Introduction to the Freshman Honors Program
Freshman Honors provides a specially-designed liberal arts curriculum
of interrelated classes that satisfy core requirements and incorporates
experiences that integrate the work students do in these classes.
Students in the Freshman Honors are assigned an honors advisor knowledgeable
about the university, and connected with honors programs across
the country, will enjoy early registration priority, and are guaranteed
seats in their honors classes. The Freshman Honors Program creates
a community of students on the commuter campus who are committed
to gaining the best of Queens College.
Curriculum
Students in Freshman Honors will take two semesters of interrelated
honors courses in English, Comparative Literature, History, and
Philosophy. The fall semester courses include Honors Composition
(English 110), Ancient and Medieval Literature (Comparative Literature
101) and Ethics (Philosophy 104). The spring semester courses include
Introduction to Poetry (English 140) and Renaissance to Modern History
(History 002). The courses all satisfy college core requirements,
and are carefully designed so that the materials introduced in one
class are integrated with materials from the others. Students, for
example, while studying the literature of a time period in their
Comparative Literature course, will examine the philosophy of the
period in their philosophy course and do writing on the period in
their English course. The course in history helps contextualize
the ideas and attitudes explored in the poetry. This integration
of material across courses enables students to examine the ways
that cultural values permeate multiple areas of cultural expression.
The approach also enables students to trace the ways that ideas
introduced in one time period as solutions to specific cultural
problems, are adopted and modified by later societies to address
their needs. Students, through this approach, come to recognize
that knowledge is contextual – that is, that ideas are closely
bound to the time in which they emerged, but are also capable of
transcending that time as later cultures make use of them.
Experiential Activities
Students will engage other media to address issues or problems
that cut across all three honors classes. They may, for example,
examine the art and artifacts from a time period and compare the
values expressed in these with those presented in works they’ve
read; they may attend performances or readings, or other cultural
events, in which issues related to their classes are addressed.
These activities frequently form the basis of student-led class
discussions. In each of these activities, the goal is for students
to compare the ways ideas and values are expressed in their literary
or philosophical texts with how they are expressed in other media.
This comparison across media provides students a richer cultural
understanding and helps them establish relationships among the ideas
introduced in their classes.
Advising
Students in the Freshman Honors Program will receive academic advising
through the Office of Honors and Scholarships. The advisor will
assist students with academic or other concerns, provide guidance
in course selection and register students during the early registration
period. The advisor will also assist students in applying for national
scholarship and other competitive awards and insure that they are
making appropriate progress toward graduation.
Honors Community
The Queens College Freshman Honors Program establishes a community
of students committed to their education and interested in gaining
all that Queens College has to offer. This small community of scholars
will enjoy all the advantages that honors education affords –
small classes and close working relations with honors faculty. In
non-honors classes, students will also join the larger campus community,
and so enjoy the advantages that a large, diverse campus can give.
Freshman Honors offers the best of Queens College.
To Inquire Further or to Apply
To receive further information or to apply for the Queens College
Freshman Honors Program, please contact Dr. Ross Wheeler in the
Office of Honors and Scholarships (718) 997-5502.
Advantages for Students in the Queens Freshman Honors Program
• Advanced Registration Privileges
• Small Class Sizes
• Coordinated, Interrelated Course Work
• Experiential Components that Integrate Honors Course Work
• Guaranteed Seats in Honors Classes
• Individualized Academic Advising
• Mentoring Relationships with Faculty
• Individualized Mentoring in Applying for Scholarships
