The Honors Program

Department Website: Honors Program

The Honors Program at Gonzaga is an energetic community of students and scholars dedicated to flourishing in our new and changing world. The program provides students with innovative and immersive educational experiences designed to empower them to lead lives of meaning, service, and leadership into the future.

Academics

The Honors educational experience begins with a three-day immersion experience, in which students meet each other and begin to bond as a cohort, as well as learn to orient themselves in Spokane, at Gonzaga, and as Honors students. Students then take the Honors First Year Block, a rich, integrated, and interdisciplinary learning experience shared by all students entering the Honors program. Students are introduced to the complex structure and problems of contemporary society while also honing the foundational academic skills of critical reasoning, analysis, and communication. Ideas and experiences are shared across collaboratively-taught, student-centered, and interdisciplinary courses.

Throughout their time at Gonzaga, Honors students have reserved seats in Honors Designated courses: innovative and exciting courses taught by award-winning faculty. In addition, Honors Colloquia are designed for Honors students; these courses are collaboratively taught and interdisciplinary examinations of complex, timely, and urgent topics facing our global society. Examples of topics covered in Honors Colloquia are: identity formation and identity politics, race and representation, climate change, educational policy and advocacy, poverty, and homelessness.

Finally, Honors students complete their undergraduate career with the Honors capstone experience. Students imagine and then design a personalized project that both integrates their undergraduate learning and allows them experience which will meaningfully contribute to their future goals. These projects may take the form of researched, academic writing, an internship, creative inquiry – whatever is best suited to the individual students interests and goals.

The Honors program has a wide experience with a number of study abroad programs catering to various fields of interest, including engineering, the physical sciences, and business. Honors students are strongly encouraged to spend a semester abroad.

Student Development

One of the most important elements of the Honors program is the community, friendship, and mentorship it provides. Dillon Hall is the home of the Honors Living-Learning Community, providing a quiet, library-style study lounge, a lounge for socializing and relaxing, a kitchen, recreational equipment, academic space, and access to Honors Faculty. Throughout the year, the program hosts many events, including social and community building events, student sponsored programming, and opportunities for intellectual engagement. The all-program retreat in the fall, Christmas party, Honors Formal Dance, and Senior banquet are always highlights of the academic year!

Admission

Students can apply for the Honors program as they apply for admission to Gonzaga. A few students are also accepted at the end of their first year at Gonzaga. Acceptance is based not only on evidence of previous academic achievement, but also on promise of future success. The application process values extra-curricular interests, intellectual curiosity and engagement, and ability to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the program. For more information, one can contact the Honors Program office at 509-313-6547.

University Core Requirements

Honors students are responsible for completing the following University Core Requirements either through an Honors course or through the general catalogue: Literature, Christian and Catholic Traditions, World/Comparative Religion, Fine Arts, Scientific Inquiry, History, Math, Human Nature, Ethics. The completion of these course requirements with an HONS course subject will fulfill both the Honors program requirement and the University core requirement towards the completion of a students degree.

Honors Program Requirements

Students must take the following courses to complete their Honors degree

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
HONS 100	Multi-modal Communications	3
PHIL 101	Reasoning	3
HONS 193	FYS:	3
HONS 432	CIS	3
HONS 499	Honors Senior Project	3
Select five of the following: ¹		15-16
HONS 104 & 104L	Science Inquiry and Science Inquiry Lab
HONS 201	Honors Human Nature
HONS 217	Honors Special Topics: Mathematics
HONS 220	Honors Christian Catholic Traditions
HONS 221	Honor World or Global Religion
HONS 241	Foundations of the West
HONS 243	Asian&PacificIslanderAmerHist
HONS 247	Honors Special Topics in History
HONS 267	Honors Special Topics in Art
HONS 287	Honors Special Topics in Literature
HONS 301	Honors Ethics
HONS 290	Honors Colloquium ²	3
HONS 390	Honors Colloquium ²	3

¹: These courses are cross-listed with regular University courses, and can fulfill core or major requirements.
²: Course numbers may be repeated for credit.

In order to remain an Honors student in good standing, a student must:

Complete the Honors First Year Block (HONS 193 FYS:, HONS 100 Multi-modal Communications, and PHIL 101H Reasoning: Honors) or the transfer equivalent within one academic year of joining the program.
Must either complete 6 credit hours of HONS courses (or courses with the Honors Designation) per academic year, or be within 12 credit hours of completing the Honors requirements. Exceptions will be made for students studying abroad during the academic year.
Must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.3 at the time of graduation and good academic standing throughout their tenure at Gonzaga (as defined by the undergraduate catalogue). Students who drop below a 3.0 for two consecutive semesters will be removed from the program (subject to Director review).

Students who fail to meet these requirements will be removed from the program and will no longer qualify for the Honors scholarship.

Courses

HONS 100. Multi-modal Communications. (3 Credits)

Fall, annually.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 104. Science Inquiry. (2,3 Credits)

This lecture and laboratory course content will be determined by the instructor to meet the learning objectives of the Scientific Inquiry requirement of the University Core. Fall and Spring.

Corequisites: HONS 104L

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 104L. Science Inquiry Lab. (1 Credit)

Taken concurrently with HONS 104.

Corequisites: HONS 104

Course Fee: 140

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 107. Honors Science. (3 Credits)

HONS 157. Calculus-Analytic Geometry I. (4 Credits)

An introduction to calculus for engineering, science and mathematics students, with an emphasis on conceptual understanding, problem solving, and modeling. Topics covered include: limits, continuity, derivatives of algebraic, trigonometric, and transcendental functions, applications of the derivative including optimization problems and linear approximations, antiderivatives, introduction to the definite integral, and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Fall and Spring. Prerequisite: MATH 147, minimum grade: C

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

Equivalent: MATH 157

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 180. Honors Introduction to Literature. (3 Credits)

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 193. FYS:. (3 Credits)

The First-Year Seminar (FYS) introduces new Gonzaga students to the University, the Core Curriculum, and Gonzaga’s Jesuit mission and heritage. While the seminars will be taught by faculty with expertise in particular disciplines, topics will be addressed in a way that illustrates approaches and methods of different academic disciplines. The seminar format of the course highlights the participatory character of university life, emphasizing that learning is an active, collegial process.

Course Fee: 55

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 201. Honors Human Nature. (3-4 Credits)

Philosophical study of human nature, the human condition, the meaning and value of human life, and the human relationship to ultimate reality, with attention to such issues as the nature and possible existence of the soul, the relation between body and mind, belief and knowledge, freedom vs. determinism, and the possibility of human immortality. Fall. For Honors students.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 207. Honors Topics in Science. (3-5 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Corequisites: BIOL 207L

HONS 207L. Honors Topics Science Lab. (0-1 Credits)

Corequisites: HONS 207

HONS 217. Honors Special Topics: Mathematics. (1-4 Credits)

See course description for cross listed course.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 219. Special Topics: Engineering and Applied Sciences. (1-4 Credits)

HONS 220. Honors Christian Catholic Traditions. (1-3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

See course description for cross listed course.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 221. Honor World or Global Religion. (3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 222. African Religious Traditions. (3 Credits)

Introduction to various forms of religiosity in sub-Saharan Africa. Through the study of religion, this class prompts students to better understand various aspects of African cultures by dismantling stereotypes and assumptions that have long characterized the study of religions in Africa. Offered every semester.

Equivalent: RELI 256

HONS 223. Culture Ethics. (1-3 Credits)

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 227. Hebrew Bible: Ancient Near East. (3 Credits)

A comparative approach to human-human, human-divine, and divine-divine relationships in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East, focusing on the human relational context and commitments towards social justice among warring cultures. Building intercultural competence, this course carries a global studies emphasis. Offered every year.

Equivalent: RELI 206

HONS 237. Topics in Sociology. (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 238. Topics in Political Science. (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 241. Foundations of the West. (3 Credits)

A survey of the origins of western civilization in the Near East; classical Greek and Roman civilizations; and developments in Europe to 1648.

Equivalent: HIST 101

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 242. The West and the World. (3 Credits)

Equivalent: HIST 102

HONS 243. Asian&PacificIslanderAmerHist. (3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 244. Honors US History. (3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 247. Honors Special Topics in History. (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Topic to be determined by instructor.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 258. Calculus-Analytic Geometry II. (4 Credits)

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

Equivalent: MATH 258

Course Fee: 5

HONS 260. Principles of Accounting I. (3 Credits)

Equivalent: ACCT 260

Students with a semester level of First Year (0-25.99 credits) may not enroll.

HONS 261. Principles of Accounting II. (3 Credits)

Prerequisites: HONS 260 with a minimum grade of D or ACCT 260 with a minimum grade of D

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 267. Honors Special Topics in Art. (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Course Fee: 110

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 276. Honors Advanced Math. (1-4 Credits)

HONS 283. Analyzing Practices and Habits. (3 Credits)

This course provides a foundation in attending to, analyzing, and reporting meaningful information about the social world through humanistic communication research methods. The course introduces ethnographic and qualitative research methods, ethics, selection of research topics and questions, ethnographic data collection methods (e.g. participant observation; un-, semi- and structured interviewing; structured observation), managing and coding field notes, and qualitative analysis. In this course, students will create field notes, analyses, and more. Fall and Spring.

Prerequisites: COMM 100 with a minimum grade of D or HONS 100 with a minimum grade of D

Equivalent: COMM 285

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 287. Honors Special Topics in Literature. (1-3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Topics will be approved by the Department Chair.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 290. Honors Colloquium. (3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

For Honors Students

Prerequisites: HONS 193 with a minimum grade of D

HONS 291. Special Topics in Writing. (3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Topics Determined by instructor

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

HONS 301. Honors Ethics. (3 Credits)

A general theory of the goals of human life and the norms of moral behavior; the theory will be applied to several specific moral problems. Fall and Spring.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 309. Topics in Social Science. (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Topics in Social Science

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 310. Honors Topics Nursing. (2-4 Credits)

HONS 311. Fundamentals of Mathematics. (3 Credits)

Prerequisites: MATH 259 with a minimum grade of D

Equivalent: MATH 301

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 320. Honors Topics Psycholgy. (3 Credits)

HONS 325. Bible and Film. (3 Credits)

Explore different ways in which religion (and theology) and film can be placed into mutually critical conversation. Specific attention given to constructing mutually enriching dialogues between recent films (1999-present) and specific biblical texts. How can biblical texts provide new lenses for the viewing of films? In what ways can films enrich the understanding and interpretation of biblical texts? Offered every semester.

Equivalent: FILM 370

HONS 330. Topics in Education. (3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

HONS 364. Asian Religions in Film. (3 Credits)

Equivalent: FILM 371

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 377. International Management. (0-4 Credits)

This course examines the information and skills needed to manage an organization in an international setting. Topics include international cultures, cross-cultural communication, cross-cultural negotiation, leadership, ethics, international human resource management and motivation of a multicultural workforce.

Prerequisites: MGMT 350 with a minimum grade of D

Equivalent: MGMT 355

HONS 380. Special Topics in Writing. (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 381. Special Topics In Literature. (3 Credits)

HONS 385. Honors: Modern Language. (3-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Topic determined by cross listed course.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 387. Honors Special Topic. (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 390. Honors Colloquium. (3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

For Honors Students

Prerequisites: HONS 193 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of D

HONS 402. Ethic and Moral Leadership. (3 Credits)

The value we create as entrepreneurs is more than economic. In this course, students will explore how to create ventures that provide lasting value to society and serve as examples of Jesuit and humanistic leadership. Major topics will include: ethical and moral development, Magis, the responsibility of leaders, and building an ethical organization.

Prerequisites: ENTR 201 with a minimum grade of D and ENTR 202 with a minimum grade of D and ENTR 301 with a minimum grade of D

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 404. Research and Information Management. (3 Credits)

Provides an introduction to quantitative and qualitative research principles and methodologies, including evaluation of research studies and application to practice. Critical analysis of nursing and health care research is emphasized. Stresses research design, sampling, data collection strategies and ethical considerations in research.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 407. Honors Advanced Genetics:. (3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

An advanced study of genetics within the context of a selected topic in biology. Past topics have included an examination of human race and racism and the study of genomes. This course may be repeated once as long as the content is different than the first occurrence of enrollment. Spring, even years. Pre-requisite: BIOL 106, minimum grade: C- and BIOL 207, minimum grade: C-.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

Equivalent: BIOL 355

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biology, Biology, App Math - Biology or Biology.

HONS 417. Topics in Mathematics . (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Students with the Honors Program Participant attribute may not enroll.

HONS 432. CIS. (3 Credits)

The Core Integration Seminar (CIS) engages the Year Four Question: “Imagining the possible: What is our role in the world?” by offering students a culminating seminar experience in which students integrate the principles of Jesuit education, prior components of the Core, and their disciplinary expertise. Each section of the course will focus on a problem or issue raised by the contemporary world that encourages integration, collaboration, and problem solving. The topic for each section of the course will be proposed and developed by each faculty member in a way that clearly connects to the Jesuit Mission, to multiple disciplinary perspectives, and to our students’ future role in the world.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 437. Abstract Algebra I. (3 Credits)

A detailed examination of topics chosen from groups, rings, integral domains, Euclidean domains, unique factorization, fields, Galois theory, and solvability by radicals. Spring and Fall, odd years. Pre-requisite: MATH 301

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 455. Health Care Ethics Honors. (3 Credits)

Ethical concepts and issues in the medical field: personhood, relationship between health care professional and patient, experimentation, rights to health care, and allocation of health care resources.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

Enrollment limited to students with a semester level of Fourth Year (96+ credits), Second Year (26-59.99 credits) or Third Year (60-95.99 credits).

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Nursing or Philosophy.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 457. Topics in Eningeering. (1-4 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 481. Strategic Management. (3 Credits)

A capstone course that introduces strategic management concepts and practices and integrates functional areas in a broad systems-perspective approach to organizational challenges. The primary instructional tool is case analysis. Consideration is given to the international context of strategic management and to the ethical dimensions of decision-making crucial to effective strategy formulation and implementation. Fall and Spring.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites exist. Refer to Zagweb.

Enrollment limited to students with a semester level of Fourth Year (96+ credits).

HONS 491. Independent Study. (1-6 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Topic to be determined by faculty.

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.

HONS 497. Honors Leadership Internship. (1-3 Credits)

May be repeated for credit.

Internship requires completion of a form, and Dept. permission and cannot be registered for via ZAGWEB. For Honors Students.

Prerequisites: HONS 190 with a minimum grade of D

HONS 499. Honors Senior Project. (0-3 Credits)

Fall, annually.

Prerequisites: HONS 432 with a minimum grade of C

Course Fee: 50

Enrollment limited to students with the Honors Program Participant attribute.