Honors Program

The Honors curriculum is spread throughout a student’s time at Coker. Some honors classes replace already existing degree requirements, while others are tailored only for Honors students and are used as general elective courses.

CU 101H: Introduction to Leadership and Life at Coker University
This course goes beyond the usual introduction to college life and helps you understand yourself and your ability to be a campus leader.

HON 220: Honors Research Writing and Communication Skills
This course will enable students to practice their research skills by instructing them how to compose information in written, verbal and visual forms. Students will learn communication and design theories that will enable them to communicate their research through different types of writing, oral presentations, posters, slide decks, and electronic documents.

Two of the following: HON 240, HON 245, HON 250, HON 255.
These courses explore current issues within the areas of humanities, arts, science, math, and the social sciences.  Each instructor will design the course to contain media (readings, videos, movies, etc) that demonstrate the contributions of these disciplines to public life.  Students discuss the positive and negative public perceptions related to these specific disciplines. 

Two Interdisciplinary Honors Seminar Classes
Co-taught by our faculty, these specialized courses incorporate a multidisciplinary discovery of issues relevant to a central theme. Past topics have ranged from “Who Says It’s Wrong,” an exploration of ethics and value systems, to a seminar on environmental policy and politics. Individual course topics vary by year, but in each case students benefit from activities and ideas that broaden their cultural backgrounds.

Three courses in Global Perspective and Cultures
A foreign language up to the 102 level will count for six semester hours in Coker’s Global Perspectives and Cultures requirement. Students may exempt the language requirement through AP course credit or a placement test. An additional 3-semester-hour course in Global Perspectives and Cultures, in a discipline other than the student’s major program, is required.

HON 290: Introduction to Honors Capstone and E-Portfolio
This course will instruct students how to research and complete a proposal for their Honors Capstone. It will also instruct them how to create and maintain a reflective e-portfolio that traces their opportunities, activities, and experiences in outstanding academics, campus leadership, creative endeavors, innovative scholarship, global citizenship, and pre-professional experiences, with a focus on two distinct areas of their choice.

HON 470 and HON 480
These classes involve planning and completion of the student’s Honors Capstone project. Honors students will partner with a faculty member in a discovery-based project or an original work involving inquiry, investigation and creative expression. Each student will develop a project that provides a written account of the scholarship activity. The specific format and guidelines for the thesis component will be developed by the honors student and faculty mentor in consultation with the Honors Program Committee.

As an Honors student, you will choose two areas of focus to concentrate on during your college career. These are:

• outstanding academics 
• campus leadership
• creative endeavors
• innovative scholarship
• global citizenship 
• pre-professional experiences

You will start an e-portfolio in your junior year that will record and reflect upon your activities and personal development in these two areas. In your last semester, you will submit your e-portfolio as a part of your final Honors requirements. Your e-portfolio will uniquely document your Coker education in a way that can be shared with graduate schools or possible employers.