, international,
service, and other experiential opportunities. Each year approximately
800 undergraduates are invited into this highly selective program.
THE
BEST OF THE BEST ELEMENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY
HONORS PROGRAM:
•
OUTSTANDING STUDENTS + OUTSTANDING FACULTY
It's all about the people; a truly exceptional
group of people. The Honors peer group is awesome – lively students
from all majors full of intellectual excitement, creativity, diverse
ideas, and lasting friendships. Combine excellent students with superb
faculty in small classes and the result is a power-packed and highly
efficient learning environment. Honors people are full of curiosity,
productivity, energy, and humor.
•
HONORS COURSES
University Honors students have the privilege of taking Honors
courses in addition to other classes. Honors courses are of 2 types:
Honors Seminars and Honors Versions (“H-Versions”), and they are open
only to Honors students. A wide diversity of Honors
Seminars are offered by the University Honors Program on highly
engaging, often interdisciplinary topics, and taught by outstanding
faculty. Honors Seminars are full 3-credit courses capped at an enrollment
of 20 students. Most Honors Seminars fulfill a CORE (General Education)
requirement so they count towards credits required for graduation. Honors
Seminars emphasize synthetic thinking rather than memorization of facts.
H-Version
classes are courses hosted by academic departments and colleges on campus.
They typically have lower enrollments, more sophisticated material,
and proceed at a faster pace than a corresponding standard course. Most
H-versions have a separate lecture; some join the larger course for
lectures and then break out for separate lab or discussion sections.
You
may take as many Honors Seminars or H-Version courses as you like; most
students take 5 to earn their University Honors
Citation.
Because
Honors Seminars count towards CORE and H-version courses count toward
major requirements or CORE, Honors courses are not extra classes
– they are taken instead of other classes that a student would have
to take anyway to fulfill graduation requirements. Most Honors
students feel that their Honors courses were among the very best
classes that they took at the University of Maryland.
•
SMALL COLLEGE ATMOSPHERE; LARGE RESEARCH INSTITUTION ADVANTAGES
The University Honors Program combines
the best of 2 educational options: the sophisticated academic offerings
and friendly residential environment of a small liberal arts college
nested within the rich, diverse, boundless opportunities of a big research
institution (with the extra perks of the dynamite Terp spirit).
Honors
as your “academic home” provides an instant group of friends and compatible
community as well as enriched courses so you'll feel “plugged in” immediately
even on this big campus. Over time, you will get connected to loads
of other people and activities at the University through your major,
extracurriculars, and research or internship opportunities. You will
never exhaust all that the University of Maryland and the Washington
metropolitan area have to offer: exceptional scholarly and research
experiences (check out Departmental Honors options), faculty at the
forefronts of their fields, graduate courses for advanced students,
internship opportunities in virtually any arena,
and a plethora of arts / entertainment.
•
CHOICE, FLEXIBILITY, VERSATILITY
A part of Honors that we treasure is the individual choice
that each student has in designing his/her education. There are no specific
courses and no course sequences required by the Honors Program; same
with participation in extracurricular activities sponsored by Honors.
Each student selects the courses and activities that best fit his/her
interests and objectives. We offer the smorgasbord of intellectual and
diversionary delicacies: you decide which to taste.
That
said, the ace advising team in Honors ( Mr. Dean Hebert and Ms. Liza
Lebrun ) as well as advisors in the discipline of your major are on
deck to help you make informed decisions and to talk through options,
assist you with academic deadlines and requirements, planning for Study
Abroad, or work with you to decide on a major if you have not yet found
your passion.
The
Honors Program is extremely flexible, so it's a great fit for students
of any major (or double major).
•
DIVERSITY
By any possible measure the University Honors Program is diverse,
and we value that diversity as a substantive educational resource and
catalyst for powerful personal growth. Students thrive in an atmosphere
where they may discuss, listen, and understand varied perspectives from
people with different backgrounds and ideas. We aspire to develop the
understanding, openness and comfort to be facile with the diverse, globalized
world that we all share.
•
BREADTH AND DEPTH
Change is inevitable . Broad exposure to a variety of disciplines
and ways of thinking, as reflected by Honors Seminars fulfilling Maryland's
CORE philosophy
and requirements, will challenge your mind in many different directions
and help build a critically thinking, multi-talented, logical, compassionate
person who can adapt to professional and personal changes in the decades
ahead.
The
breadth of Honors Seminars is complimented by the more focused, in-depth
exploration of your particular area of interest, i.e. your major, at
a leading research institution excellent faculty and premiere, up-to-date
programs.
Emerging
from your undergraduate years with the robust combination of educational
breadth and depth will equip you with the preparation to excel in your
career(s), and your life, by embracing life-long learning and continued
personal growth.
•
(LOCATION)
Location, location, location. The University of Maryland is
auspiciously positioned to provide exceptional access to research and
internship experiences as well as diversions of any possible type.
The
University's beautiful campus
( http://www.umd.edu/virtualum/
) features incredible resources such as the stunning Clarice
Smith Center for the Performing Arts, loads of specialized research
facilities, the really impressive campus
recreation center AND with the awesome advantages of Metro DC!
The Washington Metropolitan area offers access to a bonanza of research
and internship experiences. In addition to the scholarly resources of
the Library of Congress, National Archives, and museum collections,
loads of research institutions such as the National Institutes of Health,
the Smithsonian Institution, and the Folger Shakespeare Library, are
located within easy commuting distance for students electing to explore
research. Additionally, nearly every business, foundation, branch of
government, journalism / broadcasting company, trade group, professional
organization has an office, if not its headquarters, in the D.C. area,
and are eager for undergraduate interns. Internships during the academic
year, winter term, or summer session provide excellent opportunities
to test drive both your education and your interests in addition to
building your resum é .
This
exceptional location and close proximity to the College Park Metro Station
(on
the Green line) also provide easy access to an endless array of
cultural events, movies, arts, sports, museums, restaurants, shopping,
etc. in the hub of the nation.
•
LIFE AFTER HONORS
The University of Maryland Honors Program has proven to be
a great launch pad for the next step after college. For example, here
is a summary of the destinations of May 2007 University Honors graduates
– their plans immediately after graduation:
Joining the workforce (job in hand) directly after graduation: 40.9%
Enrolling in graduate or professional school
in fall '07: 50.5%
[Of this group, 62.5% are bound for grad
school in an academic subject; 28% will begin medical, dental, or
vet school, and 9.4% will enter law school]
-
Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Teach
for America: 3.2%
- U.S. Military Service: 0.5%
-
Travel, internship, or unsure of
plans: 4.7%
Among the graduate and professional school destinations
of May 2007 University Honors graduates are Brown, Cal Tech, Cambridge,
Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Penn,
Princeton, Stanford, UCLA, University of Chicago, University of Maryland,
University of Michigan
