Honors Program
Dr. Theodore Harwood, director
Mission Statement
The intention of the Great Books of Western Civilization Honors Program is to read closely, discuss vigorously, and write in a disciplined way about the ideas of the Great Books of Western literature, evaluating their claims and their relation to 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, Tolkien, St. 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 usually complete the the eight 4-credit-hour Honors seminars, though substitutions from the core curriculum are allowed under specific conditions (see below). Thirty hours of Honors seminar credits apply to the core curriculum, satisfying the American Founding Principles, Economics, History, Literature, Math, Philosophy, Social science, and THE 110 core requirements.
Assessment Learning Goals
Students should be able to:
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Develop a close, analytic reading of major themes, questions, and ideas in the great books of Western civilization.
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Skillfully and politely contribute to and direct discussion that identifies and evaluates the major themes and ideas of the great books.
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Compose thesis-driven, rationally argued, well evidenced, and clearly articulated writing on the themes, questions, and ideas of the great books.
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. Normally Honors Program applications should have an SAT score of at least 1280, an ACT score of least 28, or a CLT score of at least 90, though the quality of the applicant’s essay on a great book can compensate for marginally lower test scores.
QPA Requirements
Honors students are required to maintain a cumulative Quality Point Average (QPA) of 3.0. Honors students whose QPA drops below 3.0 are subject to dismissal from the program upon an evaluation by the Honors Director.
Honors students are also required to maintain a 3.0 QPA in all Honors Program course work. Any Honors student who earns a grade less than “B” (3.0) in an Honors course will be placed on probation within the program for the following semester and subject to an evaluation by the Director to determine whether the student will continue in the Honors Program thereafter.
Transfer Students
Transfer students may be accepted into the program as late as Junior Fall (Honors 301) if they can, in the Director’s judgment, demonstrate equivalent coursework from a similar program of study.
As a general policy, current FUS students may, with the Director’s approval, be admitted into the Honors program in the second semester (Honors 102) or third (Honors 201). Such students must still complete the Honors Program application, must have at least a 3.0 QPA, and will usually be required to meet with the Program Director. Normally, students entering the program in Freshman Spring (who have missed Honors 101) will be required to take English 211, while students entering the program in Sophomore Fall (who have missed Honors 101 and 102) will also be required to take Philosophy 113, 211, or 212.
Under certain conditions and with the director’s permission, students who are graduating early may take Honors 401 concurrently with Honors 301 and Honors 402 concurrently with Honors 302.
Honors Students Studying in Gaming, Austria
If there are six or more students from one Honors class taking a semester abroad in Gaming and if the Gaming faculty can provide and in fact offer an on-ground Honors seminar for these students, then these students shall take this Gaming Honors seminar in fulfillment of their Honors requirement for that semester. For example, if the course minimum exists, and if the Gaming faculty offers an on-ground Hon 302GA seminar for these students in Gaming, these students shall take this seminar, and the credit hours for this seminar will count toward the minimum credit hours required for Gaming enrollment. If for any reason, an on-ground option is not available for Honors students in Gaming (for example, without limitation, there are too few students, there are inadequate Gaming resources, a Gaming seminar is offered for one group of Honors students in Gaming, say Hon 302 students, but not for another, say Hon 202 students), then in fulfilment of their Honors requirement for their semester in Gaming, these Honors students shall take, in addition to all other Honors seminars, a core course from the list below which corresponds to the Honors seminar that they are missing; if offered in Gaming, this course may be taken during the semester in which these students are in Gaming (in which case this core course shall count toward the minimum hours required for students in Gaming) or in any other semester during which these students are matriculated at Franciscan University. For example, if a student in Gaming is missing Hon 302, that student may take in satisfaction of Hon 302, a core course from the American Founding group of courses (or ECO 201 or a core course from the Social Sciences group), prior to the Gaming semester, during the Gaming semester (if offered there), or after the Gaming semester.
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, Mathematics, Philosophy, Social Science, and THE 110.
Honors courses do not cover the following core requirements: Catholic Traditions in the 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 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