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Honors Program

Dr. Joseph Almeida, director

Mission Statement

The intention of the Great Books of Western Civilization Honors Program is to read closely, vigorously discuss, and write in a disciplined way about the ideas in the great books comprising the program’s curriculum with an eye to evaluating their claims to truth and their place within the Catholic tradition of liberal education.

Aims

The Honors Program is based on the close reading and vigorous discussion of a curriculum of “great books” comprising what is aptly described by Matthew Arnold as “the best that has been thought and said.”

Students of the Honors Program critically study many of the great works of the Western tradition including the works of such writers as Homer, Plato, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Jefferson, Kant, Marx, John Paul II, and others. Close reading and vigorous discussion in the seminar mode is the norm for honors classes so that the large and ultimate questions of life can be aired and given due attention.

The aim of these seminars is truth: Together, by critical discussion, students and professors seek the truth contained in the great authors, seek to uncover their errors, and generally delight in the goodness of their mutual pursuit.

Thus, guided always by the teaching authority of the Church, students and professors consider such questions as: man’s nature, his place and purpose before God, the universe, and the community of men. We hope that from this mutual pursuit will develop a community of scholars formed in the love of learning within which students will discuss debate, ponder, write, and thereby learn in the highest tradition of the liberal arts.

To graduate as an Honors Scholar from Franciscan University, a student must successfully complete 32 credit hours of honors work, or the equivalent of eight 4-credit-hour honors seminars. For the beginning freshman, this requirement is met by taking one 4-credit-hour honors seminar each semester for eight semesters at the University. Thirty hours of honors seminars satisfy the American founding principles, economics, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, social science core and THE 110 Word of God: Scripture and Tradition.

Assessment Learning Goals

  1. To have students read over four university years the selection of great books of Western civilization on the Honors Program’s official list.
  2. To foster skill in close, analytic reading by practice of the same in a sustained program of reading in Honors seminars over four university years.
  3. To foster skill in rational dialogue about the content of the great books by practice in the same in a sustained program of guided seminar discussion over four university years.
  4. To foster skill in analytic and expository writing by practicing the same in a sustained program of guided writing about the ideas of the great books in connection with honors seminars over four university years.

HON 101- HON 402: Introduction to the Honors Seminar. All honors courses are seminars based on close reading and vigorous discussion of a selection of the great books of the Western tradition. The honors brochure contains the basic reading list, which is subject to periodic review (and change) by the honors professors. The rule of the honors seminar is careful reading and rigorous debate, augmented by written work, from reflection papers to larger expository essays. The goal of every honors seminar is to animate in the students a desire for truth and to foster the formation of a community of scholars devoted to the pursuit of truth. At the center of every seminar are the crucial questions of the meaning and purpose of man, in his own human community and in relation to things higher than himself.

Admission Requirements

The student must complete an Honors Program Application and normally must present a cumulative average for high school course work of B+ or its equivalent and a score of 1220 on the SAT or 27 on the ACT. However, all admissions are subject to the judgment and discretion of the Honors Program Admissions Committee.

QPA Requirements

Students are required to maintain an overall cumulative quality point average of 3.0. Failure to do so will make those students subject to dismissal from the honors program upon an evaluation by the Honors Program Chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

An honors student whose cumulative QPA drops below a 2.0 will be subject to immediate dismissal from the program upon an evaluation by the Honors Program Chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Honors students are also required to maintain a 3.0 QPA in all Honors Program course work. Honors students who complete their honors course work with a QPA below 3.0 will receive all credit for each course but will not receive the honors scholar notation on their diplomas or permanent transcripts.

The honors student who consistently performs below 3.0 in honors courses will be subject to an evaluation by the Honors Program Chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs to determine whether or not the student should continue in the Honors Program.

Transfer Students

Because of the growing number of transfer students to Franciscan University, the honors committee understands that all students who qualify for the Honors Program may not attend the university for a full eight semesters. The following provisions have been made to accommodate the needs of those students who desire to pursue the challenges of the honors program, but who will not complete eight semesters of course work at Franciscan University:

Sophomores — Franciscan University students and transfer students who will remain at the University for at least six semesters may enter the honors program as sophomores, on a space available basis, once the following conditions have been met:

  1. The student must complete the Honors Program Application.
  2. The student must show a general understanding of the course content of the previous two semesters.
  3. The student must have a cumulative QPA of 3.3 in previous college course work.
  4. The student must be approved for admission to the program by both the Honors Program Chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Juniors — Transfer students who will remain at Franciscan University for at least four semesters and who have participated in a comparable honors program at their previous colleges or universities may enter the Honors Program as juniors on a space available basis, once the following conditions have been met:

  1. The student must complete the Honors Program Application.
  2. The student must show a satisfactory understanding of the course content of the previous four semesters. The student may also transfer up to an equivalent of 8 semester credit hours of honors courses.
  3. The student must have a cumulative QPA of 3.3 in all previous college course work.
  4. The student must be approved for admission to the Honors Program by both the Honors Program Chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Honors Students Studying in Gaming, Austria

Honors students who decide to study for a semester in Gaming, Austria, shall register for Honors GA, e.g., HON 202 GA, etc. These students will be required to read the books assigned for the course independently and will write a final essay examination (two hours, pass/fail) during the time for final exams in Gaming. The examination question will be provided by the Honors Program Chair. The Gaming Program Director will administer the exam, and students will deliver the completed examination to the Honors Program Chair in Steubenville for evaluation, who will assign a pass or fail grade for the course based upon performance on the examination. This work will be counted as a 4-credit class for purposes of the minimum number of credits that students are required to take in Gaming. Students will not be required to pay any extra fees or tuition for this course.

Since, as a norm, students study in Gaming during either the sophomore or junior years, three copies of each book required for sophomore honors seminars, namely HON 201 and HON 202, and for the junior Honors seminars, namely HON 301 and HON 302, will be kept in the library in Gaming and will be available for student use.

Honors Requirements and the Core Curriculum

Honors courses satisfy the following core curriculum when the program is completed in its entirety:  American founding principles, economics, history, literature, philosophy, social science, and THE 110.  

Honors courses do not cover the following core requirements:  Catholic traditions in fine arts, natural science, THE 101, and THE 115.  

Specific core equivalents are as follows:

HON 101 = literature core (ENG 210 or ENG 211) or history core

HON 102 = literature core (ENG 210 or ENG 211) or philosophy core (PHL 113 or PHL 211 or PHL 212)

HON 201 = history core or THE 110

HON 101 + HON 102 + HON 201 = one additional course from listed selections for those courses

HON 202 = literature core (ENG 210 or ENG 211) or history core

HON 301 = history core or PHL 113 or PHL 211

HON 302 = American founding principles core or economics core (ECO 201) or social science core

HON 202 + HON 301 + HON 302 = one additional course from the listed selections for those courses

HON 401 = American founding principles core or philosophy core (PHL 113 or PHL 211 or PHL 212) or social science core

HON 402 = PHL 211 or social science core


Honors Course Descriptions

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