Earn Honors Credit in Many Ways
Students can earn Honors credit in many ways including taking HNRS seminars and department honors courses and pursuing applied learning opportunities such as study abroad, service-learning, or cooperative education and internships.
- To find honors courses and course numbers for registration each semester, go to the Browse Course Schedule By Term link on the Registrar's website. Type "Honors" into the keyword field to see a full list of honors courses.
- Honors course descriptions are listed in the Undergraduate Catalog. Courses typically offered in fall and spring are listed below.
- Questions? Schedule an Honors advising appointment by emailing honors@wichita.edu.
What are the Types of Honors Courses?
An ideal Honors course is, at its core, an experiment. It boldly challenges assumptions about what we know and how we learn. It emphasizes rigor along with exploration, creativity, and discovery. It should provoke students to engage actively in the learning process. It should empower students to participate in academic dialogue, solve real-world problems through research, and draw creative and compelling connections within and across disciplines.
HNRS general eduation seminars explore interesting topics and engage students in discussion. These courses are offered by the Cohen Honors College, and topics change each semester. Students in the Cohen Honors College may enroll in these classes, and any student may enroll in one HNRS class before applying to be a member of the college. Most HNRS courses fulfill General Education requirements. Exceptions include HNRS 485, 486, HNRS 481N internships, HNRS 410 independent study, and HNRS 398 travel seminars).
“H” departmental honors courses fulfill general education, prerequisite, or major requirements. They are offered by other academic departments and have the letter “H” following the course number or the word “Honors” in the title of the course. Sometimes these are separate classes designed specifically for students in the Honors College or the departmental honors track, and sometimes these courses are offered as a smaller parallel section within the regular section of the class.
Turn a regular course into an Honors course with an Honors option agreement form. In any course with a fulltime faculty instructor, you may request to earn Honors credit. Examples of work completed to earn Honors credit include:
- Apply in-class knowledge to real-world experience: Research current labor conditions for stagehands, and volunteer for backstage work in a local performance during a Fine Arts course. Write a research and reflection paper.
- Further studies: Read additional primary source materials, solve additional problems, or extend course material in some way that will contribute to the depth of knowledge about the discipline. Share the research or application of knowledge with the instructor and the class.
- Research: Assist the professor with a small part of current research; learn the skills needed to understand plant morphology or to engage in teacher research; prepare for an application for an undergraduate student research grant.
Honors Research Seminar (HNRS 485 or HNRS 486): The Honors Research Seminars present methods of inquiry and research concepts and provide students with opportunities to design and/or participate directly in research projects. Above all, these courses/experiences are designed to develop skills that will serve professionals in every field and career including asking good questions, working effectively independently and collaboratively, and gathering reliable information to find preliminary answers.
Honors Thesis (HNRS 491) is required for all Honors Baccalaureate students. Any student may choose to complete an Honors Thesis if they have a faculty mentor willing to serve as instructor of record.
Applied Learning: Honors College students are encouraged to engage beyond the classroom in applied learning and may earn honors credit for experiences such as study abroad, service learning, and internships.
| Course Number | Course Title | Course Description | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| HNRS 106AB | Exploring Our National Parks | Introduces contemporary issues in our national park system through a service-learning/service-leadership orientation. Students learn about the variety of values, perspectives, resources and ideas that are represented in the multitude of units that comprise the national parks service. The role of the National Parks Service (NPS) with special attention to service, volunteer coordination and historic preservation. Also explores many of the issues facing the NPS such as conservation and human impact on environment, remaining relevant and inclusive to a diverse population, and how service-learning efforts have re-engaged college student interactions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HNRS 153T | Big Bang, Black Holes & the Fate of the Universe | Nonmathematical introduction to the theory of the Big Bang. Examines the history of the universe from its beginning through the most recent spacecraft missions. Students learn concepts that tie many different subjects together, contributing a valuable piece to their comprehensive education. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HNRS 305U | The Power of Storytelling | Seminar introduces students to the research in narrative and storytelling, familiarizes them with elements of effective narrative structure, and explores examples of narratives and their use to persuade through history. Students work throughout the semester to each complete a narrative account of their own life, developing story-telling techniques while also self-reflecting on key events that have been transformative. In addition, as a class, students complete a literature review on the topic and share information. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HNRS 306I | Aging as a Societal Issue: OK Boomer and Beyond |
Registration is now closed for current students; senior auditors will register by permission of the instructor on the first day of class. Cross-listed as PSY 508AH. General education social and behavioral sciences course. Presents demographic information about the transformation of the U.S. into an aging society, as well as current research about the aging process itself. Social policy implications are explored in areas such as healthcare, the workplace and technology. The course engages students from different generations in dialogue with dialogue topics chosen by the students and class sessions throughout the semester led by student teams. |
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| HNRS 352 | Survey of Law & Public Policy | Interdisciplinary introduction to the role of law and public policy in the public and private sectors. Provides a basic framework for understanding the differing rationale and methods associated with developing laws and public policies, and explores the impact of the political and social environment on the development, interpretation and application of both public policy and law. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HNRS 410 | Independent Study | Independent studies courses are individual, directed studies in a field of special interest to the student under the mentorship of a faculty mentor. Honors independent studies may be related to the student's major, minor, honors track or simply be an area of interest to the student unrelated to other curriculum. Please contact the Honors Academic Advisor if you would like to explore this option. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HNRS 481N and HNRS 481N | Honors Internship and Honors NonCredit Internship | Please contact the Honors Academic Advisor if you would like to explore this option. Meets Interdisciplinary Track requirement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HNRS 485 | Honors Research and Creative Activity |
HNRS 485 is typically taken as independent research with a faculty mentor. Meets Lindquist Scholar Track requirement. Please contact the Honors Academic Advisor if you would like to explore this option. Students who complete this course have familiarity with inquiry and research conceptualization — the process of investigating an area of interest. Students get experience formulating independent research projects, strategizing an appropriate methodology/approach, drafting abstracts and personal statements appropriate for grant or fellowship proposals, and working in interdisciplinary peer review groups. Furthermore, they learn about human subject research and research ethics, presentation and peer evaluation skills, and conduct preliminary research. Emphasis is placed on finding and evaluating source material with the goal of developing the skills for writing a research or creative activity proposal. Guest lecturers from various academic or creative disciplines including the libraries may be invited to present. Students are strongly encouraged throughout and particularly toward the end of their experience to work with their faculty mentor to continue their research and develop a publication or presentation. Because the course enrolls from different disciplines, students also become acquainted with research topics and arguments outside their fields of study. Course is meant to supplement, not replace, the Research Methods course found in many disciplines. Sophomore standing recommended. |
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| HNRS 486 | Honors Collaborative Research and Creative Activity | Designed to expose students majoring in various disciplines to an opportunity to meet one hour per week and invite collaborations that cultivate an interdisciplinary research experience. Students discuss best practice in academic research and research ethics, learn of complimentary approaches to research in different subject areas, the research process (grant writing to publication), and other issues related to academic research across disciplines. Students tour facilities and laboratories with strong collaborative interdisciplinary research. Guest lectures from the libraries, WSU Ventures and various academic disciplines teach students high-level skills needed for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. Each student is responsible for working in an interdisciplinary group setting. Each team formulates a research question that encourages the involvement and knowledge-base of a collaborative team, composes a scientifically supported interdisciplinary research project, and presents a prospectus format of the final project during the semester. One-third of the grade is determined by participation in the class, including written assignments, presentations to the class and other work. The remainder of the grade is based on the collaborative research project completed. Course is meant to supplement, not replace, the research methods course found in many disciplines. Students who complete this course have an excellent grounding in the fundamentals of academic research, exposure to research practices in a variety of disciplines, and experience conducting interdisciplinary research. Students are therefore very well prepared for graduate school and/or careers that involve diverse research. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HNRS 491 | Honors Thesis | Independent study course for students undertaking the research and writing of an Honors thesis. An Honors thesis is a substantive piece of scholarship or creative work involving primary and/or secondary research, which serves to demonstrate mastery over the discourse, methods and content of at least one academic, creative or professional field. Requires students to synthesize knowledge and skills acquired over the course of the undergraduate career (including coursework, studies abroad, service learning, internships and undergraduate research, if applicable). All thesis projects must be designed and completed under the supervision of a faculty thesis supervisor and, at the supervisor’s discretion, may be reviewed by additional faculty advisors. Repeatable for a total of 6 credit hours. Prerequisite(s): permission of the Cohen Honors College. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Department Honors Courses |
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| Course Number | Course Title | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
| HNRS 105G | War: Strategy Studies | This seminar is not about whether war is a good thing, a bad thing, or a necessary evil. It is about how it works. At the center of this theme lies the concept of strategy. Effective strategic thinking is one of the highest level forms of applied intelligence. It requires a synoptic grasp of many variables and is inherently interactive — great commanders know how to get inside the heads of their enemies. War is perhaps the most demanding field in which strategic thinking is employed, but not the only one. Almost all the great students of strategy approach it historically and so will we. |
| HNRS 153B | The Dynamic Universe | Designed to introduce students to the fascinating subject of astronomy. Focuses heavily on current space missions and astronomical events. Covers a variety of topics, including the solar system, the sun. the stars, stellar evolution (birth, life and death of stars), galaxies and cosmology (the origin and fate of the universe). |
| HNRS 305J | Minds & Machines | People have constructed machines designed to imitate living creatures in some way long before there were electronic computers. When is a machine's behavior appropriately called "intelligent?" Must it be capable of using language? Must a machine be capable of learning in order to be regarded as intelligent? Must it be able to communicate with humans? What criteria are appropriate for judging that an animal's behavior is intelligent; should the same criteria be used for machine intelligence? What lessons about machine intelligence should be taken from debates over recent studies of intelligence in animals with nervous systems very different from humans (e.g., corvids, cephalopods)? Students consider these questions and other related questions. Course takes a historical and interdisciplinary approach, drawing on works in philosophy, literature, science and history of science. |
| HNRS 305S | American Law & Film | Focuses on the portrayal of the legal system in films. Students use film as a lens through which to examine the American criminal and civil justice systems, lawyers and legal education, and social and civil rights. Considers how film helps shape public perception of lawyers, creates viewer expectations regarding law and justice, and may even influence the conduct of practicing attorneys and judges. |
| HNRS 306J | Lead for Tomorrow | Students who are accepted for the spring Leadership Academy take this course in the second 8 weeks of the spring semester. Honors students have big dreams and ask big questions that don’t fit neatly into disciplinary models and majors. The academy is envisioned to be a transformative leadership experience that brings together collaborative dual intellectual communities. |
| HNRS 310G |
Digital Imaging January course! |
This short course will introduce you to the basics of scientific imaging using CCD cameras. Scientific imaging is used in many walks of life, such as medicine, astronomy, engineering, meteorology, and Earth Resources/land management. Understanding how an image is created electronically, and how images can be processed, is a valuable tool for your career. During this course, you will understand how CCD devices work, how to process images in black and white and color, and what scientific information can be acquired. You will get a copy of a comprehensive image processing software package for astronomical imaging that has applications to many other subjects, and have the opportunity to acquire your own image through a large 14" telescope. |
| HNRS 310R | Evolving Leaders | Designed for returning students to WSU who are looking to expand upon their leadership skills and abilities. Program focuses on creating well balanced leaders. Each participant receives a copy of The Well-Balanced Leader by Ron Roberts and is placed in a small group to present a chapter of the book. Each participant also helps plan the Leadership Discovery Summit, a half-day leadership workshop open to any WSU student. Course can be used toward the undergraduate leadership certificate, which corresponds to the following leadership certificate outcomes: identity leadership theories and concepts; differentiate leadership practices across settings, organizations, disciplines and sytems; develop leadership skills based on personal strengths and professional interests. Requires application through Student Involvement. Leadership Track course. |
| HNRS 310V | Leadershape Institute | A six-day experience that challenges participants to lead with integrity and a healthy disregard for the impossible. Facilitates participants through a series of dynamic, challenging and exciting sessions designed to increase, develop and launch their leadership capacity. This experience benefits students individually and professionally, and benefits the communities/organizations they go on to lead and serve in the future. Participants cultivate leadership skills, reflect and discuss leadership lessons within a small cohort or cluster of students. Requires application through Student Involvement. Leadership Track course. |
| HNRS 310X | FYRE: Intro to STEM | This course is designed for students selected to participate in the First Year Research Experience (FYRE) in STEM and will prepare students for conducting research in STEM fields and to develop a community of scientists among students. This course is an introduction to scientific research through lectures, discussions and readings about the design of projects, the understanding of the scientific literature, and the ethics of research and publication. Each student will be matched with a research mentor and will collaborate with their mentor to identify research questions, methods, and analysis. The course will introduce students to quantitative and qualitative methods for conducting meaningful inquiry and research. They will gain an overview of research intent and design, methodology and techniques, format and presentation, and data management and analysis informed by commonly used methods in various fields. The course will develop each student’s ability to use this knowledge to become effective researchers in STEM fields. Requires application to FYRE program by Oct 1. |
| HNRS 351 | Survey of Leadership | General education humanities course. The main leadership theories and a history of leadership thought are presented, leadership perspectives are debated, and examples of leadership in various contexts are discussed. After completing the seminar students should be able to recognize the main leadership theories, identify different leadership perspectives, recognize applications of leadership, and understand the benefits and challenges of leadership. Leadership Track course. |
| HNRS 398J | Leading through Serving |
This course is typically offered in January. You must submit an application to enroll. For more information, visit the BILL'S Trip webpage. Engages students through intentional service-learning with the goal of enhancing student learning, deepening understanding of servant-leadership, and engaging in meaningful community partnerships. Through a connection to the National Park Service students explore concepts of stewardship and personal reflection. During each course, students travel and engage in immersive service-learning in partnership with a National Park Service Unit. Repeatable for credit. |
| HNRS 410 | Independent Study | Independent studies courses are individual, directed studies in a field of special interest to the student under the mentorship of a faculty mentor. Honors independent studies may be related to the student's major, minor, honors track or simply be an area of interest to the student unrelated to other curriculum. Please contact the Honors Academic Advisor if you would like to explore this option. |
| HNRS 481N and HNRS 481N | Honors Internship and Honors NonCredit Internship | Please contact the Honors Academic Advisor if you would like to explore this option. Meets Interdisciplinary Track requirement. |
| HNRS 485 | Honors Research and Creative Activity |
HNRS 485 is typically taken as independent research with a faculty mentor. Meets Lindquist Scholar Track requirement. Please contact the Honors Academic Advisor if you would like to explore this option. Students who complete this course have familiarity with inquiry and research conceptualization — the process of investigating an area of interest. Students get experience formulating independent research projects, strategizing an appropriate methodology/approach, drafting abstracts and personal statements appropriate for grant or fellowship proposals, and working in interdisciplinary peer review groups. Furthermore, they learn about human subject research and research ethics, presentation and peer evaluation skills, and conduct preliminary research. Emphasis is placed on finding and evaluating source material with the goal of developing the skills for writing a research or creative activity proposal. Guest lecturers from various academic or creative disciplines including the libraries may be invited to present. Students are strongly encouraged throughout and particularly toward the end of their experience to work with their faculty mentor to continue their research and develop a publication or presentation. Because the course enrolls from different disciplines, students also become acquainted with research topics and arguments outside their fields of study. Course is meant to supplement, not replace, the Research Methods course found in many disciplines. Sophomore standing recommended. |
| HNRS 486 | Honors Collaborative Research and Creative Activity | Designed to expose students majoring in various disciplines to an opportunity to meet one hour per week and invite collaborations that cultivate an interdisciplinary research experience. Students discuss best practice in academic research and research ethics, learn of complimentary approaches to research in different subject areas, the research process (grant writing to publication), and other issues related to academic research across disciplines. Students tour facilities and laboratories with strong collaborative interdisciplinary research. Guest lectures from the libraries, WSU Ventures and various academic disciplines teach students high-level skills needed for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. Each student is responsible for working in an interdisciplinary group setting. Each team formulates a research question that encourages the involvement and knowledge-base of a collaborative team, composes a scientifically supported interdisciplinary research project, and presents a prospectus format of the final project during the semester. One-third of the grade is determined by participation in the class, including written assignments, presentations to the class and other work. The remainder of the grade is based on the collaborative research project completed. Course is meant to supplement, not replace, the research methods course found in many disciplines. Students who complete this course have an excellent grounding in the fundamentals of academic research, exposure to research practices in a variety of disciplines, and experience conducting interdisciplinary research. Students are therefore very well prepared for graduate school and/or careers that involve diverse research. |
| HNRS 491 | Honors Thesis | Independent study course for students undertaking the research and writing of an Honors thesis. An Honors thesis is a substantive piece of scholarship or creative work involving primary and/or secondary research, which serves to demonstrate mastery over the discourse, methods and content of at least one academic, creative or professional field. Requires students to synthesize knowledge and skills acquired over the course of the undergraduate career (including coursework, studies abroad, service learning, internships and undergraduate research, if applicable). All thesis projects must be designed and completed under the supervision of a faculty thesis supervisor and, at the supervisor’s discretion, may be reviewed by additional faculty advisors. Repeatable for a total of 6 credit hours. Prerequisite(s): permission of the Cohen Honors College. |
| Department Honors Courses | Search for courses with an "H" prefix in the list for each department. Remember you also may be able to turn a regular course into an honors course with an Honors Option Agreement. Visit the Forms Directory page of our website to find the link to an Honors Option Agreement form. |