Honors Program
Complete and submit an Honors Program application.
Overview
Harper College seeks to stimulate, encourage and recognize work of depth, scope and
originality by its students. Most Honors courses also fulfill Harper's general education
requirements. Honors students enjoy the benefit of reduced class size and the challenge
of social and intellectual interaction with other high achieving students while they
acquire the breadth of understanding and develop leadership qualities that such settings
enhance.
The Honors Program is committed to being a place for intellectual inquiry and the
free and open exchange of ideas, both in the classroom and beyond. Additionally,
the program seeks to cultivate the virtues of independence, academic talent, intellectual
curiosity, and persistence in all of its members. We try to do this by offering a
diverse set of course offerings as well as several service opportunities, cultural
excursions, and even a study-abroad opportunity every year.
The Benefits
- We have smaller class sizes. Many Harper classes have 30 students in them, in in some cases more. By contrast, we cap Honors classes at between 15 and 18. This allows us to have more discussion and more interaction between students and between the students and the instructor.
- Students are interested in their own learning. Students in the Honors Program take their learning seriously, which means they are prepared every day. This makes a huge difference, when you know your fellow classmates are prepared to discuss the material, and it makes for better conversations in the classroom.
- Honors courses are "enhanced" not "accelerated". We don't make Honors what it is by heaping extra work on the students, and Honors ENG 101 doesn't suddenly become ENG 200 because it is an Honors class. Instead, we try to have more room for independent learning, discussion based experiences, and we focus on critical thinking about the material students encounter.
- Honors provides community. Honors students often find one of the main draws of the program to be the fact that they are able to get to know each other well. This happens because students see each other in multiple classes and because we have a variety of optional ways to engage beyond the classroom. I imagine a sense of community is often present among students in Adult Ed programs, so this is a nice environment to transition into.
- Honors students are supported. In addition to having dedicated Honors faculty who had to apply to teach in the Honors Program because they value working with Honors students, Honors students also have access to the Coordinators. We work with students on everything from picking classes to helping with essays for scholarship applications and transfer admissions.
Meet the Honors Co-Coordinators
Professor Garcia describes the Honors classroom experience.
Professor Tomasian explains more about the extracurricular elements of the program.
Honors Students
Students in the Honors Program have a wide variety of backgrounds and personalities. Some students are outspoken and others are rather shy. Some students were exceptional students in high school and are coming straight from high school into the Honors Program. Others are graduates from GED programs, adults returning to school after years away, or just students for whom it took a little while to find direction and motivation and who are now ready to commit to their academic success. We welcome all of these students and seek to provide a space for people to grow regardless of their starting point.
Honors Program Graduate Distinction
There is no minimum number of Honors courses students in the program are required to take, and every Honors course taken will be noted on your student transcript. However, students are able to be additionally recognized as Honors Program Graduates, which will also be reflected on their transcript and diploma. In addition, Honors Program Graduates will be recognized at the Honors Convocation ceremony each spring. In order to be eligible to be an Honors Program Graduate, students must do four things: a) amass a cumulative total of twelve hours of Honors credit; this usually amounts to four Honors courses; b) take our Honors Colloquium (HUM/HST 105) course somewhere along the way; c) maintain an overall Harper grade point average of 3.25; d) graduate with an Associates degree.
Spring 2021 Honors Courses
Many Honors Courses have a designated meeting time. Students are expected to be able to meet virtually at these times. Of course, instructors will make allowances for times when students need to miss a session due to technology issue or other life circumstances. It is our hope that these listed times will help you schedule classes according to your needs, and, when possible, to adjust your schedules outside of classes to accommodate the class times for the courses you wish to take. If your schedule is uncertain, there are several Honors courses with no designated meeting time.
The Honors Great Ideas Course
All students wishing to graduate with the Honors Program Graduate Distinction must take this course. We offer at least one section of the course every semester, including summer. We have two sections this Spring. Please note, HUM 105 and HST 105 are the same exact class. There are just two ways to register for it. So, if HUM 105 is full, try HST 105 (and vice versa).
HUM 105 SH1 | HST 105 SH1 |
CRN FOR HUM 105 SH1: 61912 | CRN FOR HST 105 SH1: 61910 |
(Great ideas for World Civilizations)
Professors John Garcia and Dave Richmond
- Virtual Class Meetings: MW 11 am – 12:15 pm
Note – Professor Richmond is listed as the instructor for HST 105 SH1 and Professor Garcia is listed as the instructor for HUM 105 SH1, but, again, it’s the same class. We are teaching it together. It doesn’t matter which one you sign up for. - Professors Richmond and Garcia describe the course here: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cY6V24Kff9
HUM 105 SH2 | HST 105 SH8 |
CRN FOR HUM 105 SH2: 61916 | CRN FOR HST 105 SH8: 61915 |
(Great ideas for World Civilizations)
See the description for HUM 105 / HST 105 SH 1, above
Professor Andrew Wilson (2nd 8 week course)
- Virtual Class Meetings: Thursdays 2 pm – 3:30 pm
ENG 102 SH1 (CRN 61908) (Composition)
Professor Alicia Tomasian
- Virtual Class Meetings: TR 12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
SPE 101 SH1 (CRN 62176) (Fundamentals of Speech Communication)
Professor Margaret Bilos
- Virtual Class Meetings: M 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
(Note: the Honors Great Ideas Course, HUM 105 or HST 105, also counts for this requirement. See above)
ART 105 WH1 (CRN 62623) (Introduction to Visual Art)
Professor Charles Roderick
- This class has no designated meeting time
- Professor Roderick describes the course here: https://www.loom.com/share/a12727321df84c2f9db785ff50b1bfa1
(Note: This class fulfills the “Fine Arts/ Interdisciplinary Studies” subcategory or the Humanities Gen-Ed requirement.)
PHI 105 SH1 (CRN 62914) (Introduction to Philosophy)
Professor Rebecca Scott
- Virtual Class Meetings: TR 11 am – 12:15 pm
-
Professor Scott describes the course here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVBV8qv1QEQ
PHI 205 WH1 (CRN 61123) (Religions of the World)
Professor Michael Horton
- This class has no designated meeting time
(Note: This class fulfills the World Cultures and Diversity Gen-Ed Requirement)
ECO 212 SH1 (CRN 62913) (Macroeconomics)
Professor Getachew Begashaw
- Virtual Class Meetings: Tuesdays 2 pm – 3:15 pm
GEG 103 SH1 (CRN 62912) (Geography of the Developing World)
Professor Veronica Mormino
- Virtual Class Meetings: Wednesdays 1 pm – 2:30 pm
(Note: This class fulfills the World Cultures and Diversity Gen-Ed Requirement)
PSY 216 SH1 (CRN 62598) (Child Psychology)
Professor Kirsten Matthews
- Virtual Class Meetings: Thursdays 9:30 – 10:45 am
- Professor Matthews describes the course here: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cYQZoVdZeH
SOC 101 SH1 (CRN 62772) (Introduction to Sociology)
Professor James Gramlich
- Virtual Class Meetings: TR 9:30 – 10:45 am
(Note: This class fulfills the World Cultures and Diversity Gen-Ed Requirement)
CHM 122 BH1 (CR 62819) (General Chemistry II)
Professor Dan Ranieri
- Lab Meeting Time: Mondays noon – 2:40 pm
-
(5 credits hours)
PHY 201 SH1 (CRN 62110) (General Physics I: Mechanics)
Professor Margaret Geppert
- Virtual Lab Time: Wed. 10 – 11:50 am (No in-person lab requirement)
- (5 credit hours)
-
Professor Geppert describes the class here: https://youtu.be/9Otcs9vC8Jw
MTH 201 WH1 (CRN 60337) (Calculus w/ Analytic Geometry)
Professor Kyle Knee
- This class has no designated meeting time
- (5 credit hours)
- Professor Knee describes the Course Here: Honors Calculus II.pptx (click on Slide Show, Play from Beginning, to play the Video)
Please consider completing and submitting an Honors Program application. We hope sincerely that you will enjoy all of your Harper experiences, Honors and otherwise.
The Co-Coordinators for the Honors Program are:
John Garcia
jgarcia@harpercollege.edu
Alicia Tomasian
atomasia@harpercollege.edu
For more information about the Honors Progam please email honors@harpercollege.edu or click below: