Honors Program
The Hood College Honors Program is a four-year program of coursework, co-curricular events and extracurricular activities. Academically exceptional first-year students and transfer students are encouraged to apply to the program. Honors courses, which are designed to cultivate students’ ability to examine our complex world, are interdisciplinary in approach and are often team-taught. Classes are small, discussion-oriented and enhanced by guest speakers and field trips.
The Honors Program includes the following requirements:
• FYS 101H and HON 102 during first year
• HON 201 and HON 202 during sophomore year
• 9 additional credits of Honors coursework during sophomore, junior and senior years
• One 202-level foreign language course (or exemption)
GPA Requirements
To remain in good standing in the Honors Program, first-year students are required to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are required to maintain at least a 3.25 GPA. Students who have a GPA that falls below the minimum requirement will be placed on probation within the program or dismissed from it.
Grade Requirements
A grade of “C-” or better is required in each Honors course being used to satisfy the Program requirements.
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Any student who receives a grade lower than a C- in FYS 101H will be dismissed from the program.
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If allowed to continue in Honors, any student receiving a grade lower than C- in HON 102, HON 201 or HON 202 will need to repeat that course the next time it is offered and earn a grade of C- or higher in order to fulfill the program requirements.
Foreign Language Requirement
All students in the Honors Program must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language through the 202-level. Proficiency can be demonstrated by successful completion of a 202-level course or by a placement exam.
First-Year Honors Experience
First-year students in the Honors Program take two Colloquium courses organized around interdisciplinary themes. In the first semester the course emphasizes the humanities and social sciences. The second semester explores a theme related to the natural sciences.
FYS 101H First Year Seminar-Honors Colloquium I
HON 102 Honors Colloquium II
Sophomore Year Honors Experience
The sophomore year in Honors helps students to explore the nature of knowledge, cultural differences and the individual’s place in society.
During the second semester (HON 202) students combine scholarly research with experiential learning.
HON 201 Honors Colloquium III
HON 202 Honors Practicum
By invitation, selected Hood students may begin the program at the sophomore level and exempt first year Honors courses.
Junior and Senior Years
Students in the Honors program will complete at least nine credits at the 300-level or above, to include at least one HON 470 Seminar in Honors, which may be repeated once under a different topic. Students who study abroad for at least one semester may count that experience as one of their Honors electives. Students who complete a two-semester departmental honors paper (499) may count that as one of their Honors electives.
Honors students may begin taking their electives in the sophomore year. Because Honors electives are offered on a variable schedule, students who are especially interested in a particular elective are urged to take it the first time it is offered during their eligible years.
Honors Program Thesis
As an alternative to a departmental honors paper, students in Hood’s Honors Program may elect to complete a 3-credit interdisciplinary paper or project during the fall or spring semester of the senior year.
HON 499 Honors Thesis
Relationship to the Core Curriculum
Students will receive one Methods of Inquiry Core Curriculum exemption for each Honors course completed in the 102, 201, 202 sequence. (No Honors credit may be applied to the laboratory science
requirement.) Successful completion of HON 201 satisfies the Global Perspectives requirement of the Core Curriculum.
Transferring into the Honors Program
The Honors Program welcomes qualified transfer students. Those who have successfully completed two years of an honors program at another college before they transfer to Hood may apply to the Hood College
Honors Program at the junior level without having to complete the first-year and sophomore Honors courses at Hood. In order to complete the program, such students must take a minimum of three Honors Program courses at the 300-level or above (HON 499, Department Honors (499), and/or study abroad can count toward this requirement), to include at least one HON 470 Seminar in Honors, which may be repeated once under a different topic and complete the foreign language requirement (see below).
Students who transfer to Hood in their sophomore year, or students who transfer in their junior year without having completed two years of an honors program at another college, may also apply to the Honors
Program. They must take a minimum of five Honors Program courses (usually HON 201, HON 202, and at least three courses at the 300-level or above (HON 499, Departmental Honors (499) and/or study abroad can count toward this requirement), to include HON 470, which may be repeated once under a different topic, and complete the foreign language requirement (see below). Sophomore transfers who complete HON 201 and HON 202 may exempt two courses from the Methods of Inquiry section of the Core (not a lab science).
Foreign Language Requirement Students transferring into the Honors Program with an A.A., A.S., or A.A.T. from a Maryland community college or who have earned A.A. equivalency may satisfy the foreign language requirement in one of the following ways:
Demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language at the 203-level (by coursework or placement exam)
or
Successfully complete any two foreign language courses
or
Complete one foreign language course and one of the following
AFPS 353, Contemporary African Political Thought
ANTH 302, Cultural Anthropology
ART 356, Art of Japan
GER 301, Berlin in the 20th Century
GLBS 301, Human Migrations: Refugees and IDPs
MEST 300, Cultures of the Middle East
PLRL 306, Chinese Thought
REL 304, Islam
REL 312, Holidays and Festivals
Note: Students who place in and complete a 203, 204 or civilization course-level French, German, or Spanish course during the first semester at Hood with a grade of C or above earn 6 additional credits. No additional credits are awarded for students already awarded transfer credit for French, German or Spanish 201 and 202. Students who transfer in credit for a 201-level foreign language class still need to take an additional course in a foreign language or from the above list in order to satisfy the Honors Program language requirement.
Recognition of Honors Students
To graduate from the Honors Program, students must maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of at least 3.25. In meeting the Honors Program requirements, students will earn Honors Program recognition on their academic records.