School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program

School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program

The MCPHS School of Arts and Sciences Honors program is available to qualified students majoring in any of the school’s baccalaureate degree programs. The honors program offers: • the pursuit of discipline-specific interests and a deeper level of inquiry in any Arts & Sciences discipline: Life Sciences, Chemistry, Math, Physics, Humanities, Communication, Ethics, Behavioral Sciences, Public Health or Social Sciences, • continued development of academic research skills, • close faculty mentoring on Honors projects, • extra preparation for further study toward postgraduate education and careers, • interactions with fellow honors students and faculty advisers, and • the possibility of fieldtrips to fascinating locales such as Mass General Hospital’s Paul S. Russell Museum of Medical History and Innovation, Brandeis’ Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory, and many more.

Honors Program Eligibility

A student should formally apply by February 15 at 5:00 pm of the second curriculum year. A student must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average (GPA) and should be based on the Boston campus for years 3 and 4 of his or her degree program. Students who spend their 4th year in a graduate program (e.g., PA, PT, OT) are not eligible. The application must include: • a brief essay (approximately 250 words) explaining academic interests and goals, how participation in the honors program will further these goals, and how involvement in the honors program will tie into long-term career goals; and • a recommendation by a faculty member with whom the student has had significant course- or laboratory-related interaction.

The School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program Committee will determine acceptance into the program based on • a student’s academic performance in college courses; • the strength of a student’s application materials, and • availability of faculty mentors in a student’s area of interest. The Honors Program Committee will provide interested students a list of faculty willing to supervise honors students and a description of their research interests, as well as a list of courses that may be used to fulfill the honors program requirements.

Honors Program Requirements

Students who successfully complete the honors program will earn an honors designation on their transcripts. The honors program requirements must be completed over the course of four semesters under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Conferral of that designation each semester depends on completion of either: • Two different projects that each take a full year to complete. The student must complete two distinct research projects with two different professors, or two related projects with two different professors. This format allows for exploration of a variety of different topics and for an appreciation of the value of collaboration across disciplines. Successful completion of the project depends on submission of a progress report at the end of each Fall semester, and a final project and the end of each Spring semester • One single project that takes two full years to complete. This option has the greatest potential for generating publishable work in a specific field. The student must complete a single collaborative project with two different professors or a single project with one professor. This format allows for deep exploration of a single research question. Successful completion of the project depends on submission of progress reports at the conclusion of each Fall semester and the first Spring semester, and a final thesis project at the conclusion of the second Spring semester,

The following criteria also apply: • Honors projects are completed in addition to regular coursework and do not fulfill any major or minor requirements for graduation. • Projects may be conducted within any discipline and are not meant to duplicate, replace, or extend work done in capstone courses. • The student must have a minimum 3.50 GPA at the time of graduation.

Additional program information is available from the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences.