Honors
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Artistic Creation
Inquiry through the process of artistic creation or performance of theater, art, literature, music, sculpture, cinema, or other artistic activity.
Critical Analysis
Inquiry into the various ways in which a text conveys meaning or people derive meaning from a text (viewed broadly to include written work, visual art, music, popular culture, ritual, symbol, cinema, etc.).
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Inquiry into start-up mindset, creativity in problem-solving, and risk-taking for personal or public progress.
Equity and Belonging
Inquiry into the history, progress, and/or current practice of ensuring equity and belonging to all members of a group, organization, nation, or other community.
Ethics
Inquiry into the values and principles that guide the interactions of such entities as individuals, communities, corporations, organizations, and governments in public and personal environments.
Historical, Social and Cultural Analysis
Inquiry that examines how an event or phenomenon is shaped by history, society, or culture.
Leadership, Collaboration, and Team-Based Learning
Inquiry into collaboration and teamwork as a fundamental value and into the emergence of strategies for inspiring groups of people in organizational, institutional, and public problem-solving and change.
Scientific and Mathematical Analysis
Inquiry that engages in the scientific method through experimentation, that considers the history and evolution of experimentation, that considers the social impact of the scientific study of natural processes, or that uses logico-mathematical representation or modeling to understand events or phenomena.
Technology
Inquiry that incorporates the use of technology, the creation of technological innovation, or new understandings of the role of technology in society.
Wellness
Inquiry into research, strategies, and best practices to promote the inter-relatedness of mental and physical well-being.
Admission requirements are available here. Students already enrolled at the university must have a minimum GPA of 3.5 to apply. Since the program is competitive, meeting these minimum academic requirements is not a guarantee of admission. All students in the Program must maintain a 3.2 GPA to remain eligible. Students who feel that their GPA or SAT scores do not accurately reflect their academic background or abilities may apply directly to the Program Director to submit special justification.
High school seniors or transfer students may apply for university admission by the second Friday in November for early admission consideration or February 1 for final consideration. Early admissions decisions are usually made by early February and final decisions are usually made by early April. Students already enrolled at the university may apply at any time.
Please note that scholarships are not offered directly through the program. If you are accepted into the program, this does not mean that you are guaranteed to get a scholarship. In addition, only incoming students may be eligible for scholarships, which are administered by the WCSU Admissions Office.
Membership in the Kathwari Honors Program provides numerous benefits for participants. First and foremost, the program is designed to foster the type of learning environment that will prepare students for success in graduate school, professional programs, or work. Participation in the program signifies to graduate programs and employers that you have undertaken extra efforts to enrich your college work. In addition to these benefits, the honors program also provides a number of specific rewards. To take advantage of these benefits members must remain in “good standing” in the program. This requires that students maintain the GPA guidelines of the program and make satisfactory progress toward completing the requirements of the program.
Benefits include:
One of the questions often asked by students applying to the honors program is how much harder are honors courses compared with regular university courses? While honors courses are demanding, their intent is not to simply pile on extra work. Becoming a critical thinker, one of the desired outcomes of being a member of our honors program, is not like lifting weights. The goal is not to increase the amount of pounds pressed (or books read) in order to increase your “intellectual bulk.” In fact, the actual workload in most honors courses is not significantly greater than that found in other courses of the same level. What is different, however, are the types of materials assigned, the quality of class discussions and the faculty expectations about your ability to do independent work. Honors courses are not so much about piling on extra work as about getting intellectually motivated students into one place and letting them engage in the materials and learn from one another. Honors courses are also about allowing students the freedom to pursue areas of interest in their own way utilizing an assortment of methodologies and approaches. Honors courses are built on the fundamental assumption that knowledge is a process to be engaged in rather than a static thing to be absorbed. In other words, knowledge is not a closed set of facts to be memorized but a set of open questions to be explored. If this sounds like the type of approach that you are looking for then the honors program may be right for you.
The Honors Program enables students and faculty to develop individual Honors-level components when necessary. Due to special circumstances such as scheduling limitations, completing a double major, or unavailability of desired courses, students may propose an Enhancement to any normal university course in order to receive Honors credit for it. The Enhancement will add some additional Honors-level dimension to the usual course requirements, and the student will receive one additional credit hour for the successful completion of an enhanced course. The student is expected to initiate the honors Enhancement and complete the application process outlined below. Course Enhancement Forms
Eligible students
All students majoring in nursing or education and in good standing in the Kathwari Honors Program are eligible. All other students must ask permission from the program director or assistant director before beginning the enhancement process. Also, any student with a GPA of 3.2 or higher at the time of application is eligible.
Eligible faculty
All faculty members are eligible to participate. Consideration in the form of a partial credit hour is associated with enhancement in the same amount as a student developed study (one semester hour for the student =.11 load credit for faculty). Part-time faculty must submit a revised contract to receive the additional credit.
Considerations of time
Course enhancements are generally formed during the semester in which the course is being taken. Students are advised that the process should be completed within the first few weeks of the semester.
Honors course enhancement application and approval
An enhancement is established through a contract between the student and faculty member and the completion of the appropriate forms. The completed application contains (1) the cover page, (2) the enhancement contract, and (3) the request for faculty workload credit. When all these forms are completed and signed by faculty, the student then submits the forms to the Honors Program Director to be signed and then to the appropriate Dean. The Dean’s office should send copies to the Honors Director, the Registrar, and the student.
Details of application & approval elements
The Admissions Office awards merit-based scholarships at WCSU to incoming first-year students who meet the application deadline. The initial screening usually begins in January with awards being offered in late January and February. There is no special application required for these awards beyond the university admission application.
High Schools seniors or transfer students may use the application found on this website. Incoming first-year students who meet the admission requirements will be invited automatically to become members of the program. Students already enrolled at the university may either apply directly to the program using the application or be nominated by a faculty member. Nominations are, however, not a guarantee of acceptance.
Director:
Dr. Brian Clements Kathwari Honors House 102F Western Connecticut State University (203) 837 – 9501 clementsb@wcsu.edu
Assistant Director: Caitlin Kennedy Kathwari Honors House 102D Western Connecticut State University (203) 837-9502 kennedyc@wcsu.edu
Honors Assistants:
Honors Assistant Kathwari Honors House 102E Western Connecticut State University (203) 837-3226 honors@wcsu.edu
