Reader's Theatre Audio File

The purpose of the Honors in Education Program is to identify exceptional undergraduate students who, through uncompromising probity and intellectual vigor, deserve formal recognition of their extraordinary academic performance, skills, and dispositions.  While many education students exhibit noteworthy behavior and achieve high academic standing, only honors students receive “Honors in Education” recognition recorded on their academic transcript. 

Admission Criteria

 Students should have a conversation with their academic advisors prior to applying for the Honors in Education program.  Academic advisors can provide important information about the program and can give students a fairly reliable prediction of their opportunity for successfully completing the Honors in Education Program. 

Admission to the Honors in Education program requires the following minimal accomplishments:

1. Admission to a teacher education program with a 3.50 cumulative GPA
2. Completed application form and recommendation by advisor and department chair

A one page statement explaining:

• A the student’s academic/career goals in the field of education, and
• How the Honors in Education Program is relevant to the student’s academic and/or career interests

Completion of 30 semester hours of coursework taken prior to application for the Honors in Education Program

The Education Honors Committee will review each applicant’s materials on an ad hoc basis and notify (1) the student and (2) the department Chair of students who have been admitted into the Honors in Education Program.

Requirements

1. Successful completion of EDUC 3789 – Honors Seminar
2. Completion of EDUC 3790 – Honors Thesis – with grade of A
3. Maintain 3.50 GPA in honors courses and overall GPA of 3.50

Process

Students seeking Honors in Education complete a research thesis and take two courses as described under Requirements above. A detailed description of the process and its required components is provided in the Handbook for Honors in Education.

Additional Information

1. Upcoming application deadlines for 2012-13 are Friday, November 16, 2012 and Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Students should apply at the fall deadline if they will be student teaching in spring 2014. Those individuals who will be student teaching in the fall of 2014 may apply at either the fall 2012 or spring 2013 application deadline.

2. The academic advisor’s recommendation only needs to note the following:
a. That the student has talked with their academic advisor about choosing a thesis advisor
b. That the student has enough time remaining in their program of study to complete the two 3-credit Honors courses before they begin student  
     teaching
c. Because tuition increases sharply for coursework above 140 hours, the advisor should also discuss total credit hour projections with the
     student if it is a concern; in particular, this may apply to dual licensure students.
d. The academic advisor should verify that that the student meets the 3.5 GPA criterion.

3. The letter from the department chair, which is required as part of students’ applications for Honors in Education, just needs to be a sentence
     or two that says that the chair supports the student’s application for Honors in Education.

4. The student must have spoken with the faculty member who likely will serve as their thesis advisor about their project ideas before applying. The student’s one-page statement that discusses their career goals and how the Honors in Education Program is relevant to these goals should describe briefly the thesis advisor and a likely topic area for the thesis. The thesis advisor is not formally chosen until the student takes the EDUC 3789 Seminar, but the student should have a clear idea of who they might want to work with before applying. I would encourage Honors in Education committee members to serve as thesis advisors if they wish to do so.

5. If the EDUC 3789 and EDUC 3790 courses are not yet listed in Banner, this is because the courses will be added as soon as we have students approved to take them. The Honors in Education Committee encourages honors course instructors to be responsive to participating students’ existing scheduling needs.