Honors College

210 Oak View Hall

(248) 370-4450

Dean: Graeme Harper, DCA Ph.D. FRGS FRSA FRAI FAIM

Council: Amy Banes-Berceli, Biology; Eddie Cheng, Math; Virgil Zeigler-Hill, Psychology; David Kidger, Music; Ji-Eun Lee, Education; Thomas Raffel, Biology; Matthew Fails, Political Science; Sanela Martic, Chemistry/Biochemistry; Brad Roth, Physics; Susan Wood, Art History; Darrin Hanna, Engineering; Kathleen Spencer, Nursing; Christopher Wilson, Health Sciences; Fritz McDonald, Philosophy; Karen Conn, Administrative Assistant; Sheri Rourke, Executive Secretary

The Honors College was established to provide highly motivated students an intellectually stimulating community. The curriculum offers a distinctive undergraduate experience that integrates the sciences the professional fields and the arts through research, colloquia, creative activities, scholarly and extra-curricular activities, as well as leadership and service opportunities within the university and larger community. It offers specially designed general education requirements, and in major Honors choices, in conjunction with a departmental major. Students applying to the Honors College must first be admitted to or enrolled at Oakland University. Courses with the HC prefix are open only to students who have been accepted into the Honors College. Please visit our website at oakland.edu for additional information on the Honors College, its programs and requirements.

Requirements and Procedures

Departmental majors

Each student must complete a departmental major in the College of Arts and Sciences or a prescribed course of study in the School of Business Administration, the School of Education and Human Services, the School of Engineering and Computer Science, the School of Health Sciences, or the School of Nursing.

The Honors College also offers a selection of “In Major” Advanced Scholarship courses that can partly take the place of Honors College General Education courses. A list of “In Major” choices is available on The Honors College website or can be discussed with an Honors College adviser.

General education requirements of the honors college:

The Honors College offers selected core general education courses, from this catalog, as designed for student needs or determined by proposals submitted by faculty and accepted by an Honors College committee. Specific offerings for each semester may be found in the Schedule of Classes and on the Honors College website.

The Honors College Council may allow HC courses to satisfy general education requirements by section when the content is appropriate. Course sections must be designated prior to the start of the semester.

1. The student must successfully complete HC 1000 and at least three Honors College core courses (16 credits).

2. The student must complete 8 semesters (once a semester) of Honors College Aspire or Presidential Scholar Aspire. Aspire is a zero credit course that tracks HC activities and reflects them on the students’ transcript

3. The student must successfully complete at least one approved General Education Requirements course in each of the 10 knowledge areas that are not covered by the HC core courses taken.

4. The student must complete an approved writing intensive course in General Education Requirements , (which may be satisfied by choosing an HC 2020 course after completion of WRT 1060 ), a writing intensive course in the major, a diversity course and a capstone. These four requirements may be met by courses that double-count in other general education areas or in the major.

5. The student must complete a four semester foreign language requirement (see policy on the Honors College website).

6. The student must successfully complete HC 3900 in the year before graduation.

7. The student must complete a senior thesis. See Honors College website for deadlines.

Note: Honors College requirements partially replace university general education requirements and replace Exploratory requirements for students in the College of Arts and Sciences.

HC Required Activities

Community service: 10 hours per year
One HC event per year
Research & Scholarship sessions- once a year
Meet with an HC advisor yearly

Good standing

The student must maintain good standing in the Honors College at all times. A copy of “Good Standing Guidelines” is available in the Honors College office or online.

Honors thesis

Each Honors College student will successfully complete a major scholarly work or creative project under the supervision of a faculty mentor. The Honors College Thesis can be awarded as Thesis (Pass), Thesis (with Distinction) or Thesis (with Distinction and a Thesis Award in a particular field). The Honors College thesis/project provides a unique opportunity to work at length on a project designed to contribute to the student’s field of expertise and enhance their level of research or creative practice experience. Students complete individual theses, but can choose to work individually or in a team. If graduating in Fall the deadline for submission of The Honors College thesis is October 15. If graduating in Spring the deadline is February 15. Students graduating in Summer have separate deadlines, and should inquire with The Honors College prior to undertaking their thesis/project.

A minimum grade point average of 3.50 is required for graduation. The diploma indicates that the student is a graduate of The Honors College.