Hutton Honors College

Contact:
Criminal Justice
Sycamore 302
855-9325

1. How is your honors degree program administered? Is there a specific person who acts as coordinator? Is there a faculty committee?

A student's first contact is with an undergraduate academic advisor. Students can schedule an advising appointment with a criminal justice advisor by calling 855-9325. A faculty member administers the honors program. A faculty committee of three works with each honors student.

2. What are the requirements for admission into your honors program? How are students recruited for your program? May students recommend themselves?

Requirements include a 3.3 cumulative GPA, a 3.5 GPA in criminal justice, completion of the core major requirements (P100, P200, P202, P290, K300), and evidence of a substantial commitment to a three semester project. The academic advisor writes to all eligible students at the end of their sophomore year, asking them to contact her if they're interested in the honors program. Students also may recommend themselves.

3. How does a student graduate with honors from your department?

Students must have their honors thesis read and approved as of honors quality by a three-person committee.

4. What courses do students take as juniors and before in order to prepare for working on the senior project? How are these honors seminars and courses typically conducted? What are the usual requirements in such courses?

Honors students take one to three hours of P399 during their junior year. (see the answer to question #6 for more information.) They also must take P290 "The Nature of Inquiry" before starting a thesis.

5. Are there departmental resources available to support internships or research projects related to the senior project?

While the department does not provide financial support for internships or research projects, it does offer various kinds of internship opportunities and when possible individual faculty members may provide research support through their funded research.

6. What is the nature of the senior project and what are the requirements for completing it?

The senior project culminates in research that is grounded in one of the department's four areas of concentrations (law and society, administration of justice, nature of crime, and cross-cultural analysis). In some instances, this work may be based wholly on library research and in other instances it may combine a literature review with original data collection. Ideally, students begin to work on their senior project at the end of their junior year, when they take three credits of P399, Readings for Honors. For this, students work one-on-one with a faculty member who supervises an individualized readings course and guides the student through writing a project prospectus. The prospectus must ultimately be approved by a three-person faculty committee. During their senior year, they take six hours of P499 in order to complete their project.

7. How might the work required for an honors degree be particularly beneficial in future endeavors?

The work required for earning an honors degree benefits those students interested in public policy positions and/or law school, for it accustoms them to the systematic analysis and multi-faceted research issues.

8. What are the advantages for students who pursue the honors degree compared to a regular degree in your area?

Honors work is especially helpful for students interested in graduate school. It gives all interested students the opportunity to work closely with faculty members, and to receive individualized attention from them.

9. Please list suggestions for other departments based on activities that have worked well for your students.

An increase in the intensity of the initial screening process ensures that prospective honors students understand what sorts of work the senior project entails.

10. Explain the background of honors course offerings in your discipline. When were honors courses or sections first offered? When was your honors degree program instituted?

The first offering of an honors section of P100, our introductory course, was in the fall of 1988.