Your Guide to Departmental Honors at BSU!
Professors are starting to talk about finals, and that can mean only one thing; a new semester is approaching. As the semester ends, you might have heard the words “Departmental Honors” thrown around in your advising meetings, but what does that mean? To learn more, I interviewed Dr. Hui Zhang, who is the Departmental Honors Coordinator in the Communications Department.
Let’s start first by breaking down the types of honors that students can do during their stay at BSU. First, we have Commonwealth Honors. If your GPA from high school is 3.4 or higher (or your SAT score is 1170 or your ACT score is 24 or higher), you are invited to join the Commonwealth Honors Program in your BSU acceptance letter. You must earn nine honors credits that fulfill core curriculum and graduation requirements and keep your grade up to graduate with it.
But what about Departmental Honors? This is major-based, and the type of honors that students transition into after completing their core honors courses. In your junior year, you can join Departmental Honors to earn honors credits in your field of study. Departmental Honors students earn nine credits in their major(s). “You are using what is required of you to do in-depth work.” says Dr. Zhang. What this means is that you are earning honors by doing a bit extra in classes you would normally have to take anyway for your major.
Students wanting to get involved in Departmental Honors can fill out the application on the Honors Program section of the Bridgenet website. After being approved, students must work with their professors to plan out a contract and thesis or capstone project in their 300-400 level classes. Students with two majors may opt for Interdisciplinary Honors, as a means of combining both areas of study.
I hope this rundown helps any confused students with what honors is all about! If it seems interesting, give it a try!
