Honors Integrative Studies
The Honors Integrative Studies program serves as a campus-wide hub for the work of academic integration. In its most common use, the word "integration" describes bringing together disparate parts to form a whole. In Honors Integrative Studies, we intentionally and thoughtfully pursue four kinds of integrative work:
Faith and Reason: Integrating faith and reason is implied in the very motto of the University, religio et eruditio, and is central to the purpose of any Christian university.
Humanities and Sciences: All truth is God's truth. While disciplinary silos have their uses, they are counterproductive to Christian formation if they prevent seeing the whole of creation as a purposeful unity. So we put a wide array of academic disciplines into conversation with one another.
Theory and Practice: Faith without works is dead (Jas 2.26); doing without understanding is also dead (Mk 7.1-8).
Head and Heart: Aligning the intellect and the emotions with the truth is a particularly important task for Christian discipleship in the context of late modernity, for "what we love we grow to resemble" (Bernard of Clairvaux).
Moreover, our English word “integrate” derives from a Latin word meaning “to make whole” or “to restore.” Our work in Honors Integrative Studies, then, offers students and faculty the chance to participate in the Lord’s ongoing work of re-creation, of making all things new (Rev 21.5).
We pursue this integrative work in four different kinds of academic courses:
Signature Courses (4 credit hours)
HON 205 (Wisdom), HON 215 (Beauty), HON 225 (Justice), HON 235 (Creation)
Honors Signature Courses pursue the work of integration through rigorous and faithful inquiry into substantial questions of historic and contemporary significance. All courses are team-taught and are interdisciplinary in design. Small class sizes, strong cohort bonds, and lively discussions are the salient characteristics of these courses. Honors Signature courses can satisfy the University’s Core requirements, Honors Integrative Studies Minor requirements, or, in some cases, both.
HON 400: Integrative Seminars (3 credit hours)
Honors Integrative Seminars are led by faculty from all over the University and invite upper-level Honors students into a wide range of topics, disciplines, and modes of integration.
HON 250/HON 450: Practica (2 credit hours)
Honors Practica focus on learning by doing, i.e. on acquisition of skills, virtues, and knowledge through practice and experience.
HON 460: Colloquia (0-1 credit hour)
The Honors Colloquium brings together upper-level Honors students for faculty-led conversations around important works in the Christian intellectual tradition or in response to it.
Tiers of participation in Honors Integrative Studies
Any student admitted to the Honors Community may take HON classes, regardless of whether the student has officially declared a Minor in Honors Integrative Studies.
Students who complete 12 hours of HON courses (including at least one Signature course) will receive the status of Honors Community Fellow.
Students who complete 20 hours of HON courses (including at least two Signature courses) will receive the status of Honors Community Scholar and will earn a Minor in Honors Integrative Studies.
Details regarding Admissions Standards and Procedures, as well as the application itself, can be found at our website: www.uu.edu/academics/honors/.
Honors Integrative Studies Minor
Requirements