Western 2022-23 Honors Publication

HONORS COLLEGE

ADMISSION TO WESTERN’S HONORS COLLEGE

While admission to Honors is selective, application review is holistic and values a variety of student perspectives, experiences, and attributes.

APPLYING TO HONORS

Apply by the Honors Priority Deadline in early January, or by the Regular Decision Deadline in early March. Learn more about deadlines and applying at honors.wwu.edu/apply.

A complete application to Honors College includes:

1. A sample of your best analytical writing

2. A personal essay responding to the prompt(s) found on our website

3. Highly recommended: letter(s) of recommendation from a teacher or counselor

TRANSFERRING TO HONORS

Current Western students and transfer students are welcome to apply. Honors requirements will be discussed on an individual basis to develop a curricular pathway best for each student.

Access to specific Honors advisors

No additional fees

Apply to Honors today: honors.wwu.edu/apply

“The Honors College fundamentally shaped my Western experience in a positive way. The coursework stretched my mind and helped me view the world in a deeper, more nuanced way. Perhaps most importantly, it was through the Honors College that I met lifelong friends and formed meaningful connections with amazing professors.”

Isaac Heiman, Behavioral Neuroscience

HONORS CURRICULUM

FIRST-YEAR HONORS CURRICULUM

First-year students in Honors take a year-long sequence that includes the following classes:

HNRS 101 - The Big Picture: Lecture series with WWU faculty (1 cr)

HNRS 105* - Navigating the Human Experience – Post-Modernity A: Comparative culture in the modern world; emphasis outside North America and Europe (4 cr)

HNRS 103* - Navigating the Human Experience – Pre-Modernity: Students navigate ideas drawn from outside a modern framework of thought (4 cr) OR

HNRS 104* - Navigating the Human Experience – Modernity: Students navigate how a modern framework of thought came to be (4 cr)

STEM INTEREST

HNRS 106* - Navigating the Human Experience – Post-Modernity B: Comparative culture in the modern world; multicultural and gender studies (4 cr)

LOWER DIVISION COLLOQUIA

Two Honors Colloquia* are required. These 200-level classes are offered each year in areas such as economics, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, and geology.

UPPER DIVISION SEMINARS

Two Honors Seminars are required. Faculty compete to teach these 20+ seminars, which cover an array of fields and topics that are refreshed each year.

SENIOR PROJECT

Students partner with faculty to complete an original, independently designed, concentrated work in a student’s major field or another field of interest.

See past projects at cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors. * Courses fulfill GUR requirements

Students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are encouraged to consider enrollment in our Honors Calculus* and Honors General Chemistry* sequences.

STUDY ABROAD OPTIONS

Complete Honors requirements while studying abroad in Greece (Navigating the Human Experience, HNRS 103), or Ecuador (Culture, Politics, and Geology, HNRS 105 + HNRS 212).

Learn more about courses: honors.wwu.edu/ curricular-pathways

TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING IN A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY

Since its founding in 1962, WWU Honors has functioned as a small college within a larger university, incorporating the best aspects of both.

You can pursue any major, have access to fellowship and internship advising, and have the option to live in an Honors residential cluster.

Honors average class size: 18 students

Classes taken in Honors: 15-20%

Western Washington University (WWU), in compliance with applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or genetic information in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Title IX and ADA Coordinator, Western Washington University, Old Main 345, MS 9021, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225; 360-650-3307 (voice) or 711 (Washington Relay); crtc@wwu.edu.

WWU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request an accommodation, please contact the Disability Access Center, Wilson Library 170; (360) 650-3083 (voice) or (360) 255-7175 (VP); drs@wwu.edu. One week advance notice appreciated. To request this document in an alternate format, please contact the Office of Admissions, Old Main 200; (360) 650-3440; admissions@wwu.edu. (8/2022 version)