In addition to providing specific challenges and opportunities, the Honors Program is designed to help the brightest and best students mature as scholars. The following unique features of the program address specific areas of intellectualism and scholarship, developing cognitive and cultural awareness in the Honors Scholar.
Honors PRIDE is a specially-designed pathway in which courses and experiences build on each other to enhance skill sets. The Honors Program is thus a competency-based experiential learning program that scaffolds the MSSU student experience.
Honors PRIDE is powered by Suitable, an app and website that allows you to track your progress through the MSSU Honors Program. You will use the app to monitor your involvement in the Honors Program, as well as to check-in at events using the built-in QR code reader. Any time you participate and/or scan an event, your attendance is recorded and points are added to your account. You can always log into your Suitable account to check your point total, see upcoming events, and track your coursework.
Honors Forum (HNRS 101) - two credits
An open and interdisciplinary forum to introduce first-year Honors students to the principles and practices of scholarly inquiry and active learning. Students will read a variety of texts concerning personal and academic challenges inherent in a college environment. In doing so, they will define themselves both as students and as individuals while becoming active participants in the MSSU community and as citizens of a twenty-first century global community.
Service Learning (HNRS 201) - two credits
After intensive preparation, Honors students experience first-hand the value and challenges of community service as they simultaneously participate in and analyze the culture of a local service institution. Students keep journals of their experiences and produce reflective analyses that apply the theories they learn in the classroom to their own experiences and those of their peers, culminating in the students developing their own personal philosophies of service.
Special Topics (HNRS 298)-three credits
An interdisciplinary Honors course. Topics to be announced each time the course is offered and approved by the Honors Director. Emphasis on discussion, group activities and projects.
Research Seminar (HNRS 400) - three credits
This course will introduce Honors students to a wide range of research practices and methodologies. Students will be exposed to the language of research; ethical principles and challenges; the elements of the research process; research design; and a combination of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches.
Honors Seminar (HNRS 495)- three credits
Intensive seminar course for upper-division Honors students, culminating in a substantial research paper. Topics to be announced each time the course is offered and approved by the Honors Director.
Senior Portfolio (HNRS 490) - one credit
Students will meet weekly with Honor Program faculty to assess their progress toward completing their portfolio project. Students will select texts to showcase, compose personal reflection statements, and discuss the impact that the Honors Program has made in their intellectual, personal, and ethical development in preparation for a public presentation.
