Shackouls Honors College

Christopher A. Snyder, Dean

Office: 210 Griffis Hall
Telephone: (662) 325-2522

Mailing Address: P.O. Box EH, Mississippi State, MS 39762

http://www.honors.msstate.edu

The Shackouls Honors College is a university-wide program that reports to the Provost. It serves all undergraduate majors and cooperates with academic departments in tailoring programs for talented students. The Shackouls Honors College allows many undergraduate students throughout the University to enrich their academic experiences. There are Honors sections of many required and elective courses; these are generally small sections, and they are always taught by highly qualified faculty. There are also Honors courses in addition to these sections of regular courses. To enroll in Honors courses, one must have been admitted to the College or obtain permission from the Dean. Requirements for joining the College and a full explanation of its offerings are explained below.

Honors students have the opportunity to compete for research grants from the Shackouls Honors College allowing them to participate in groundbreaking research under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Furthermore, students can also obtain travel grants to allow them to present their research at regional and national meetings, giving them invaluable experience and networking opportunities for future graduate work or careers. Students are also encouraged to participate in one of Mississippi State University's twice annual undergraduate research symposia, which are sponsored by the Shackouls Honors College.

The Honors College strongly encourages Mississippi State students to develop a global perspective through foreign language study and study abroad. Our Honors students have studied in Spain, Italy, Germany, Quebec, and Australia. Beyond the exposure to other peoples and other cultures, the Honors College also seeks to connect our students to international universities and agencies of the highest caliber. Our unique Shackouls Summer Study at the University of Oxford places Honors students in the top Oxford colleges and gives them the true Oxford experience by having them taught by Oxford faculty. Our students are eligible for Honors-only scholarships to support their study abroad.

The Shackouls Honors College plays an important role in the cultural and social lives of students and faculty members, through Honors Forum and also through programs co-sponsored with the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, the Stennis Institute, the Women’s Studies Program, the Institute for the Humanities, the Model United Nations, and the Center for International Security and Strategic Studies, as well as every one of the University’s colleges.

Honors College-sponsored exhibitions and gallery talks have included the Roger Ogden collection that now forms the Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans and the works of such artists as Walter Anderson, Marie Hull, William Wegman, William Dunlap, and Maude Gatewood. The Honors College has provided performances and lecture-recitals by notables such as the National Shakespeare Company, the Vienna Chamber Trio, Ballet Mississippi, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. Speakers at Honors Forum include former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Ted Kooser, jazz guitarist Earl Klugh, vocalist Jane Monheit, philosopher Michael Boylan, classicist Philip Freeman, and archaeologist Eric Cline. The Lamar Conerly Honors Lecture Series, begun in 2007, has included addresses by U.S. Congressman Lee Hamilton, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, cultural commentator Sarah Vowell, psychologist Steven Pinker, football analyst Mark May, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Honors College is student-centered. Honors students elect their peers to the eighteen-member Honors Council, which advises the Dean and plans activities. At the end of each academic year, outstanding students are honored at an awards ceremony, including those who have completed the Cursus Honorum (“Path of Honors”).

The Shackouls Honors College is a residential College where students live together in the living-learning communities of Griffis Hall and Nunnelee Hall.  Housing assignments are made through the Office of Housing and Residence Life.

The Honors College invites applications from incoming freshmen, current MSU students, and transfer students with outstanding academic records. To remain in the College, a student must maintain a 3.40 GPA, earn credit for at least one 3-hour Honors course per academic year, and complete a senior capstone experience.

The Cursus Honorum

To be recognized as an Honors College Scholar at graduation, and to receive the Honors designation (Collegium Honorum) on the diploma, a student must complete the Cursus Honorum. This distinctive and rigorous curriculum includes at least 27 Honors credits with a 3.4 average in Honors courses and

1. complete the English composition requirement within the first year of admission to the College;
2. complete the first-year Honors "Quest" sequence (6 credits);
3. complete two interdisciplinary Honors courses (6 credits);
4. complete three discipline-specific Honors courses or tutorials (9 credits);
5. complete a for-credit Study Abroad or additional foreign language course (3 credits); and
6. successfully write and defend an Honors thesis (3-6 credits).
    

All Honors students are required to complete a senior capstone experience. This can be a Senior Seminar in their major field of study, with a substantial presentation to the class; an internship with a presentation to a group of professionals; or a research project culminating in an Honors Thesis, with formal defense.

Those students intending to graduate as an Honors College Scholar should, at the beginning of their junior year, identify a faculty mentor and a thesis topic. The student may register for Honors Thesis credit during their junior and/or senior years, depending on the complexity of the research project.

First-year Honors sequence¹

HON 1163	The Quest Begins	3
HON 1173	The West and the Wider World	3

 

1	Students who complete the first-year sequence earning a grade of C or higher will receive General Education credits: 3 Humanities, 3 Fine Arts and 3 Social Sciences.

Interdisciplinary Courses

Honors students will be encouraged to take innovative courses designed by faculty recruited by the Honors College. These courses will often be interdisciplinary, some revolving around a defined problem, and some team-taught. Students will receive the appropriate General Education credit for these courses.

Discipline-Specific Courses

Honors students will by their nature seek challenging courses in their major/discipline. These courses can be Honors sections of existing courses, newly designed Honors courses, or Oxbridge tutorials.

Honors Students in Good Standing

To be considered a student in good standing in the Honors College a student must complete one Honors course during the first semester at MSU and at least one 3 credit hour course per academic year, plus the Senior Capstone Experience. All students must also keep a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or above to be in good standing. In order to be in good standing after 3 semesters, each student must file with the Honors College Office a declaration of intent to complete the Senior Capstone Experience with a tentative selection of their chosen path.