Academics

Honors College students major in departments and programs across the campus. Current students are enrolled in majors ranging from Art History to Astronomy and Music to Mathematics. The Honors College curriculum provides a special environment for the part of the undergraduate academic career outside of the major area of study.

At the core of the Honors College curriculum is a series of five seminar courses taught by leading scholars in a broad range of academic disciplines. Honors College students take two of these courses in their freshman year, and one more in each of the following three years. Before students graduate, they will also take four elective mini-courses outside of their major area of study that can be selected from a wide range of offerings each semester. These limited registration mini- courses will allow our students to explore topics well outside the realm of their primary areas of study.

Honors College students take leading roles in the intellectual, cultural, and social life of the university, while pursuing their choice of any of Stony Brook's 150 academic majors, minors and combined-degree programs. The culmination of a student's efforts at Stony Brook and the capstone of the Honors College experience will be the completion of a senior project under the guidance of a faculty member in your area of study.

Honors College students are not to be found responsible of academic dishonesty (students in the Program who are found responsible are permanently dismissed from the Program and are not eligible to rejoin). We will require an Academic Integrity Pledge from all of our students.

Curriculum

Interdisciplinary Seminars

The core of the Honors College curriculum is a set of five seminar-based courses. These courses emphasize the development of skills in critical reading, writing, and analysis. The first two courses, HON 105 and HON 106, are taken during the freshman year. The remaining three courses, HON 201, 301, and 401, are taken during the three subsequent years.

HON 105

Modes of Knowledge: An examination of the structure and content of knowledge, as well as the ways in which various kinds of knowledge are constituted. The course examines some classical epistemological and ethical texts and also considers the ways in which modern epistemological theories, as well as knowledge forms characteristic of the natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities, have altered and/or affected our understanding of the nature of knowledge.

HON 106

Modes of Being: Examination of the many different modes of being — aspects of the ways in which people think of themselves and behave in the world — through analysis of literary works and through texts that derive from the various social sciences, including psychology.

HON 201

Arts & Society: An exploration of the interconnections between art and society, using the biographies and autobiographies of notable visual artists, performers, and composers when appropriate, but also using other texts that focus on art works by anonymous creators such as the architects and sculptors who designed and created medieval cathedrals or the anonymous lyricists and composers who created the songs and dances of traditional cultures. Close examination of the works themselves is an integral part of the course, generally involving field trips.

HON 301

Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Society: An examination of the mutual relations among science, technology, medicine, and society: how the sciences and various technologies affect society and, at the same time, are affected by it. This examination is conducted through the perspectives of disciplines outside the sciences such as history, philosophy, sociology, and economics, in combination with the natural sciences, applied sciences, clinical medicine, and engineering.

HON 401

Global Issues: Using historical, geographical, sociological, political, and economic perspectives, students examine global issues. This examination may be either topical or regional and may be oriented either toward the past, the present, or the future.

Mini-courses

First-semester, freshman Honors College students are required to take HON 101 (Introduction to Stony Brook), a 1 credit mini-course intended to integrate students into both the Honors College and the University community by providing information about Stony Brook and a forum for discussion of values, intellectual and social development, and personal as well as institutional expectations. In addition to HON 101, all Honors College students are required to take three 1 credit mini-courses. With small enrollments (averaging 15 or 16), these special topics mini-courses allow students to explore a wide range of topics they might otherwise never have the opportunity to pursue, while getting to work in small groups with faculty and their Honors College classmates. The offerings constantly change, with eight options available to choose from in any given semester. Students are encouraged to use the mini-courses as an opportunity to branch out and experiment with disciplines and topics well outside of their primary academic interests. Past topics: Infectious Diseases; Positive Psychology; Musical Theater; Semiotics and Comics; Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Color in Art and Technology.

Senior Honors Project

The culmination of the Honors College curriculum is a two-semester, six-credit, research or creative project. This research project is done under the supervision of a faculty member. Students generally register for HON 495-496, but with the approval of the Honors College, students may substitute for an appropriate, credit bearing departmental honors project. Senior theses represent a wide variety of academic disciplines from liberal arts and humanities to biochemistry and physics with titles such as, Occupy Central- Hong Kong Protest and C1q, gC1qr Fibrinogen, Vitronectin and Staphylococcus Aureaus Protein A.

Research

Honors College students participate in scientific research across all conceivable fields during their four years on campus. Common participation roles include field work with archeologists, ecologists, and primatologists. Students have also explored activities in painting, ceramics, photography, computer art, music performance, music composition, theatre, dance, poetry and novel writing, journalism, and television production.

URECA

Stony Brook University is a trailblazer in integrating research and undergraduate education: it was one of the first research universities in the country to establish an office for the specific purpose of promoting undergraduate research and creative activity, and offers many programs that support undergraduate research efforts. These include Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Programs, and the URECA Summer Fellowship and Small Grant/Travel Grant Programs.

Stony Brook undergraduates are introduced to the world of research through introductory research-oriented courses, encouraged to participate in independent supervised research projects, and offered useful support services on writing abstracts, giving presentations, and finding appropriate research mentors.

Click here for more information on the URECA program

Senior Symposium

The Honors College Senior Symposium takes place each May prior to graduation, showcasing the the exceptional research each graduating student has performed in the completion of their Senior Thesis Project. All research is performed under the supervision and mentorship of a Stony Brook University faculty member, with works representing a wide variety of academic disciplines. It is here where our senior class proudly presents the culmination of their outstanding efforts to their peers, mentors, faculty, and staff.

Study Abroad

The Honors College has paired with International Academic Programs to offer Honors College students the opportunity to study abroad and earn credit for Honors College curriculum courses. These programs are led by a Stony Brook University faculty member and offered during the winter and summer terms.

The following programs have been offered to our students:

Winter Study Abroad: Rome, Italy
Summer Study Abroad: England and Northern Ireland
Click here for more information on Study Abroad

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