University Honors Program Blog
Intellectual Omnivores Unite
This September, seniors in the “Nature Appreciation” Capstone visited various outdoor sites around D.C., such as the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Smithsonian’s Enid A. Haupt Garden! Students were given the opportunity to appreciate the biodiversity of life found within the city, and take time to (literally) stop and smell the flowers. Be on the lookout for when Professor Moreira offers Capstone again in Fall 2024!
Students in Professor Matthew Kirwin’s Africa Identities course took in a concert by Niger’s guitar maestro Bombino at the Hamilton Live On September 15th. The students were able to attend thanks to the “Professor on the Town” program. This initiative, which allows faculty to introduce students to events all around Washington, D.C., exposed the students to an artist who sings about the plight of the Taureg, a nomadic ethnic group that resides primarily in the Sahara region of Niger, Mali and Algeria. Bombino recently released his new album Sahel and many of his songs address the humanitarian and security challenges that the Taureg face. Bombino shared his thoughts on recent political events in Niger offering that in instances such as these the poor are the ones who suffer the most. The Bombino concert was also covered by NPR’s Leila Fadel on Morning Edition. Senior Honors Program student Lucas Souza remarked that “Bombino’s music was a great opportunity to take a trip somewhere very far from Foggy Bottom.”
Once again, UHP students demonstrated their skill in cunning in successfully escaping from “The Submarine” and the “Western Bank Heist” in under 60 minutes! If you’re a rising senior who loves games, look for this Capstone option which will be available again in Fall 2024.
By UHP Peer Advisor Grace Truslow
Walking into one of your first college courses as a seminar style class with demanding philosophical readings can at first be overwhelming. However, origins classes offer the opportunity for you to strengthen your abilities in analysis, writing, and public speaking. Strengthening these skills in your first semester will set you up for success for the rest of your college career. Here are a few steps to make sure you can get the most out of the course and feel more confident in your work and class contributions.
Readings/Class Discussions
One of the best ways to ensure that you are prepared to excel in class is to thoughtfully engage in your class readings and subsequently class discussions. The readings are meant to challenge you and can understandably be initially overwhelming. To make new text more digestible, you can at first give yourself a fixed amount of time to read through materials to get more comfortable with the language and overall structure. You can also utilize online resources to supplement, but not replace, your understanding of course readings and expose yourself to different viewpoints. These steps will make reading in more depth and note taking much easier as you will have a stronger basis of understanding. Starting readings early in the week or getting ahead if you are able to will give you more time to think through materials and hopefully alleviate some stress.
Readings are the basis of class discussion. If you are less comfortable participating, you can utilize them as a way to prepare for your contributions in class. When taking notes, instead of solely summarizing, you can start to identify questions, critiques, or connections and can then enter class with a set of potential viewpoints to share. Participating in class discussions is a culmination of the work you already did by completing the readings. You can start with a goal of contributing once in class and then increase your participation as you get more comfortable with public speaking.
Papers
Another major component of Origins courses are the written requirements. The good news is that by completing readings and attending class, you already have begun to analyze your course’s major ideas. Depending on the flexibility of your prompt, you can view written work as an opportunity to delve deeper into a class topic that particularly interests you. While your first college papers may seem like daunting tasks, you can break an essay down into smaller pieces of brainstorming, research, outlining, drafts, and editing. Getting your ideas on paper through research and drafting will put you in a better position when you are editing and perfecting your writing. It is also a good idea to set an earlier deadline for yourself to build in extra time for finalization. At any stage in this process you can attend office hours to work through ideas with your professor and ensure you are on the right track.
Utilize Your Resources
Origins classes give you the opportunity early in your college career to work one-on-one with your professor. If you have specific concerns about class participation, office hours are a great time to find a solution that will work best for you. Some professors also count office hours engagement as a form of class participation. Whether you are confused about a reading or working through an essay, office hours are an excellent opportunity for you to develop greater understanding and to show your professor the efforts you are putting into your course.
You can also talk through questions or ideas with your peers so long as you are not misconstruing others’ work as your own. While your classmates may have differing levels of exposure to philosophy and confidence in public speaking, origins is a challenging course for everyone. Creating support systems with your peers in the UHP will help you grow together as you all experience origins and college for the first time. You can also utilize resources outside of your class such as the GW Writing Center and your peer advisors who have successfully made it through their origins themselves.
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As an honors student you are more than capable of excelling in origins. Engaging in the reading materials and written assignments will help you expand your perspectives and strengthen your analytical abilities. Additionally, navigating origins provides you with the opportunity to develop relationships with your professor and peers and start to utilize the resources available to you at GWU. Over the course of the semester you will develop skill sets that will set you up for success for the rest of your educational career.
Hello,
I am offering a class in the History Dept this Fall semester, Human Rights in History, specifically designed for freshmen. Interested students should reach out to christov@gwu.edu.
Thanks, Prof. Christov
It’s almost time to register! To help prepare, check out these tips and reminders.
Early Registration Date: Friday, April 14th @ 9AM-11:59PM EST
Early registration is for your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters!
Priority Registration |
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| Date | Day | Category Eligible |
| April 13 – Aug 23 | All Degree-Seeking Graduate Students | |
Undergraduate Students: |
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| April 17 | Monday | 90 or more credits earned
(use your transcript to find your total credits) |
| April 18 | Tuesday | 70 or more credits earned
(use your transcript to find your total credits) |
| April 19 | Wednesday | 50 or more credits earned
(use your transcript to find your total credits) |
| April 20 | Thursday | 30 or more credits earned
(use your transcript to find your total credits) |
| April 21 | Friday | 0 or more credits earned
(use your transcript to find your total credits) |
If you’re not sure when you register, you can check your earned credit hours in GWeb using the following path: Student Records & Registration Menu > Student Records Information Menu > Transcripts > View Unofficial Transcripts. Make sure you’re looking at overall hours earned for the accurate total!
Plan Ahead Tool
GW has launched the Plan Ahead Tool to that when used ‘ahead of time’ helps to speed up the registration process. The tool allows you to:
Waitlists
The option to add yourself to the waitlist becomes available on April 24th when general registration opens. More on waitlists here.
Hold Information
Check your record via GWeb regarding holds prior to your scheduled registration time. Any hold on your account will prevent access to registration. You can view any holds on your account by looking at: Student Records & Registration Menu > Student Records Information Menu > View Administrative Holds.
Make sure to check now and again in the days leading up to registration. Check early, and check often! More on holds here.
Upper Level Honors courses
Remember that students must be registered in the HONR section in order to receive UHP credit.
Upper Level Course Substitution
If you are planning to utilize the upper level course substitution option, please review all the information to ensure the course you are considering meets all the UHP criteria. For any questions please contact a program manager.
As part of the course “Life: A Journey Through Earth’s Biodiversity” Professor Moreira took UHP students to a visit through the scientific collections of the National Museum of Natural History. There, they learned about the importance of Biological collections for biodiversity and conservation efforts. Many thanks to Dr. Floyd Shockley, Collections Manager of the Entomology department and Dr. Hannah Wood, Curator of Arachnids and Myriapods!
For the last meeting of the extremely serious “Games!” Capstone, Prof. Kung and UHPers successfully robbed a bank and saved themselves from sinking in a submarine – all in under 60 minutes! If you’re a rising senior who loves games, look for this Capstone option which will be available again in Fall 2023.
As part of Prof Kung’s capstone, “The Purpose and Power of Museums, Monuments and Memorials,” UHP students visited a number of museums and monuments around the city earlier this semester!
