Rollins Foundations in the Liberal Arts
Honors Degree Program Information
Honors program students attend small and interactive seminars together in which they will be challenged to apply their intellectual gifts to studying, understanding, and solving crucial problems facing our world today. Special dinners, immersions, intersession courses, community engagement projects, and speakers help to further the sense of community.
The culmination of the honors program is the senior thesis project, ideally in the student’s major field, although interdisciplinary thesis projects are also possible. This capstone thesis leads to an exceptional depth of understanding and provides valuable experience in developing and executing an advanced project.
A student in the Honors Degree Program should first consider completing a thesis in their Major field.
A student should pursue an Interdisciplinary Honors Thesis only if their project is truly interdisciplinary in nature, spanning two or more disciplines with no clear anchor in any one department or discipline. As a result, Interdisciplinary Honors Thesis proposals will be evaluated according to the same rigorous standards as those submitted for Honors in the Major.
A student interested in pursuing an interdisciplinary Honors thesis must discuss their interest with the Director of The Honors Degree Program by February 28 and submit an Interdisciplinary Honors Thesis Proposal to the Director of The Honors Degree Program by April 1.
Upon approval from the Honors Advisory Board, a student completing an Interdisciplinary Honors Thesis must complete the standard thesis proposal form found on the Registrar’s website. No late proposals will be accepted under any circumstances. Proposals that have been turned down by an academic department cannot become interdisciplinary thesis projects solely to allow the student to finish the Honors Degree Program.
The interdisciplinary Honors Thesis Proposal can be accessed here.
Review the Honors Degree Handbook here.
More information is available here, check it out.
Fall 2024 course descriptions are available below.
Honors Degree Mission
The Honors Degree Program creates a community of scholars who are encouraged to seek innovative ways to solve the pressing social challenges of the twenty-first century.
Admission to the Honors Program
Additional Information
For more information, contact:
Raghabendra KC, PhD
Assistant Professor
170 W. Fairbanks Building – Room 224
407.646.2785
Here is even more information, check it out.
Fall 2024 Honors Courses
HON 201CH - Food, Religion & Social Justice
This course explores our globalized food system through the intersection of social justice and religion. We will consider issues including sustainability, policy, race, framework rights, and the environment, all with a lens toward understanding the inequities in the current system, as well as how social justice movements, some rooted in religion, aim to improve it. We will also look at the role food plays in maintaining culture and religion, examining how food can be an essential way cultures enhance and strengthen their identities.
HON 300CH - Righting Past Wrongs
This course explores public efforts at reconciliation for historical wrongs. It investigates the nature and public perceptions of wrongs, perpetrators, and victims using primarily theories from communications and linguistics and supported by work in history, political science, and psychology. It explores the question of what constitutes an historical wrong? What are the needs of victims and the wider community in the aftermath of such wrongs? What are the goals of reconciliation? What are concrete means to achieve reconciliation? And what can we learn from past cases? Cases include U.S. legislative apologies to Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians. Students will analyze these past efforts and propose recommendations for current apology and redress efforts to African Americans for slavery.
HON 350CS - Food, Culture, and Environment
Why do we grow iceberg lettuce in the desert Southwest? Why do supermarkets in Florida sell oranges from California? Is large-scale industrial agriculture sustainable? Do foods labeled “organic” or “local” really make a difference? Is agriculture about more than simply producing food? This course considers the ways in which much of our food system is hidden from public view. Through class discussions and experiential projects, we explore big picture questions related to the American diet, environmental sustainability, nutrition, crop diversity, and transparency of the American food system.
HON400 – The Last Lecture
If you had to give your last lecture, what would you want people to know? And why is it important to be able to publicly communicate your ideas? The goals of this Honors capstone seminar are twofold: to reflect on the interdisciplinary learning that characterizes a Rollins liberal arts education, and to learn how to perfect the art of delivering a memorable talk. The outcome will be a polished speech that you will deliver in both the classroom and a community setting. We will also think about how presentation skills can be applied in other settings throughout your professional career.