Clark Honors College Brochure

CLARK HONORS COLLEGE: WHERE STUDENTS BELONG, CONTRIBUTE, AND LEAD.

Robert D. Clark Honors College is dedicated to teaching students to learn how to learn: to synthesize and evaluate information, to embrace change and grow because of it, to cultivate independence of thought, and to respect and celebrate research and knowledge.

Students emerge from an exhilarating four years with the skills, knowledge, and emotional intelligence to excel in their professional lives and to become leaders in government, industry, and research.

Clark Honors College is where students find their purpose and prepare for their futures, wherever Surrounded by peers who those lead them. want to know more, Clark Honors College students are partners in a culture of learning that values curiosity, collaboration, and inclusion.

The Clark Honors Experience Advising: The CHC’s team of professional advisors now includes dedicated advisors for first- and second-year students, as well as faculty advisors assigned to each student who mentor them throughout their academic career years in the CHC. Students are supported by advisors from the moment they arrive on campus until graduation!

Calderwood Seminars in Public Writing: Originating at Wellesley College and now implemented at Smith College, Georgetown University, and Wesleyan University, CHC was one of several public institutions awarded a grant from the Calderwood Foundation to support deadline-driven, writing intensive seminars focused on teaching students to write for public audiences.

Alumni of this program tell us that their Calderwood Seminars were the most meaningful classes they took at UO.

Inside-Out: A life-changing experience in which honors college students and incarcerated people study literature, political theory, and social issues together at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

Knight Campus Undergraduate Scholars Program: In an exclusive partnership, the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and CHC have created two $8,000 research awards for honors college students selected to conduct research in a Knight Campus-affiliated lab.

OHSU Internships: This collaboration between CHC and Oregon Health and Science University offers summer internships to honors college students in the Cell, Developmental, and Cancer Biology laboratories on the campus in Portland, Oregon, complete with stipend.

3+3: The 3 + 3 Program enables highly talented and motivated honors college students interested in legal careers to complete both a bachelor’s degree and a doctor of jurisprudence at the University of Oregon in only six years.

Liberal Arts Introduction to the Liberal Arts (HC101) introduces students to the vibrant world of liberal arts education. Designed for first-year students, HC101 explores knowledge, creation, and discovery by

LAUREN TOKOS CLASS OF 2024 JOURNALISM

analyzing and discussing texts and sources on a specific theme. Focusing on the writing process,

Employment: Receptionist at CHC front desk,

assignments teach students to develop clarity of

Writer for CHC Communications Team

expression and argument, use of evidence, and effective revision practices. Students evaluate

“The HC101 I took was Philosophy of Food with Dr.

the benefit of diverse perspectives and reflect

Cutting-Jones. This course prepared me for the

on the connections between scholarship and

workload of a typical honors college course and gave

society on subjects such as malaria, the US-Mexico

me insight into how honors college classes are run.

borderlands, the relationship between humans and

Additionally, Dr. Cutting-Jones’ enthusiasm inspired

dogs, artificial intelligence, and writing the genome.

participation among students in a manner I’d never experienced.”

Your First Year: Sample Schedule of CHC Classes

Fall Term

Winter Term

Spring Term

HC 101: Intro to Liberal Arts

HC 200: level Disciplinary Course

HC 200: level Disciplinary Course

CHC Disciplinary Courses are divided

These three courses will introduce

into three academic subjects:

you to intensive reading and writing,

Arts and Letters, Social Science, and

research methods, group projects,

Science. CHC students will take one of

and presentations skills. They serve as

each of these classes during their first

the foundation of your honors college

two years of study:

experience and will prepare you for the

HC 221: Arts and Letters HC 231: Social Science

high-level work you will encounter in upper-division colloquia. Transfer, AP, IB, and non-CHC UO credits cannot be used to fulfill these requirements.

HC 241: Science You can complete the CHC Disciplinary Courses in any order; the key is that you must take at least one of each.

Your First Year: Sample Schedule of CHC Classes

Fall Term

Winter Term

Spring Term

HC 101: Intro to Liberal Arts

HC 231: Social Sciences

HC 221: Arts and Letters

HC 241: Science

Colloquia At Clark Honors College, students should expect the unexpected. With our colloquia, unique and engaging courses are created specifically for CHC students with a focus on engaging students in different perspectives on ideas and topics, expanding their horizons, and building a strong foundation for a life of learning.

With colloquia, students challenge themselves and each other, bringing majors together from every discipline across campus. Biologists talk to artists, literary scholars talk to business majors, and mathematicians talk to poets in courses taught by award-winning faculty members.

CLAIRE WARNER CLASS OF 2023 EARTH SCIENCES Employment: Video producer at Oregon Department of Corrections “I am deeply interested in mass incarceration and often find myself questioning common representations of incarcerated individuals as ‘criminals,’’murderers,’ or ‘bad people.’ Little did I know I would have similar experiences in other CHC courses through which passionate professors offered alternative insights

Our colloquia are uniquely specialized,

that helped me develop ideas of my own. Consequently,

interdisciplinary courses created specifically

I credit the CHC for the confident, well-rounded, and

for honors college students. CHC offers at least

independent student I am today.”

140 unique courses per academic year, focusing on topics ranging from inequality and action in climate change, the language of truth, techniques in prose fiction to LGBTQ history, the relationship between humans and the whale, and writing for social justice. At CHC, you’ll find colloquia on topics ranging from the whale to poison to Black rebellions to the physics of sport. CHC alumni tell us that the colloquia were one of the highlights of their college experience.

One Sample Schedule: Timing of CHC Colloquia

Fall Term - Year One

Winter Term – Year One

Spring Term – Year One

HC 101: Intro to Liberal Arts

HC 231: Social Science

HC 221: Arts and Letters

Fall Term - Year Two

Winter Term – Year Two

Spring Term – Year Two

HC 241: Science

HC 301: Research and Writing

Fall Term - Year Three

Winter Term – Year Three

Spring Term – Year Three

HC 441: Science

HC 421: Arts & Letters

HC 421: Arts and Letters (first elective)

Fall Term - Year Four

Winter Term – Year Four

Spring Term – Year Four

HC 431: Social Science

HC 441: Science (second elective) Or even like this, on a compressed schedule (good for study abroad or three-year graduation plans):

One Sample Schedule: Timing of CHC Colloquia

Fall Term - Year One

Winter Term – Year One

Spring Term – Year One

HC 101: Intro to Liberal Arts

HC 241: Science

HC 301: Research and Writing

HC 221: Arts and Letters

HC 231: Social Science

Fall Term - Year Two

Winter Term – Year Two

Spring Term – Year Two

HC 441: Science

HC 421: Arts and Letters

HC 441: Arts and Letters (first elective)

Fall Term - Year Three

Winter Term – Year Three

Spring Term – Year Three

HC 431: Social Science

HC 441: Science (second elective)

Thesis If there is a question you are passionate about answering, your thesis can allow you to explore solutions. When you write your thesis, you are in charge. The experience lets you harness your career and academic interests to a topic about

LAUREN JIN CLASS OF 2021 JOURNALISM/ADVERTISING

which you are interested in.

Employment: EMU box office, CHC graphic designer

During your first two years, you explore your

Thesis: “Who Belongs and Who Doesn’t: Gentrification

major, actively looking for questions and ideas

and the Golden State Warriors.”

that you would like to investigate further and choosing courses or lab internships with

Advice for students preparing for their thesis

professors who are experts in those topics. You

project: “What you, a CHC student, should do is find

can use study abroad experiences to conduct

a committee that cares about you and your topic. I

research on a thesis that spans continents.

wouldn’t be here, with a thesis successfully defended and submitted, without the guidance of my advisors.

Once you have an idea, and with the support of

They kept me on track when I was dangerously close

your faculty advisors, you will lay the groundwork

to veering off into the abyss. They believed in the

for your thesis project. The thesis offers you

merits of my research, which at times I couldn’t see

the opportunity to dive into research, immerse

myself. Barring personal motivation and ability, I

yourself in a subject, become an expert in it, and

think a good committee is the difference between

consider solutions to problems about which you

a bad thesis and a good one and a good one from a

care deeply.

great one. Go to those office hours and make those

Challenge yourself, satisfy your curiosity, then discover the answers through research, analysis, and collaboration. Your thesis can lead you to the answers to your questions as well as opportunities.

connections: you’ll be thankful for it, I’m sure.”

Thesis: Courses and Requirements The thesis is one of the most satisfying

required preparatory courses leading up

and memorable experiences on the

to your final thesis project:

Clark Honors College journey—an opportunity to stretch the boundaries of the university, and to venture out

HC 277: Thesis Orientation (2 credits) HC 477: Thesis Prospectus (2 credits)

into the larger world. You will conduct

Since HC 277: Thesis Orientation and

original research, complete a high-

HC 477: Thesis Prospectus are 2-credit

quality academic paper or project, and

classes, you can take these classes

orally defend your work to your faculty

in addition to your average 16-credit

thesis committee.

course load in a term. During those

The thesis defense itself is not a credit-

terms, you may be enrolled in 18 credits.

granting course; however, there are two

One sample schedule of when you might take these courses

Fall Term - Year One

Winter Term – Year One

Spring Term – Year One

HC 101: Intro to Liberal Arts

HC 231: Social Science

HC 221: Arts and Letters

Fall Term - Year Two

Winter Term – Year Two

Spring Term – Year Two

HC 241: Science

HC 277: Thesis Orientation

HC 301: Research and Writing

Fall Term - Year Three

Winter Term – Year Three

Spring Term – Year Three

HC 441: Science

HC 421: Arts and Letters

HC 477: Thesis Prospectus

Fall Term - Year Four

Winter Term – Year Four

Spring Term – Year Four

HC 431: Social Science

HC 421: Arts and Letters (first elective)

HC 441: Science (second elective)

MRP/IFP The CHC recently launched two new career readiness programs: the Mentored Research Program (MRP) and the Internship Funding Program (IFP). These programs allow CHC students to gain experiences that provide

MORNING GLORY RITCHIE CLASS OF 2023 ART HISTORY/ART

the kind of foundations that can help launch careers in industry, government, research, and

Employment: Research Assistant for Professor

many others.

Carol Stabile in the Clark Honors College

The MRP offers students the opportunity

Extracurricular Activities: Undergraduate Co-chair

to partake in paid student-faculty research

for the Art History Student Association

assistantships where they learn to work independently, manage deadlines, and develop valuable research skills.

The IFP supports students’ participation in noncredit-bearing internships which relieve the financial strain of unpaid internships and provide students with valuable experiences and important skills while they explore career paths.

Internship: Springfield History Museum Advice: “Keep trying and putting yourself out there even if you don’t always succeed. It can be very easy to shy away from opportunities if you don’t think you are deserving of them. Try and push back on this self-doubt and talk to your professors during office hours, apply for scholarships, and step out of your comfort zone. Take advantage of the resources around you, such as the free tutoring services, which

Examining deep-sea larvae with the Oregon

helped support me during my first year. Don’t give up

Institute of Marine Biology; using ultrasound

on yourself; persistence and patience with yourself

technology to gather data on muscles

will bring you a long way on the road to success

and tendons in the knee; identifying and

throughout your academic career.”

briefing murder cases with potentially wrongful convictions; and cataloging historic photographs into museum archives for preservation: these are just a few of the firsthand opportunities CHC students have been able to take advantage of with the support of the MRP and IFP.

Calderwood Seminars One of the unique hallmarks of Clark Honors College is the Calderwood Seminars for Public Writing, an indepth learning experience that teaches students to take academic scholarship and research and present

“As a journalism student, I’ve taken a number of publicfacing writing courses. None compare to how much I learned in the Calderwood Seminar I took last term about writing for social justice. The class taught me how vocabulary, sentence structure and tone can communicate implicit biases and judgements you may not notice in your own writing. We learned to recognize these issues, then we focused on how to avoid them.”

it to public-facing audiences.

Each section of the Calderwood Seminars is taught by an expert in that area of focus, and by using peer-topeer reviews, editing, and collaboration, students take information that is academically based and transform it into content that is accessible to the general public.

Students gain experience in constructing opinion editorials, book reviews, and magazine-style stories that transform complex research into pieces that are both comprehensive and comprehendible to those outside the academic field.

LAUREN CHURCH CLASS OF ‘22/ JOURNALISM Employment: Assistant Editor at CHC Communications

SUMIT KAPUR CLASS OF 2021 POLITICAL/SCIENCE PHILOSOPHY

Employment:

The Classroom

The Rule of Thirds

One of the hallmarks of an honors college class is

Clark Honors College curriculum replaces university

the diverse set of majors it brings togehter. The rich

general-education requirements. Students take

exchange of viewpoints coming from many different

about a third of their courses in the honors college,

backgrounds means students learn from the

another third in their major, and the last third as

professor and from each other.

electives. Typically, you will take one or two courses in the honors college each term.

Mock Trial (2017–2021); President (2020–21) College Democrats of Oregon College Democrats of America Democratic Party of Lane County

honors.uoregon.edu

IM Basketball MAJOR

Undergrad employment:

CHC REQUIREMENT

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon UO Multicultural recruiter-ambassador Field office intern, Senator Ron Wyden Thesis: “Deconstructing Dialectic and Rhetoric in American Political Debate” What I’m doing now: “Today, I am pursuing a law degree at the University

AVERAGE CLASS SIZE

ELECTIVES

15

STUDENTS

of Virginia School of Law and am on track to graduate in 2024. As I adjust to the intellectual rigor of law school, I find myself incredibly thankful for the wealth of experiences that the CHC has given me to prepare for it. The students and professors that I met in my four years here made me a better person, a better scholar, and a better leader. From learning

MAXIMUM CLASS SIZE

us today to discussing case theories in UO’s stellar

19

Mock Trial program to meeting some of my closest

STUDENTS

about the lessons that Native philosophy can teach

friends in the student lounge, I found myself and my home in the CHC.”