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Home > Academics > Core
and Graduation Requirements |
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Core
and Graduation Requirements |
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| All students must successfully complete
120 credits to graduate. Of these, 27-35
credits are in the Honors Core. The Honors
Core is devoted to obtaining a broad-based
education in the liberal arts and sciences
through courses that emphasize critical
thinking and writing skills. These courses
introduce students to ways of thinking
about science, politics, history, ethics,
culture, visual images, and literature.
Some of these courses serve as introductions
to a specific discipline. Others approach
problems and themes in ways that cross
traditional disciplinary boundaries. In addition, students take 23-31 credits of other graduation requirements, as well as a thesis, study abroad or internship, and coursework in the concentration. |
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| Core
Requirements: |
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Writing (3-7
credits, three courses) |
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Writing
Portfolio |
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Mathematics (6-8
credits, two courses) |
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Natural
Sciences (6-8 credits, two courses) |
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Social
and Behavioral Analysis (3
credits, one course) |
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Culture,
Ideas, and Values (3 credits,
one course) |
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Literature (3 credits, one course) |
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Arts (3 credits, one course) |
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| Other
Graduation Requirements: |
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Distribution
Electives (6 credits, two courses) |
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Foreign
Language (8 credits, two courses) |
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Critical
Inquiry Seminars (5-9 credits,
3 courses) |
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International
and Environmental Studies (2-6
credits, two courses) |
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Internship or Study Abroad (3-12 credits) |
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Honors Forum (2 credits, two courses) |
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Concentration with Honors Thesis (36-73 credits; students entering Fall 2005 or later must receive a C in all courses counting towards concentration) |
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Academic Learning Compact |
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| For additional information: |
•Complete List of Core and Graduation Requirements
•University catalog and academic policies
•Policy on taking non-Honors College courses |
Writing (3-7
credits, three courses, revised Oct. 2005)
One of the most important skills students acquire is the ability to communicate
effectively. Clear writing is inseparable from clear and coherent thinking.
Honors College courses are writing-intensive and provide guidance in researching,
composing, editing, and revising papers. Students do substantial writing in
different disciplines and in formats as diverse as essays, research papers,
lab reports, and debate briefs.
A senior Honors thesis or the written component of a senior Honors project
will interweave the research, analytical, and writing skills acquired in the
first three years. To augment the writing-intensive curriculum and prepare
for the independent thesis or project, students enroll in three core writing courses, at least one of which must be a Writing in the Disciplines (WID) course. Students should note that some concentrations may require a 4000-level WID course. If the student is required to take ENC 1123, then this course will count as one of the three Core writing courses.
Another component of the writing requirement
is the Writing Portfolio. |
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Writing Portfolio
All Honors College students will have a mid-career assessment of their writing
at the end of their sophomore year. This involves assessment by a committee
of faculty of a writing portfolio. The portfolio will consist of essays with professors comments, and should be turned in to Maruchy
Lachance in the Honors College Dean’s
Suite no later than the last day of the spring semester of the
sophomore year.
Students submit two essays meeting the following requirements:
1. one essay each from your 1st and 2nd years at the Honors College
2. both essays must have your professor's comments on them
3. at least one essay should be at least four (4) pages in length
4. total page number for both essays combined should be at least eight (8) pages
(In addition, papers written for the Honors Forum will be included in your portfolio.)
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The point of the writing portfolio is to ensure that you are prepared to write the Honors Thesis in your senior year. You will receive feedback indicating whether you are progressing at a level that indicates you will be ready to successfully complete an Honors Thesis in your senior year or whether you should do additional coursework in writing in your junior year in order to strengthen your writing before embarking on the thesis project.
The Honors College no longer requires a cover sheet to be submitted with your writing samples. Just be sure your name is on each paper submitted. |
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Mathematics (6-8
credits, two courses)
One goal of the honors core is to help foster mathematical literacy. Mathematics
is the languages of science and technology and increasingly of the social sciences.
By virtue of its precision, mathematics allows a clear understanding of the world
and our place within it. Indeed, important health and environmental issues (acid
rain, water management, greenhouse effect) cannot be understood without mathematical
literacy. By taking two courses in mathematics students will sharpen their critical
thinking skills, learning to distinguish evidence from anecdote, and causality
from correlation. |
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Natural Sciences (6-8
credits, two courses)
By taking two courses in two distinct disciplines within the natural sciences,
students will gain an appreciation and understanding of the natural world as
well as our place in it. At least one of these courses will include a laboratory
section to give students hands-on experience and allow them to understand the
meaning of science in both theory and practice.
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Social and Behavioral
Analysis (3 credits, one course)
The courses in social and behavioral analysis familiarize students with different
approaches to the study of individual behavior and social institutions, and introduce
them to some of the concepts and methods of the social sciences. The courses
aim at an understanding of the reciprocal relations among people, societies,
and institutions, and encourage students to think critically and systematically
about how these societies and institutions can best be arranged. |
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Culture, Ideas,
and Values (3 credits, one course)
The courses in culture, ideas and values seek to help students understand and
think critically about different value and belief systems across cultural and
historical boundaries. Students will examine questions such as "what is
the life worth living?", or "what is the basis for distinguishing knowledge
from belief?" Some courses emphasize how these questions have been approached
throughout history, others focus on how different cultures have addressed these
questions, and some grapple with these questions without regard to their historical
or cultural context. In any case, students will be asked to articulate, evaluate,
and defend moral, aesthetic, or other value judgments, such as judgments about
how one ought to live and claims about the validity of knowledge. |
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Literature (3 credits, one course)
Courses in literature are intended to develop students'
ability to appreciate and understand literature, looking at texts in their historical and cultural contexts or examining themes, approaches, and generic conventions across time. |
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Arts (3 credits, one course)
Courses in arts are intended to develop students' ability to create and appreciate the arts in all of their forms, to enhance sensitivity to artistic expression and to increase familiarity with theories central to these forms. Courses may be structured historically, culturally (e.g., Chinese Art), or thematically. |
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| Other Graduation Requirements (These apply to all students, including transfers entering with an A.A. degree): |
Distribution
Electives (6 credits, two courses)
Many students arrive at college unfamiliar with the specialized areas of study
within the social sciences and humanities . Students have the opportunity to
discover and explore these by taking two additional 'distribution electives'.
While these may be courses that satisfy the Social and Behavioral Analysis, Culture,
Ideas, and Values, or Literature and the Arts requirements, they may be courses
from any two distinct disciplines, one within the social sciences and one within
the humanities. |
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Foreign Language (8
credits, two courses)
Learning foreign languages provides access to other cultures and worlds, to other
ways of thinking. As this is an important objective of the Wilkes Honors College,
students are expected to take two courses in a language, and are encouraged to
incorporate the study of language into a study abroad experience. |
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Critical Inquiry
Seminars (5-9 credits, 3 courses)
Students take three Critical Inquiry Seminars. These seminars are specially designated
one or three-credit team-taught courses that engage in interdisciplinary inquiry.
At least one of the three courses must be a 3-credit course. The aim of these
courses is to explore problems from a variety of perspectives and to reflect
on the connections and shared concerns of scholars from distinct disciplines.
For example, a psychology professor and a philosophy professor may team-teach
a course on free will; or a political science professor and an anthropology professor
may team-teach a course on indigenous religion and trans-nationalism in the Americas. |
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International
and Environmental Studies (2-6 credits,
two courses)
Because of the increasingly global nature of contemporary issues and the increasing
importance of addressing the effects of growth on our environment coupled with
the unique resources available in Florida for exploring these areas of inquiry,
we expect each student to take one course in international studies and one course
in environmental studies. These may be courses used to satisfy Honors Core requirements. |
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Honors College Forum (2 credits, two courses)
Students meet faculty and other leading scholars and artists who present their work and introduce the leading ideas and controversies in their areas of expertise. Students take this weekly one-credit seminar each of their first two semesters. |
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| updated 3/31/08 |
