Teach in Honors

The Honors Program offers two types of courses that you may apply to teach:

1. Honors Core Courses

• HON 100 Rhetoric and Critical Inquiry
• HON 101 World Literature
• HON 102 History in Global Contexts
• HON 104 Religious Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives
• HON 105 Philosophical Inquiry
• HON 180 Data Analysis and Statistics
• HON 201 States, Markets, and Societies

These courses require expertise in the field and a record of strong teaching. They do not require a specific course proposal. Before you apply to teach in the program, you should consult with your department chair and make sure your home unit can accommodate this adjustment in your teaching load. You may also wish to talk with the Honors Program director about your interest in teaching an Honors Core Course. Sample syllabi are available at your request.

2. Honors Topics Courses

• HON 203 Seminar in Multiculturalism (formerly HON 301)
• HON 205 Interdisciplinary Arts
• HON 225 Honors Lab Science Topics
• HON 302 Junior Seminar in Social Justice (formerly HON 208)
• HON 350 Senior Capstone Seminar
• HON 351 Senior Capstone Seminar in Service Learning

These courses require expertise in the field and a record of strong teaching. They also require you to prepare a specific course proposal and draft syllabus. Please note that all 300-level seminars (HON 302, 350, and 351) are required to include a research paper assignment. Faculty interested in developing an Honors topics course should contact the Honors Director about their ideas prior to writing a proposal.

Faculty who are interested in teaching a core course (HON 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 180, 201) and who are from the English, History, Philosophy, Political Science, or Religious Studies departments should contact their department’s scheduler to express their interest. Faculty from outside these departments and faculty interested in teaching approved sections of topics courses should contact the Honors Director.

Faculty who would like to propose a new topics course (HON 203, 205, 225, 302, 350, 351) should contact the Honors Director about their ideas and then follow the instructions on this form.

The Honors Program assigns courses to full-time faculty whenever possible. Part-time faculty already teaching at DePaul from English, History, Philosophy, Political Science, or Religious Studies should express their interest in teaching an Honors core course to their department chair or scheduler. Part-time faculty already teaching at DePaul who are from outside these departments or who would like to teach a topics course should contact the Honors Director. Please state which Honors course you are interested in teaching and describe how your teaching experience and scholarly expertise qualify you to teach that course. Part-time faculty who do not teach other courses at DePaul should apply through Interfolio.

Proposals for topics courses are reviewed quarterly by the University Honors Program Committee and should be submitted by the following deadlines: January 15, April 1, or October 1. Faculty are encouraged to discuss their ideas with the Honors Director prior to developing a proposal.

Courses are assigned early in winter quarter of the academic year prior to when they will be taught (e.g. the 2022-23 schedule is created in Jan/Feb 2022). Faculty interested in teaching in Honors the following academic year should contact their department scheduler or the Honors Director by January 15.

For Honors core courses and previously approved Honors topics courses, staffing decisions are made by the Honors Program director in consultation with your department scheduler. Assignments are based on instructor availability and expertise and on the scheduling needs of the program. Teaching assignments may be rotated periodically to create opportunities for new faculty members to participate in the program.

For new Honors topics courses, decisions to accept or defer a proposal are made by the University Honors Program Committee (UHPC). The UHPC is composed of fifteen faculty members who have been named by Faculty Council to represent all eight colleges served by the program. The UHPC also includes three voting Honors student representatives and four non-voting Honors Program administrative staff.

Honors courses are open only to students who are enrolled in the University Honors Program. These students seek an additional challenge in their general education program and applied for admission to the Honors community prior to the term in which they entered DePaul. Students from all colleges that offer undergraduate degrees are eligible to participate in University Honors.

Honors courses are discussion-oriented seminars that are designed for high-achieving students. Honors faculty are invited to push beyond traditional course design and learning practices. We foreground a student-driven pedagogy emphasizing active and experiential learning, creativity, interdisciplinarity, and intellectual risk, and we seek to create a community of original yet collaborative thinkers who are empowered to take ownership of their ideas and their learning. Honors faculty are encouraged to follow their own intellectual passions and to experiment with their teaching and assessment. They further benefit from working with highly motivated and engaged students and an Honors Program staff offering robust pedagogical and student support.

Writing Expectations:

Courses in the Honors Program are designed to promote students’ deep engagement with course material, to develop their critical thinking, and to foster the kind of intellectual curiosity that will inspire a commitment to lifelong learning.  Instructors should develop assignments that will achieve these goals in addition to the goals set at the program level for each course.  Students are expected to complete some formal writing in each course, but instructors are free to design assignments that they believe will have the greatest impact on student learning.  Ideally, students will complete various types of writing assignments within a single course.  Such assignments might include but are not limited to: 

• Traditional thesis-driven essays 
• Multiple short (1-2 page) position papers 
• Literature reviews 
• Research papers 
• Wiki-style articles 
• Article summaries and responses 
• Handouts prepared to teach content to classmates 
• Creative work accompanied by reflective commentary 
• Critical reviews of performances, exhibitions, etc. 

Expected Learning Outcomes:
The Honors Program has identified a set of learning outcomes for each of the courses in the curriculum. These learning outcomes have been reviewed and formally approved by the University Honors Program Committee and by Faculty Council. Course descriptions and the learning outcomes associated with each course are provided here.

Faculty members who teach in the Honors Program become part of a community of teachers who share an interest in the continued growth and improvement of the Program. You will be invited and encouraged to attend a yearly meeting to discuss teaching and assessment issues pertinent to Honors. We look forward to your comments and suggestions at these meetings. You will also be invited to participate in such Honors Program events as lectures, readings, and student-faculty mixers.

If you are invited to teach in the Honors Program, you will be asked to encourage students to submit outstanding papers and projects from your class for inclusion in the Honors Student Research Conference, an annual celebration of Honors student work which takes place each May.

In addition, full-time faculty may be asked by Honors Program seniors to direct their Honors Senior Thesis (HON 395) or to serve as a thesis reader. No faculty member is required to participate in a thesis project, but many have found it to be one of the most engaging and rewarding aspects of teaching in the program.

The Honors Program currently offers a small number of online synchronous and hybrid options in order to meet the needs of students during the pandemic.

If you have any questions about course content or the review process, please contact the Honors Program director, Dr. Jennifer Conary, at jennifer.conary@depaul.edu. Dr. Conary can provide sample syllabi and suggestions for how your expertise and interests might align with the Honors curriculum.