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Honors Program Curriculum

The Saint Louis University Honors Program requires 18 credit hours of coursework and an honors capstone. Honors students also complete four Contemplation in Action options, experiential learning options that take them out of the classroom for an honors-enhanced opportunity. Honors students enrich their core and major/minor courses to meet the credit hour requirement.

Courses

All students complete the following honors courses, for a total of 9 credits.

HR 2800 Honors Seminar: Our Common Home

This course for second-year honors students considers the common good in modern society. In smaller, discussion-based seminars with other honors students, led by faculty from a range of academic fields, students develop their capacities to reflect, debate and write effectively about the complex challenges of life in an era of political polarization, digital connection and globalization. Drawing from a variety of disciplinary perspectives — including anthropology, art history, biology, fine and performing arts, history, literature, philosophy, social sciences, and theology — we consider the role of the common good in our relationships, our collective responsibilities and our pursuit of vocational identity.

HR 4000 Honors Seminar: The Scholar in Society

In this upper-level seminar, honors students examine the purpose of education, the role of expertise, and the responsibilities students bear as emerging "scholars in society." Students think collectively about what thoughtful, well-educated citizens contribute to the common good by combining hard-won expertise in specific fields with a broad appreciation for contextualized knowledge about the world. Civic engagement, and the need for collaborative orientation in civic spaces, are cornerstones of course discussion. Guest speakers from a variety of disciplines provide an overview of national and international topics that empowers students to think critically about their roles as an expert and encourages them to create their own definition of the scholar in society. Students also collaborate in interdisciplinary groups to creatively tackle a major societal concern. 

HR 4960 Honors Senior Capstone

In their final year at Saint Louis University, with guidance and support from a faculty mentor in their chosen area of study, every honors student completes a comprehensive research, creative or community-based project. These projects are as wide-ranging as the interests of our students. Some complete independent projects, while others enrich an existing departmental course. Regardless, this is an opportunity for you to design and pursue a project that reflects your interests and demonstrates the knowledge and skills you have developed as an undergraduate student. Following are some examples:

  • Biomedical Engineering - a physical project or invention created by the student
  • Chemistry - a laboratory report or manuscript summarizing student research results
  • Fine Art - a performance, portfolio, documentary, or manuscript of original creative work
  • History - a thesis synthesizing primary and secondary sources to generate a new argument
  • Marketing - a portfolio of brand development designed for a specific company or campaign
  • Nursing - a poster presentation of research on the effectiveness of a medical intervention
  • Sociology - an evaluation of current trends in human behavior

Students complete four additional honors courses through any combination of the following, for a total of 12 credits.

Honors-only Courses

These special, smaller sections are limited to honors students and feature distinctive pedagogical approaches to deepen student learning in core coursework. These courses offer unique opportunities for collaborative discussion, intentional reflection, and investigative exploration while building meaningful relationships with faculty and peers. Past offerings have included the following options:

  • HCE 2010 Foundations in Clinical Health Care Ethics
  • PHIL 1753 Life Examined through Writing and Dialogue
  • SERV 1000 Ignatian Spirituality and Service
  • THEO 1659 Great Texts in Theology: Close Textual Readings

Dual-listed Courses

Each semester, more than 100 courses are offered by departments across the university with seats reserved for honors students. Students who enroll in the honors section complete supplementary work that encourages deep engagement with the course. This could be work that integrates multiple disciplinary perspectives, assignments that reflect the kind of work you might do down the road, community-based experiences or leadership opportunities in the class. Dual-listed courses allow you to work closely with faculty, demonstrate initiative and tailor your classroom experience to match your intellectual interests and talents. See courses.slu.edu for a complete list of course offerings!

Contracted Courses

The Honors Program encourages students to delve deeply into the areas and topics that spark their curiosity. To support that, students may “contract” upper-level courses for honors credit. Ideally, this expands their learning in their chosen fields of study (major or minor), but students may also propose a course contract for the University Core or another specific area of interest. This can be an opportunity to develop strong working relationships with faculty and prepare to pursue an honors capstone project in a future semester. We encourage you to contract at least one upper-level course in your major.

Graduate-level Courses

Honors students who elect to take graduate-level courses not already required for their program of study may propose these as part of their honors coursework. Completion of the graduate-level work counts as the honors enrichment for the course. Graduate-level courses already required for your program must be further distinguished with supplemental assignments in order to be proposed for honors credit.