Honors Program
The Curriculum
The Mars Hill College Honors Program curriculum is a distinctive, multidisciplinary education opportunity. It includes a special section of LAA 111 (Challenges), annual seminars that focus on community research and development, five-week mini-courses on focused topics related to faculty members’ research areas in a variety of disciplines, and individualized contracts for exploring topics in major areas of study.
Including the special LAA 111 section, the Honors Program totals 18 credit hours, the equivalent of most minors. Typically, an Honors student’s program will take the following form:
| LAA Core | 3 |
| LAA 111 | |
| Honors Seminars | 4 |
| HON 100 (freshman year, spring) HON 200 (sophomore year, fall) HON 300 (junior year, fall) HON 400 (senior year, spring) |
|
| Mini-Courses | 8-9 |
| HON 201, 202, 203 (soph.-jnr. years, fall) HON 204, 205, 206 (soph.-jnr. years, spring) |
|
| Honors Contracts | 2-3 |
| HON 456, 457, 458 (jnr.-snr. years) | |
Students who participate in study abroad or domestic study away programs may be allowed to count some coursework at other institutions toward Honors Program requirements.
LAA 111 (Challenges)
All new first-year students at Mars Hill College register for the first course in the Liberal Arts in Action general education program: LAA 111 (Challenges). The course introduces to the educational program of the college and related services and resources. A special section of LAA 111 is designated for students in the Honors Program; it is taught by a faculty member who serves on the Honors Program Committee, with assistance from an upper-level Honors student who serves as the section’s “Challenger.”
Honors Seminars
Every year, students in the Honors Program participate in an annual seminar. The seminars are paired, such that the freshman HON 100 course and the senior HON 400 course are taught concurrently in the spring, while the sophomore HON 200 course and the junior HON 300 course are taught concurrently in the fall. All Honors Seminars are offered for S/U credit only.
Students in the spring HON 100/400 seminar identify a problem in the community, conduct applied research through a variety of discipline-based approaches, and implement an action plan.
Students in the fall HON 200/300 seminar develop and direct campus-based experiential opportunities, such as academic lectures, short-term field experiences, and cultural events.
Honors Mini-Courses
Mini-courses (HON 201, 202, 203 in the fall; HON 204, 205, 206 in the spring) are the hallmark component of the MHC Honors Program. During every fifteen-week semester, three five-week, one-credit courses are offered consecutively in three different disciplines. Students who have completed their first year in the program may register for as many or as few of the mini-courses in a term as they wish, but they must satisfactorily complete a minimum of eight mini-courses to meet the Honors Program requirements (nine if the student chooses to develop only two honors contracts).
Honors students are encouraged to register for mini-courses that are “outside their comfort zones,” to take classes they might not otherwise have taken. Because of this, students may opt for the S/U option in up to three mini-courses.
Honors Contracts
During their junior and senior years, students in the Honors Program work with faculty in their major or minor fields of study to develop honors contracts (HON 456, 457, 458), consisting of additional responsibilities or research projects associated with regularly offered courses. To complete the Honors Program, students must satisfactorily complete at least two contracts (three if the student chooses to take only eight mini-courses). Each student’s honors contracts must complement separate courses.