University of Massachusetts Amherst: Commonwealth Honors College Calls for Proposals to Teach Honors Discovery Seminar in Fall 2023

Faculty from across the Campus are invited to apply to teach a one-credit 391AH Honors Discovery Seminar in Commonwealth Honors College for Fall 2023.

Honors 391AH is intended to inspire a love of learning and to help prepare students with skills necessary for completion of senior theses and projects and the professional workplace. It is also designed to facilitate contact between Commonwealth Honors College students and departmental faculty in a small, seminar-style setting and to provide an intellectually stimulating, cross-disciplinary experience for both the faculty and students involved.

Course Description
This one-credit seminar-style course meets once a week for 50 minutes. Every section is open to honors students of any major and the course is limited to 15 students max.

Curriculum Overview
The subject matter of each section is chosen by its instructor. There is no restriction on the field or topic around which the course is centered, but all courses should be accessible to honors students from all majors; Advanced knowledge of the topic should not be necessary.

Preference will be given to courses that incorporate specific skills into the curriculum that will help prepare students for the Honors thesis (produced as a manuscript or portfolio). These skills include writing in general and may also include writing abstracts and literature reviews, competence in research, definition of a research question, artistic/creative methods, computer literacy in presenting research results, and public speaking.

The 391AH Honors Discovery Seminar allows faculty members to create short, compelling courses in areas of personal interest to them and to teach courses they have always wanted to teach while helping students hone skills necessary for senior thesis or project work.