College should be a transformative experience—a journey of discovery undertaken among friends and mentors you’ll remember forever. The Mount Union Honors Program is dedicated to serving students with the curiosity and commitment to get the most out of this journey.
Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds and bring an equally wide range of talents and interests. All are welcomed into our community-within-a-community, a collaboration between students and faculty for creating opportunities in the areas of social life, service work, and scholarship.
There are two different ways to participate in Honors at Mount Union, University Honors and Honors in the Major. You can even do both, if you wish.
There are also many perks that Honors students enjoy during their time on campus. And yet the greatest benefits may be those that come after graduation. The distinction of having Honors on a resume or graduate school application definitely matters—everybody knows that it signifies exceptional promise—but the habits of mind that an Honors student brings to those next stages will pay off for a lifetime. So will the inspiration that comes from working with fellow Honors students, and the support of Honors mentors who are here to help you along the way.
This webpage is designed to provide helpful information for prospective students, current students, and the Mount Union community at large. More than this, we hope that it will also give you a feel for the Honors Program here at Mount Union. If there is anything you can’t find here, please do not hesitate to contact us!
University Honors
University Honors
The University Honors track is a learning community for students that provides academic and social support to engage in a different kind of learning, encouraging open inquiry, empathetic engagement with diverse perspectives, and safe spaces for intellectual risk-taking. The curriculum parallels the Integrative Core with specially designed honors sections and exciting co-curricular opportunities. Professors in the Honors Program are innovative teachers and dedicated scholars who come from a variety of disciplines. Honors courses emphasize intellectual contexts, student autonomy, and connections among fields of study.
Curriculum
First Year Seminar (FYS) (first year): FYS focuses on a specific topic and develops skills in writing, oral communication and critical thinking.
Honors Foundations (first and second years): These courses focus on four major areas of human knowledge – humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and arts, building on the skills students learned in FYS. Students are required to take Honors Foundations in three of the areas and may fulfill the fourth area with an appropriate elective.
Theme and Theme Project (third year): Students take an honors course related to the theme of Engaging Diversity, in which they develop a proposal for a diversity project to be completed in conjunction with a course of their choosing the following semester.
Capstone (fourth year): Students engage in collaborative work around a complex issue with real-world application. They draw upon knowledge, skills and thought processes acquired throughout their educational experience.
The Honors in the Major track offers the opportunity for intensive, individual study in a major. Although the nature of honors work will vary, it should involve intellectual creativity and may take such forms as research, investigation, or artistic effort. The student initiates and plans the honors project and works closely with one or more faculty members in carrying it out. At the conclusion of the study, superior accomplishment should be demonstrated in some appropriate way. Depending on the department’s specifications, students will complete either an honors thesis or honors projects in three courses in the major.
Curriculum
494 Honors Thesis/Project: A research/project course designed to meet the needs of the individual student seeking honors in the major at graduation. Prerequisites: junior or senior standing, and approval of the instructor, the department chair and the Honors Review Board. Credit variable, 4-8 Semester Hours.
For more information contact the Honors Program directors at honors@vaftizo.com.
The Honors Council hosts several social events this year to connect and form friendships with other Honors students. Past events have included a Halloween party at the Nature Center, “Sundae Sunday” socials, and its end-of-the-year barbecue.
A group of Honors students show off their 80’s inspired Halloween costumes before the annual Honors Halloween Party.
Service
Service
Each year, the Honors Council organizes at least one student-led service project. In the past, it has collected supplies to donate to Raider’s Cove, made capes for children in the local hospital, participated in Mount Union’s Relay for Life event, and starting a team on Free Rice- a trivia game that donates to the UN World Food Programme for answering trivia questions.
Scholarship
Scholarship
The program provides many opportunities to enhance your scholarly experience at Mount Union. Many professors take their students on trips to museums and historical spots. Also, the program provides means to attend conferences such as the Mid-East Honors Association (MEHA) Conference and the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference. These conferences allow students to present, engage with discussion panels, and become better leaders and better Honors students. Mount Union is also a member of the MEHA, allowing students to seek scholarship opportunities and utilize resources through the organization.
Two executive honors council members attend the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in New Orleans.
Mount Union is definitely setting me up for success. Not only am I provided the necessary resources, including a beautiful music facility, a very knowledgeable and talented music faculty, and a wide variety of music classes, but the degree track is also specifically designed to get me hands on experience!
Being offered a chance to play on Mount’s soccer team gave me hope that my dream to be a collegiate athlete was not over. Although Mount Union has provided me the opportunity to be more than a student athlete, too with the different student organizations.
The fact that everyone on campus—the students, the faculty—seems to genuinely care about my growth and wellbeing. I don’t feel like just another number here.
