NEW! Students who meet GPA-based eligibility requirements for Honors courses will be assigned the attribute HE in Banner which will allow them to self-register for courses. Students meeting these requirements no longer need to be registered for courses by the Honors Department. Students should still seek advisement related to Honors courses, especially if they are working toward the Advanced Studies Certificate. Students who do not meet these eligibility requirements but who wish to register for an Honors course should still consult with the Honors Coordinator.
Any questions about this new process or general questions about Honors at MCC may be directed to Honors Coordinator Thomas Blake.
Eligibility for Honors Courses
Students in all majors at MCC are eligible to register for Honors courses, provided they meet one of the following criteria:
- An 87 or higher high school average
- A cumulative college GPA of 3.0 or higher
- Faculty may recommend students whose academic work does not meet one of these criteria, usually after consulting with the Honors Coordinator
Informing Students about Honors
Many students do not know about the Honors Institute, the advantages of Honors courses, or the opportunities associated with Honors Studies at MCC. Students will find these advantages in any Honors course:
- Student ownership of learning
- Smaller class size
- More interaction and discussion with students and professors
- Funding to attend films, theater performances
- Funding to attend conferences & present your research
Students can also earn the Advanced Studies Certificate (ASC 1) or the Advanced Studies Certificate with Thesis (ASC 2). Students can earn either certificates in addition to the degree in their discipline.
Three Types of Honors Courses
Honors sections:
courses capped at 21 students that cover the same material as a non-honors section of the same course. These courses provide more opportunity for discussion, interaction with the instructor, and self-directed learning than standard sections. Honors students also form relationships with one another that are part of the Honors experience. These courses are designated with HONR preceding the course title in the master schedule.
Honors option courses:
standard sections of MCC courses with three seats set aside for Honors students to work on a project that involves greater rigor, further research, or greater depth than in the standard course. These courses provide opportunity for individual Honors students to work in tandem with the instructor on research presentations or explore course material more completely than they would in a standard course. These courses are designated with HONR preceding the course title in the master schedule.
Honors seminars:
one-credit or three-credit courses that focus on specific areas of academic growth. In the master schedule, HON and a course number designate honors seminars. The table below contains brief descriptions of the honors seminars.
One-Credit Seminars
| Course Name | Summary Description |
| HON 101: Orientation to Honors | introduces incoming students to honors and prepares them to specify and pursue their academic goals |
| HON 102: Exploration and Discovery | introduces the research process and the intellectual activity of defining a research problem. |
| HON 201: The Scholarly Process | teaches students to summarize a research project and write an abstract worth submitting to a local or regional scholarly conference. |
| HON 202: The Scholarly Presentation | prepares students for the public oral presentation of their research. |
Three-Credit Seminars
| Course Name | Brief Summary |
| HON 195: Seminar in Critical Analysis | teaches critical thinking by examining an issue of current global importance |
| HON 295: Research Methods and Academic Writing | coaches students to conceive, research, and write a high-quality research paper for presentation at a local or regional scholarly conference |
Selecting Honors Courses
To help students select Honors courses, check their degree program in Degree Works and the ASC degree requirements by using the ‘what-if’ function in Degree Works. You and your advisee will need to choose Honors Courses that simultaneously advance the student toward their degree and earn the Advanced Studies Certificate.
Degree Works informs you and your advisee of the requirements for their degree and for the Honors Advanced Studies Certificate. The Honors Institute maintains a current list of Honors Courses in the Master Schedule, in brochures distributed by the Honors Institute, and on the Honors Institute webpage at http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/honorsstudies/course-offerings/.
