[ Honors Program ]

Honors Curriculum

The Elmhurst College Honors Program consists of several academic options. To earn the “Honors Program Scholar” designation, you must complete 6.5 units of Honors courses, 3 of which must be part of the Elmhurst College Honors Program, with a B or better.  That includes a research component via Honors Independent Research and/or an Honors Capstone Seminar.  To earn the title of "Honors Program Member," you must complete at least 12 semester hours with a B or better within the Elmhurst College Honors Program.

The academic options are:

Honors General Education Courses
These seminar-style courses are generally taken one per semester for the first two years of college study.  All courses fulfill an Elmhurst General Education course requirement.  Transfer credit for equivalent courses within other college Honors Programs is awarded.  For a listing of General Education courses, see search for classes and select "HON" under "Subjects."

J-Term Honors Seminar
Honors Program Members are expected to complete at least one J-Term Honors elective.  J-term seminars typically offer opportunities for unique field experiences, guest speakers, and interactive research.  Some seminars are taught abroad.

Honors Independent Research
This course affords students, working closely with a faculty mentor to design an original research project appropriate to their major field.  Grant support is available.  Current examples include an in-depth exploration of free and fair trade options, a detailed critical analysis of Byron poetry, and an original musical score for an independent film maker.

Senior Capstone Seminars
These team-taught seminars provide an engaging capstone experience, including guest speakers, in-depth discussions, and a research project correlated with a student's major.

Honors Service Seminar
This course affords a scholarly investigation of service through reading and discussing varied theories and applications of service, through participating in an intensive semester-long service experience, and through thoughtful reflective writing on the entire process.

Honors Directed Readings
This course enables students to participate in scholarly in-depth discussions of three selected texts in very small groups of fellow Honors Program students and faculty members from disciplines across the curriculum.  This course can be repeated for credit.