Information for Our Current Students

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Here, current Honors students can find guidance through the Honors curriculum, class equivalences, information on your senior thesis and the Honors Symposium. This information will keep you on track in your studies and alleviate any anxieties about approved credits. We also encourage mentors and counselors to use this guide when advising current and future Honors students.

You'll also find instructions for contracting a course in your major as well as the required forms for your Honors senior thesis proposal, schedule, and contract as downloadable PDF files.

Questions? Contact the Honors Program director stevero [at] stedwards.edu (Dr. Steve Rodenborn).

Honors Curriculum

"The Honors Program at St. Edward’s University empowers high-achieving and curious students to create a community of learning, explore enduring questions, and engage in research and creative scholarship." - Program Mission Statement

Honors students are required to fulfill 24 credit hours of coursework through the Honors Program.

(The following curriculum applies to students who entered the program during or after the 2015-16 academic year. Students entering before that will work with the program director to identify the best course of study for each student.)

General Education

     Two of the following first-year LLC small seminars:

  • Ecology and the Community / Biology sequence for Honors students in the natural sciences
  • The Printed Page and Silver Screen
  • Theologies and Religion: Living as Neighbors and Strangers: Religion, Violence, and Community
  • Speaking Truth to Power
  • Borderlands

6 hours

See equivalences in next tab.

 

     Two of the following team-taught courses:

  • Art and Ethics: Van Gogh’s Ear, Blendered Goldfish, Burning the Flag and Beyond     
  • The Shaping of the Modern World 
  • The Shaping of the Modern World II
  • Why the Batman IS the Joker: Literary and Psychological Perspectives on the Self and Other 
  • Graphic Novels: The Interplay of Image and Text
  • Studies in Religion and Theology
  • Literature and Ethics
  • Medical Ethics
  • Art and Ethics

6 hours

See equivalences in next tab.

 

Three One-Hour Honors Seminars

  • Community and a Liberal Arts Education
  • Curiosity Seminar

Investigating Creativity

The Visual Art of Reading

Seeking Life Balance Through Yoga, Mediation and Chocolate

Income Inequality and Tax Policy

Questions

Austin as Text: Reading/Mapping/Describing/Living

3 hours

Courses in the Discipline

  • Contracted Course in the Major
  • Senior Thesis Preparation/Research/Internship
  • Honors Senior Thesis

9 hours

Total

24 hours

POSSIBLE HONORS DEGREE PLAN

General Education Equivalencies in the Honors Curriculum

First-Year Courses

 

Ecology and the Community / Biology sequence for Honors students in the natural sciences

    Equivalent:  Science in Depth or Biology 1307 (fall) or Biology 1308 (spring)

The Printed Page and Silver Screen

    Equivalent:  Creativity and Making or Exploring Artistic Works

Theologies of and Religion: Living as Neighbors and Strangers: Religion, Violence, and Community

    Equivalent:  Studies in Religion and Theology

Speaking Truth to Power

   Equivalent: Oral Communication

Borderlands

   Equivalent: Diverse American Perspectives

(Choose two of these four courses during your first year.)

 

Team-Taught Courses for Sophomores and Juniors

 

Why Batman IS the Joker: Literary and Psychological Perspectives on the Self and Other 

    Equivalent:  Exploring Artisitic Works and/or PSYC 2349 Elective

Art and Ethics: Van Gogh’s Ear, Blendered Goldfish, Burning the Flag and Beyond 

    Equivalent:  Ethics

The Shaping of the Modern World 

    Equivalent:  Global Perspectives

The Shaping of the Modern World II

   Equivalent:  Global Perspectives

Graphic Novels: The Interplay of Image and Text

   Equivalent:  Creativity and Making

Studies in Religion and Theology

   Equivalent: Studies of Religion and Theology

Literature and Ethics

   Equivalent: Ethics

Medical Ethics

   Equivalent: Ethics

Art and Ethics

   Equivalent: Ethics

 

Questions? Please contact: stevero [at] stedwards.edu (Steve Rodenborn, PhD), 512-637-5618

Senior Thesis and Symposium

Your Honors senior thesis is where you will engage in independent research and thesis creation. Past thesis projects include creative work such as graphic novels, plays, and fashion designs, as well as varied academic research on Gothic architecture and gentrification and art in Harlem and East Austin. Your final project is intended for you to reflect on your individual passions and create a work close to your own interests.

You will prepare for your senior thesis with a semester-long research or internship project constructed with the support of a research mentor within your major. This research can also occur during the summer before the fourth year, and is often supported financially through the Office of Fellowships. 

SENIOR THESIS SCHEDULE AND CONTRACT

Your research will be presented to the university community at the Honors Symposium and submitted to your faculty mentor as your senior thesis.

OUR MOST RECENT SYMPOSIUM