UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
CLARK HONORS COLLEGE
CLARK HONORS COLLEGE EXPAND YOUR CURIOSITY CULTIVATE YOUR THOUGHTFULNESS BECOME THE SOLUTION
2
A FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS At the Clark Honors College, we provide the best of both college experiences: the intimate learning environment of a private liberal arts college combined with the opportunities of a major research university. The Clark Honors College is dedicated to helping students learn how to learn. To synthesize. To think for oneself. To cultivate intellect. We provide the foundation for problem solving, critical thinking, and exploring viewpoints with small class sizes that encourage the creation of community and the diversity born from discussion.
honors.uoregon.edu
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
3
A REMARKABLE COMMUNITY Since its inception in 1960, the Clark Honors College has developed a curriculum that is independent of coursework elsewhere on campus. Our accomplished and award-winning faculty members create new classes every term. Our students explore a subject of their choice and produce a thesis by graduation. Our dual-degree programs partner with other departments and colleges across campus. The university awards top scholarships and financial support to honors college students. Our study abroad opportunities are faculty led to bring their expertise and knowledge to an already unforgettable experience.
906 HONORS COLLEGE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN 2019
98% RECEIVED NEEDOR MERIT-BASED FINANCIAL AID
30% RECEIVED MORE THAN ONE SCHOLARSHIP
The honors college residential community in the Global Scholars Hall reinforces the cohort feel.
SEAN KILLPATRICK MAJOR: ACCOUNTING HOMETOWN: PEARLAND, TX
A standout in the classroom and on the football field in high school, Sean had offers from ten colleges, including Princeton and UC Berkeley. But when he visited the UO, the welcoming atmosphere made his decision clear. He leapt at the opportunity to challenge himself academically in the honors college while playing for the Ducks as a walk-on. Now a senior, Sean’s been able to balance the rigors of D1 athletics and honors college classes, combining his interests into a thesis exploring the ways sports franchises are taxed.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
5
Unique TO THE CHC The Colloquia Difference Every term, our faculty members hone in on specialized subjects within their areas of expertise and develop courses exclusive to Clark Honors College students called colloquia. These subjects are covered in depth with an unconventional platform for the continuation of community and the gathering of knowledge. It’s no wonder that Clark Honors College graduates say colloquia were some of the greatest classes of their college experience. Examples of past colloquia classes: • Emerson and Einstein, Interdisciplinary Artist Activists: An Inquiry into Genius • Humanity in Science Fiction Television • Arctic Ice in Science, Policy and the Imagination
A Flexible New Curriculum The CHC’s new curriculum was developed to meet the evolving needs of its students, and enhances the first-year experience and injects greater flexibility into four-year plans. It improves the balance between science, math, arts & letters, and social science disciplines and also enables CHC to allow a wider variety of transfer, IB, AP and UO credits to fulfill CHC core education requirements. A new first-year course, Introduction to the Liberal Arts (HC 101H) introduces students to the intellectual culture of liberal arts scholarship in the context of an engaged seminar class designed for students in their initial year at the CHC.
6
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
7
MAXIMUM CLARK HONORS COLLEGE CLASSROOM SIZE IS
19
THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE STUDENTS
One of the hallmarks of an honors college class is the diverse majors it brings together. The rich exchange of viewpoints coming from many different backgrounds means students learn from the professor and from each other. Clark Honors College curriculum replaces university core education requirements. Students take a third of their classes in the honors college, another third in their major and the last third as electives. Generally, you will take one or two classes in the honors college each term.
The Calderwood Seminars 
 Created at Wellesley College, the small-group Calderwood Seminars provide students the tools to communicate academic knowledge to broader audiences, and become familiar with different genres of public writing, including op-eds, features, profiles, and blog posts
8
ELECTIVE COURSES HONORS COLLEGE COURSES MA JOR-SPECIFIC COURSES
200-LEVEL ARTS & LET TERS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE SERIES 400-LEVEL COLLOQUIA THESIS
1 OF 4 PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES TO OFFER CALDERWOOD SEMINARS
TIM WILLIAMS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, HISTORY
“The Calderwood Seminar is a unique opportunity for our students to think about writing in a totally new way. I emphasize clear, concise writing in all of my classes, but Calderwood allows us to break the mold of academic writing and think about the public uses of the skills we hone in college.”
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
9
Learning
FROM THE BEST
Clark Honors College faculty come from all corners and departments on campus to create a well-rounded and encompassing team of experts in their areas of study. Clark Honors College classes encourage students to challenge themselves, develop new perspectives, and bring majors together from each end of campus. Award-winning faculty from across UO apply each year and undergo a competitive review process to teach courses on topics that are centered on their areas of expertise and their passions. Faculty members also serve as academic advisors to CHC students, creating a solid foundation for mentorship and guidance.
TOP OF THE CLASS Renowned in their fields, members of the honors college faculty have been honored with: King Albert I Mountain Award Williams Council Instructional Award Mellon Faculty Fellow Award National Science Foundation Award Fulbright Ambassadorship California Poet Laureate position American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship Award
10
NELLY NOUBOUSSI MAJOR: BIOLOGY; CHEMISTRY AND GLOBAL HEALTH MINORS HOMETOWN: SPRINGFIELD, OR Nelly grew up in Cameroon, but moved to Springfield at 13 to live with her uncle. Even then, she had a big goal: a career in medicine, just like her mother who works as a physician in their home country. After high school, the UO and the Clark Honors College offered Nelly multiple scholarships, and she was on her way. Now Nelly is a research assistant with honors college professor and medical historian Melissa Graboyes and works in a neuroscience lab, studying the olfactory systems of mice. Up next? Medical school and eventually a return to Cameroon to make her mark on its healthcare system.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
11
THESIS: IT’S YOUR CHOICE. The Clark Honors College thesis is a part of the curriculum where you take charge, harness your interests, and explore a new path. For your first two years, you’ll explore your major, look for questions and ideas that you would like to investigate further, and choose courses or lab internships with professors who are experts in those topics. The opportunities of where your thesis will lead you are infinite, and your research will join the thousands of CHC theses on Scholars’ Bank so that future students can be inspired by your work.
12
NELSON PEREZ CATALAN MAJOR: BIOLOGY HOMETOWN: PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE
Nelson was looking for a college with the best of both worlds: a tight-knit community and a broad liberal arts curriculum, but with the scientific research opportunities of a large institution. The Clark Honors College was the perfect fit. He took literature classes, studied abroad, presented on a 16th century Persian manuscript— all while discovering his true passion, medical science research. A summer internship at Oregon Health and Science University led him to his thesis research on neuronal circuits in those affected by diseases like ALS. In short, he found the perfect balance of exploration and targeted focus.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
13
Where do you want to learn? Expand your horizons, immerse yourself in new environments, and broaden your perspectives. All of these possibilities reside under Clark Honors College study abroad programs, either in faculty-led summer experiences or yearlong exchanges. No second language requirements are necessary, and even qualified first-year students can participate. The opportunities also fulfill honors college graduation requirements. With our study abroad programs, the world is your classroom.
The “Genius of Study Abroad� program follows the literal and intellectual paths of historical figures through Oxford, London, Dublin, and Paris.
GOING 14
GLOBAL
PREVIOUS STUDY ABROAD DESTINATIONS Dublin London Oxford Paris Siena Singapore Zanzibar
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
15
CLARK HONORS COLLEGE 1293 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon 97403-1293 541-346-5414 honors.uoregon.edu
Columbia River Gorge, 134 miles from campus.
An equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This publication will be made available in accessible formats upon request. Š2020 University of Oregon SSEM0320 5165