The Honors Curriculum • Honors Program • Carthage College

Students who complete the Carthage Honors Program are expected to commit themselves to rigorous study and demonstrate intellectual balance and flexibility through their ability to make connections across disciplines.

Students in the Carthage Honors Program must take specific courses offered to Honors students and obtain a total of fourteen Honors credits during their time at Carthage. These credits have been designed to fit into the busy schedules of our Honors students, who are often heavily involved on campus and who typically have challenging schedules. Students fulfill the program requirements by taking the following courses and participating in Honors Experiences, receiving a grade of B or better.

Intellectual Foundations is a four-credit course and is typically taken in the fall term of a student’s first year.

The Honors Program has its own section of Intellectual Foundations (COR 1200) that is only offered for our Honors students. This specially designed course enhances our students’ reading, thinking, analyzing, and problem-solving capabilities.

In Intellectual Foundations, students sample great works of literature, sacred writing, philosophy, and more. The variety of material and authors reflects the many of ways humans have begun to seek knowledge of the world and tried to explain it. Students have the opportunity to read some of the greatest works ever written and to get a sense of the approaches thinkers have taken to capture human experiences and respond to human concerns.

While engaging in these works, students see what it takes to read challenging material with care and comprehension, and they learn the rewards of thinking about that material and expressing their thoughts on it. Students in Honors Intellectual Foundations will be challenged to discuss the material in great depth and to engage each other and their professor intensively for one of the most rewarding academic experiences freshmen can have at Carthage.

The Intellectual Foundations Supplementary Seminar will be offered for students who for any reason could not take the Honors Intellectual Foundations course. The seminar is a one- to three-week experience that will include a reading, a meeting, an event or activity, and a final written reflection. This seminar will enhance students’ critical thinking skills and the interaction among the student, their peers, and the professor.

Diverse or International Perspectives is a four-credit course.

The Diverse or International Perspectives replaces the former Carthage’s Global Heritage, and Interdisciplinary Studies replaces the former Carthage Symposium. The purpose of the courses is to bring our students around different topics of the surrounding world, such as an idea, social problems, international conflicts, religion, institutions, etc. Students will explore and synthesize their own ideas and points of view combining multiple perspectives related to the main topic. In this way, students will understand cultural differences in our increasingly plural nation.

All Carthage students are required to take one Diverse or International Perspective course. Students should look for a four-credit course in the College Catalog that has the Honors designation (HON).

The Diverse or International Perspective requirement can be completed by courses taken either on campus or through off-campus study. Many J-Term study tours fulfill the four-credit Honors course requirement as well. In either case, courses satisfying this requirement need to be approved by the Director of the Honors Program.

Honors Diverse Perspectives courses there will be offered in sections for Honors students only. These courses require active and independent work at a high level. For approval as an Honors course, instructors must show that the course will be taught above the introductory level and will require an independent project of research and/or analysis.

Honors Experiences are one-credit courses.

Honors at Carthage is designed with our students in mind. This means we do not want their honors experience to be just a checklist to work through or extra work to manage. Our honors community gets access to exciting opportunities and experiences that are not generally available. At the heart of it all is HON 2000: the Honors Experience course.

Carthage Honors Experiences give students in the Honors Program unique opportunities to engage ideas, feed their intellectual curiosity, and deepen relationships as a community. Though brief in duration, the typical Honors Experience leads a large group of Honors students down a path of inquiry, supported by a unique experience and guided by a member of the Carthage faculty. Reflecting the liberal arts ideal and Carthage’s mission, these one-of-a-kind faculty-led experiences provide a context for Honors students to explore the arts, sciences, and humanities… together.

Students are required to enroll in six one-credit Honors experiences during their time in the Honors Program. The work/requirements of these courses generally take no more than four and six weeks.