Admission
Requirements
Graduation with Honors
Courses of Instruction
The Honors Program holds as its central purpose and philosophy the stimulation
and encouragement of academic activity at the highest level. It strives to bring
together dedicated faculty and highly motivated students who share a commitment
to the finest qualities of scholarship. Through collaboration with each school
and college of the University, the Honors Program provides opportunities for
the intellectual growth and fulfillment of students in all disciplines as well
as of the many faculty who share a commitment to these ideals.
The Honors Program strives to meet its goals through its varied curriculum and
the collegial nature of its co-curricular activities. The curriculum provides
opportunities for in-depth study and research in the students chosen discipline
and also offers a variety of interdisciplinary programs intended to provide
breadth of scope and perspective in the tradition of a liberal arts education.
Co-curricular functions such as the Fall Escape are designed to foster that
intellectual stimulation which is achieved only through out-of-class interaction
among scholars from all components of the University. The celebration of Honors
Week each spring provides an opportunity to promote and recognize academic achievement
across the campus.
Admission
Freshmen. Admission of incoming freshmen to the Honors Program is by
invitation. The TCU Honors Council sets the invitational standards for each
incoming class, based on SAT or ACT scores and high school transcripts. Invitations
are sent out in early April to high school seniors who have been accepted to
TCU and meet these standards. Highly motivated students with excellent records
that fall slightly below the invitational criteria are also encouraged to seek
invitation to the Program by contacting the Director.
Transfers. Transfer students are eligible to join the Honors Program
if they have achieved a 3.40 GPA in all previous college work. (For students
with fewer than 24 hours, high school transcripts and SAT or ACT scores will
also be evaluated.) Transfer students must meet all Honors Program curriculum
requirements, including the Lower Division Requirements listed below. However,
they are invited to request that selected courses taken at other institutions
be applied toward Honors Program requirements at TCU. Approval of such requests
will be at the discretion of the Director of the Honors Program and no more
than 9 hours may be applied.
Current TCU Students. Any current TCU student who has both a TCU cumulative
and an overall cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher is eligible to join the Honors
Program. Students who enter the Program after they have matriculated at TCU
must meet all Lower Division Requirements listed below. Interested students
are encouraged to contact the Director of the Honors Program.
Requirements
Lower Division Requirements
All Honors students must complete either the Honors Civilizations Track
or the Honors Intellectual Traditions Track to fulfill the Lower Division
Requirements.
Honors Civilizations Track (15 hours)
Students who elect this track will take two related courses (6 hours) selected
from the several pairs offered in which various elements of a particular culture
or civilization will be traced. The purpose is to allow students to develop
an understanding of the art, literature, music, science and/or other facets
of that culture or civilization.
The remaining nine hours of this track of Lower Division Honors work must be
taken from the Honors sections of first- and second-year level courses offered
in departments throughout the University. These Honors sections provide
an additional measure of sophistication and challenge and are taught by faculty
members selected for their commitment to high academic standards and dedication
to motivating good students. Because Honors sections generally are smaller
than other similar courses, they are frequently the arenas for more interactive
teaching methods.
Honors Intellectual Traditions Track. (15 hours) Students who take the 3-semester,
9-hour Honors Intellectual Traditions sequence are strongly encouraged to begin
their freshman year with an Honors Freshman Seminar in the fall semester. Honors
Intellectual Traditions begins in the fall semester of the freshman year and
continues until the spring of the sophomore year. Three additional hours in
an Honors section of their own choosing are also required.
Upper Division Requirements
Honors students who have completed the sophomore year with a GPA of 3.40 or
higher and have fulfilled the Lower Division Requirements are recognized as
Associate Honors Scholars and are invited to participate in Upper Division Honors,
pursuing programs leading to degrees awarded with Departmental Honors and/or
University Honors.
Departmental Honors. Departmental Honors involves intense study in the
students chosen major, typically consisting of a junior or senior level
seminar and a Senior Honors Project. This project may be presented in several
forms, for instance, a paper reflecting original research or creative study,
a portfolio or original composition in literature or one of the fine arts, or
a documented performance in the arts. In the fall semester of the senior year,
a student pursuing Departmental Honors chooses a professor to supervise the
project who together with two additional faculty members form the students
project committee. These three faculty members work closely with the student
and during the spring semester approve the work as being worthy of the Departmental
Honors distinction. Most departments in the University have programs leading
to Departmental Honors. For a listing of all such departments and for detailed
information concerning the form of the Senior Honors Project, please contact
the Honors Program Office.
University Honors. University Honors encourages interdisciplinary thought
during the junior and senior years. In small seminar settings, students explore
questions that have challenged thinkers through the centuries: What is the nature
of values, of society, of the universe? What does it mean to be human? Requirements
for graduation with University Honors are (1) proficiency in a foreign language
at the sophomore level and (2) satisfactory completion of the four interdisciplinary
Honors Colloquia, HCOL 40023, 40033, 40043, and either HCOL 40013 or HNRS 40103.
Students may, if space is available, take one or more of the Colloquia even
if they elect not to pursue the full course of study leading to University Honors.
Additional Requirements
Enrollment in Honors Courses. All freshman and sophomore Honors students must
enroll in at least one Honors course each semester until they have completed
their Lower Division Requirements.
GPA Requirements. To remain in the Honors Program, students must achieve a 3.00
TCU cumulative GPA at the end of the freshman year and a 3.40 TCU cumulative
GPA at the end of the sophomore year. Students must have both a TCU cumulative
GPA and an overall cumulative GPA of 3.50 to graduate with Honors Program distinctions.
Pass/No Credit Policy. Courses to fulfill Honors Program requirements
may not be taken on a Pass/No Credit basis.
Graduation with Honors
A student is recognized as having attained Departmental and/or University Honors
during the graduation ceremonies, and his or her diploma and transcript indicate
that the degree was awarded with Honors distinctions. Such Honors are conferred
by the Honors Program on the basis of the students having a GPA equal
to or greater than 3.50 with at least 58 semester hours of academic work having
been completed at TCU (exclusive of credit by examination), and the students
having completed the stated criteria for Departmental and/or University Honors.
The following is a complete list of courses offered by this department. Go to
Class Search to see which courses are being taught this semester.
Courses of Instruction
Honors Intellectual Traditions
Honors Intellectual Traditions is an interdisciplinary, team-taught, 9-hour,
3-semester course relating history, religion, literature, philosophy, art, and
the natural and social sciences. By relying on many of the great books and art works of
Western civilization, this course provides students with a challenging introduction
to the ideas and images that have shaped our culture. Honors Intellectual Traditions
apportions its 9 interdisciplinary hours in three courses:
HHIT 10113. Explores the question of purpose or teleology among the most
provocative thinkers in Western history, especially in philosophy, religion,
science, literature and art.
HHIT 20123. Prerequisite: HHIT 10113. Continuing the exploration
of provocative thinkers and artists, this semesters readings examine the
notion of order.
HHIT 20133. Prerequisites: HHIT 10113, 20123. Extends the interdisciplinary
investigation of Western culture as it struggles with the concept of change.
On completing the 9 hours of HHIT 10113, 20123, and 20133, students will receive
credit in the Explorations component of the University Curriculum Requirements
as follows: 3 hours of Physical/Life Sciences (non-lab), 3 hours of Critical
Inquiry, and 3 hours of Historical Studies (non-US). Students who do not finish all three semesters will receive elective academic credit for the number of hours completed.
Honors Colloquia
HCOL 40013. The Nature of the Universe. An examination of interdisciplinary
aspects of physical and natural science; the submicroscopic world and the cosmos;
cosmology; developments in modern biological and genetic research; mathematics
and logic; the nature of scientific inquiry and our understanding of the physical
world.
HCOL 40023. On Human Nature. An examination of the development of our
self-understanding, the origins of human culture and the study of contemporary
culture as it affects the individual.
HCOL 40033. The Nature of Values. An examination of contemporary value
systems through the study of certain intrinsic values as revealed in a variety
of readings, thought patterns and human creations.
HCOL 40043. The Nature of Society. An examination of the structure,
functions, and processes of our social, political, and economic institutions.
HNRS 40103. Origins. An interdisciplinary course addressing the
origins of time, order, change, the universe, earth, man, and human cultures,
involving cooperative interaction of faculty from anthropology, biology, and
geology.
Other Courses
HSPR 40970. Honors Special Projects. An Honors student interested
in undertaking special independent study may, with appropriate permission, register
for HSPR 40970 for 1 to 6 hours of credit. This may be utilized as a summer
reading course or free elective. Under special circumstances, it may be used
in lieu of a Departmental Honors seminar or an Honors Colloquium to fulfill
requirements for Departmental or University Honors.
For further information. Contact the Honors Program, Sadler Hall 207, Texas
Christian University, TCU Box 297022, Fort Worth, TX 76129; Telephone: (817)
257-7125; Fax: (817) 257-6987; E-mail: Honors@tcu.edu.