Honors Program

1. A minimum of four courses designated as honors courses. At least two of these courses will have to be RBS courses. (Students may also take liberal arts honors courses to meet this requirement.) Specific honors sections of various core classes will be designated and all honors students in the same class year will be allowed to take these courses. Honors sections will permit interaction among these students, which is an integral part of the learning process.
2. A minimum of two semesters of honors colloquia to be completed by the end of the second year in the honors program.
3. Proficiency in a foreign language through the intermediate level.
4. A capstone project of at least 6 credits to completed in the senior year. Three options for satisfaction of this requirement will be available:

a. An individual capstone thesis consisting of original research under the supervision of a doctorally qualified faculty member.
b. Enrollment in a two-semester honors class in the student's major field of study. This two-semester sequence will have a substantial writing/research component consistent with the norms of the discipline.
c. A research internship. A research internship will have a dual purpose:

i. Allow the student to become acquainted with the operation of a given organization.
ii. Collect data to support a research project.

In order to participate in this version of the internship/research project, the student will have to submit a proposal regarding the issue that will be investigated along with the method of data collection. While on the internship, the student will gather quantitative or qualitative data from primary or archival sources. As with all research, there will be a problem to be investigated and conclusions drawn. Such research will require the company to support the endeavor as well as sign a release regarding the paper. Passing the research internship will require submission of a research paper to be evaluated by an advisor and defended by the student.