The Hobart and William Smith Colleges' Honors Program makes possible the most sustained and sophisticated work available in the Colleges' curriculum.
Although "doing Honors" assists students in pursuing their professional ambitions after graduation, such preparation is not the only objective of the program. Its basic value is to afford students the opportunity to pursue skills and interests at an advanced level and grow in self-knowledge as the planned project develops.
Qualified students take two or three self-designed courses that concentrate on the same project and are sponsored by the same faculty adviser. While Honors is generally taken only in the context of a student's academic major, students wishing to do Honors outside their major may petition the Honors Committee.
Most or all of the work associated with an Honors project is done in the senior year, though it may be begun earlier, and culminates in a research or critical paper or its counterpart in the creative arts.
In addition to the Honors project, an Honors candidate takes a written examination in the Honors field and an oral examination that covers both the Honors project and the written examination. Each candidate has an Honors committee consisting of a field and faculty examiner from the Colleges' faculty and an outside examiner.
Students may receive Honors or High Honors in their Honors work. High Honors will be awarded rarely, only when the work is truly exceptional. Students who do not receive Honors or who withdraw from the program may receive course credit as recommended by their advisers.
Successful Honors students are listed in the Commencement program, together with their advisers, the titles of their projects, and the degree of Honors earned. Their achievement is also recorded on their transcripts.
Honors papers and their counterparts are catalogued and kept for reference in the Warren Hunting Smith Library. Each year the Hobart and William Smith Colleges' Catalogue lists the preceding year's student Honors projects, including advisers and outside examiners.
The rationale for the Honors Program is that sustained work on a project of a student's own choosing, with constantly available advice from a specialist, has educational benefits and personal gratifications that cannot be duplicated in regular, semester-length courses.
The reasons for the success of the program seem to be that its challenge is sound and realistic, its provisions are flexible but not shapeless, and its inclusion of outside examiners reinforces faculty and student standards of professionalism.
The many faculty members who participate in the program so do out of deep commitment to their subjects and their students. They do so over and beyond their regular teaching load and without extra remuneration. Without them, the program could not have maintained itself for nearly 50 years.
The outside examiners are chosen carefully for their expertise and sometimes come from considerable distances. They keep Honors work from being too campus-bound and add excitement to the oral examination, which many Honors students regard as the high point of their academic experience.
Sept. 25
Fall Informational Meeting for Juniors and Seniors
Oct. 17
Informational Meeting for Faculty and Honors Advisers
Oct. 22
The Honors candidate and his/her adviser agree on the date for a final reading of Fall Semester projects.
Oct. 29 – Nov. 2
Written Honors examination for Spring Semester 2007 candidates must be completed
Nov. 13
Fall Semester candidates must present their projects, error-free and complete to the Honors Secretary in Gulick 201 by 12 noon. There will be no extension for this, the final submission of the Honors project.
Nov. 26-30
Oral examinations for Fall Semester candidates are to occur this week.
Feb. 19
Spring Informational Meeting for Sophomores and Juniors
March 10
The Honors candidate and his/her adviser agree on the date, for a final reading of Spring Semester projects. The project must be completed by that date including table of contents, chapter headings, notes and bibliography.
March 24-28
Written Honors examination for Fall Semester 2007 candidates must be taken and completed this week.
April 15
Spring Semester candidates must present their projects, error-free and complete to the Honors Secretary in Gulick 201 by 12 noon. There will be no extension for this, the final submission of the Honors project.
April 16
Spring Informational Meeting for First Year Students
April 28 – May 2
Oral examinations for Spring Semester candidates are to occur this week.
May 9
Provost’s Porch Party
Laura Sposato
Gulick 201
(315) 781-
3480
8:30 a.m. - noon
This academic year (2006-2007), 20 students from Hobart and William Smith Colleges successfully completed Honors projects. They were recognized, along with their advisers, at a Porch Party given by Provost and Dean of Faculty Teresa Amott on May 4, 2007 at the Provost's House.
Professor David Craig Chair/Natural Sciences Representative
Professor Michael Bogin
Art and Architectural Studies Representative
Professor Judith McKinney
Social Sciences Representative
Professor Kristen Welsh
Humanities Representative
Professor Derek Linton
COAA Representative
Laura Sposato
Honors Secretary
