For students entering the Honors Program as an NU freshman

• REL101 or REL103
• 3 honors courses from the following general education courses: Philosophy; Upper Division Religion; History 199; Analytical Skills; Cultural Diversity; Humanities; Natural Science; Social Science
• 300/400 level Honors enhanced course in student's major
• 2 semester honors thesis experience

For students entering the Honors Program as an NU sophomore or transfer student (with fewer than 48 credits and have attained  a 3.50 GPA)

• 2 honors courses from the following general education courses: Philosophy; Upper Division Religion; History 199; Analytical Skills; Cultural Diversity; Humanities; Natural Science; Social Science
• 300/400 level Honors enhanced course in student's major
• 2 semester honors thesis experience

Additional Requirements

To remain in the program, a 3.25 GPA is required.

• One semester probation if cumulative GPA falls below 3.25
• Dismissal after two consecutive semesters of GPA below 3.25

General Education Honors Description

By the end of this General Education Honors course, the student will have a deeper, enriched understanding of the material on account of one or more of the following characteristics: 

• Significantly increased discussion due to the smaller class size and a seminar-type pedagogy
• Increased attention to, or interaction with primary and/or scholarly texts to a degree not typical of other classes
• Increased intellectual interaction with fellow classmates to a degree not typical of other classes
• An increased expectation of true research (as opposed to book reports, etc.)
• Learning of course material through "hands-on" or experiential means (beyond that done in other courses)
• Learning of course material through any other sort of ‘alternative’ pedagogy

Honors Enhanced In One's Major

By the end of this "honors-enhanced in one’s major" course, the student will have gained skills and/or information that otherwise would not have been gained. Instead of simply assigning additional work, instructors are encouraged to implement alternative ways of learning to fulfill the honors-enhanced component. In either case, the enhancement should be specifically crafted to help prepare the student to be able to carry out a year-long, original research project via the Honors Thesis. 

Honors Thesis Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

By the end of the Honors Thesis, the student will have conducted, under his or her own initiative, original research that engages the current scholarly discussion in the discipline and thereby increases humanity’s knowledge.

By the end of the Honors Thesis, the student will be able to present this new knowledge in both written (via a thesis or suitable substitute) and oral (via an oral defense or suitable substitute) forms. Moreover, the student will have learned how to present his or her research in a public form by having participated in conferences (including at least the NU Undergraduate Research Conference). As such, the student will have ultimately produced a product bears more resemblance to work conducted in graduate school than to that accomplished by the typical undergraduate. 

Upcoming Honors Courses

Please note that all information in this section is tentative and subject to change.

Fall 2013

• REL103HON
• REL265HON
• PHI105HON
• ENG207HON
• PSY101HON
• HIS199HON
• ECO101HON
• FRE200HON

Spring 2014

• REL101HON OR REL103HON
• REL3XXHON
• PHI105HON
• HIS199HON