The Austin E. Knowlton Honors Program
What are Augustana honors students like?
They are curious about ideas and different areas of study. They care about learning, and not just about grades. They read on their own — from Glamour and Sports Illustrated to the Chicago Tribune to Jane Austen. They have had good relationships with their teachers. They tend to take part in discussions, even if they are naturally quiet. They enjoy expressing themselves through writing, and not always academic writing. They are busy with other things, like band, theatre, a sport, volunteering, learning judo… any number of things. They have a great sense of honor and integrity when it comes to their work. |
Many colleges and universities have honors tracks, but few have what Augustana has — a carefully planned sequence of interdisciplinary honors courses.
These courses:
- Fulfill college graduation requirements
- Develop skills in writing and thinking that are essential to any major
- Offer an exceptional foundation for learning in higher education
- Connect students with engaged mentors
- Involve a special sense of community
What does 'interdisciplinary' mean?
Every Augustana student graduates with at least one major in an academic discipline, and sometimes two or three. But ideas themselves have no disciplinary boundaries, and the most interesting ideas can influence many fields of study.
How is it a 'community'?
As an honors student, you probably will make your best friends in the honors classroom. Because you study your entire first year with a particular group of students who tend to be like-minded, and because you discuss the big-picture issues that matter most, you become very close. Your professors choose to teach in honors, and work to create rich, interesting, intense courses. This common work produces an esprit de corps, a feeling of mutual pride and personal bonds.
How can I 'earn a place'?
Everyone who wants to join the honors program visits campus for an interview with a professor. The interviews are friendly and relaxed, last about half an hour and involve discussion on what you read, write and think about. We want to see that your interest is genuine, and that you have the energy, ability and passion for this kind of study. About 10 percent of each first-year class chooses the honors program, but not every excellent student applies, and not every applicant fits the program well.
Options for honors classes
Both of the first-year programs, Foundations and Logos, fulfill the college writing requirement and other liberal studies general education requirements for the first year in college.
Foundations emphasizes the humanities: art, literature, history, religion, philosophy and more. Students who choose this track may love the humanities and want this opportunity to explore them, or they may love science and want to stretch their learning into other areas.
Logos emphasizes the history of science. Students who choose this track may love science and want to know its history, or they may love the humanities and want to stretch themselves.
You do not have to know which program is right for you when you interview on campus.
"Flogos": Students who complete Foundations or Logos earn the option to enter the one-term sophomore course, which students kiddingly call "Flogos" because it combines Foundations and Logos students. This course, currently titled "Certainty/Uncertainty," is a special exploration of the most challenging interdisciplinary issues, such as existentialism, the quantum relativity theory, postmodernity and neuroscience.
The Capstone Project: Students who complete the sophomore Flogos course are eligible to prepare and propose an independent research project to be completed in the junior year. This project earns the same credit as a college course, but comes from your imagination with the help of a professor-mentor of your choice.
Students who complete a capstone project for credit earn the title of Honors Scholar on their transcripts.
About 10% of Augie students earn a place in Foundations or Logos. If you are interested in the intense, intentional and cooperative spirit of the honors program, please apply.
Foundations courses
In the Foundations first-year sequence, three professors from different disciplines teach three consecutive, carefully integrated 4-credit courses:
- 101 Self and Other uses classic Western texts to explore what it means to be a "self," to hold a point of view and follow a way of life, and what can happen when a self encounters other points of view.
- 102 Community and Faith uses critical and historical perspectives to explore the basis of community and the nature of faith.
- 103 Vision and Visionaries builds on the two previous Foundations courses to examine the lives of extraordinary individuals whose vision set them apart from their communities.
Logos courses
Like in Foundations, Logos students also take three consecutive 4-credit courses during the first year. Besides 121, two options from 122-127 are offered each year.- 121 Evolution of Scientific Principles provides a general introduction, focusing on the logic, philosophy and methods of scientists from ancient Greece to the present.
- 122 Seeking Logos: The Dialogue Between Theology and Science examines the historical interplay between science and religion within the Western tradition.
- 123 Exact Thinking: The Mathematical Dimension of Science provides the historical dimension of mathematics, emphasizing its role as a liberal art.
- 124 Great Controversies in Science critically examines various sides of some of the major controversies in the natural sciences.
- 125 The Sociology of Science examines some of the cultural variables that shape scientific inquiry.
- 126 Science and Literature examines the relation-ships between certain archetypes in science and literature, and how each discipline has historically influenced the other.
- 127 Science and Values uses theoretical and applied readings to explore whether the scientific enterprise is "value-neutral."
How to apply
Step 1. Tell us you're interested.
When you apply to Augustana, indicate your interest in the Austin E. Knowlton Honors Program on the Augustana Supplement to the Common Application. The admissions committee also may identify you as a potential honors student.
Step 2. Send your honors application and writing sample.
All accepted first-year students are eligible to apply. You may apply to one or both of the honors tracks (Foundations or Logos ). After your interview, you'll have a clearer understanding of whether you might thrive as a student in Foundations or Logos. The writing sample is typically a research paper or essay written for a high school class. Please apply no later than two weeks prior to your desired interview date; interview time slots fill up quickly.
Step 3. Interview on campus.
Interviews occur on weekdays between late November and mid-March of students' senior year in high school. Admission to the program is competitive, and the on-campus interview is integral to the application process.
Step 4. Earn your place in the honors program.
We will let you know by early April if you are accepted into the honors program. If there is a wait list, those students will be notified of final acceptance into the honors program as soon as possible, and no later than the end of May.
The application period for 2013 has closed. Please contact the Office of Admissions at 309-794-7341 or admissions@augustana.edu with questions.
