Contents > Barrett, the Honors College
Barrett, the Honors College
honors.asu.edu
Mark Jacobs, PhD, Dean
Philosophy, Politics, and Law, Certificate in
Barrett, the Honors College at ASU, is distinguished by its high concentration of nationally ranked scholars, and by the array of resources readily available to its students. It is a living and learning community of scholars, caring advisors, and enthusiastic faculty. Barrett is unique in the nation as an excellent residential liberal arts college with the vast program choices and resources of a vibrant Research Extensive institution. This powerful combination promotes and enables the best education possible for intellectually engaged students from Arizona, from America, and from the world.
The college offers talented, motivated students educational opportunities designed to enrich and further their personal academic and career goals. It is a portal through which academically talented students gain unique access to the university’s human and physical resources. Transdisciplinary in nature, the college develops curricular and other learning opportunities to meet general and disciplinary undergraduate educational objectives. The college supports undergraduate research, encourages study abroad, guides students to relevant internships, and mentors applicants for fellowships and scholarships.
Barrett serves students seeking degrees at the Downtown Phoenix campus, the Polytechnic campus, in southeast Mesa, the Tempe campus, and the West campus, in northwest Phoenix. For more information see Barrett, the Honors College. Students across the university take advantage of the university’s full resources with the assurance of consistently distinguished teaching and research and with commensurately rigorous expectations for performance.
Students planning to seek any academic major may apply to Barrett. Admission is by separate application online at honors.asu.edu.
Students planning to graduate from Barrett must also graduate from a disciplinary college. The ASU honors curriculum normally allows students to finish all requirements within the 120 semester hours of credit usually required for graduation. Thirty-six of those credits are honors courses—with a minimum of 18 upper-division credits.
Lorraine W. Frank Office of National Scholarship Advisement
The Lorraine W. Frank Office of National Scholarship Advisement assists students by identifying nationally competitive programs appropriate to each person’s intellectual and career goals, nurturing these prospective applicants, and advancing their candidacy. This office, administered by the college, serves the entire ASU community. ASU students regularly earn distinction in the most rigorous and prestigious scholarship competitions. Many pursue enhanced degree programs and research projects under the auspices of Goldwater or Truman Scholarships. Other students undertake postgraduate study in the United States and abroad as Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, Udall, National Science Foundation, or Mellon Scholars. Many others have been recognized by a range of postgraduate awards, fellowships, and assistantships. This office does not administer any need- or merit-based student financial assistance. For more information, call 480/965-5894.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Undergraduate research and creative opportunities are available across many disciplinary programs, centers, and institutes at ASU. Barrett maintains lists of current opportunities, available by accessing the college’s Web site at honors.asu.edu. In addition, the college actively seeks new opportunities matching student training with emerging research on campus
Students in Barrett have exclusive access to study abroad programs that significantly enhance their educational experience. Directed and taught by Barrett faculty, these programs usually occur during the first summer session and last between five and six and a half weeks and allow students to earn honors credit while overseas. The four current programs offer students the privilege of studying in several of the most significant and dynamic cities in China, Europe, and Latin America. The London, Dublin, and Edinburgh program has been offered since 1995, the Paris and Loire Valley program since 1998, the Latin American program since 2002, and the China program starting in 2007. The International Programs Office offers semester- and year-long programs abroad for students who desire a fuller experience. Often, students who have participated in one of Barrett’s summer programs realize the major benefits of studying abroad and choose to continue through extended programs.
Internships/Mentorships/Opportunities
Students in Barrett may participate in special internship opportunities—in government, industry, and the private sector—throughout metropolitan Phoenix. The college maintains a database of special opportunities, including community service and international and cultural events. For more information, call 480/727-6993.
Students enrolled in Barrett are given special access when important contributors to contemporary thought in society visit ASU. Each year the college hosts the university’s premier scholar-in-residence program, the Centennial Lecture. Past guests include novelist Carlos Fuentes, paleontologist Steven Jay Gould, psychiatrist Robert Coles, microbiologist Lynn Margulis, essayist Susan Sontag, paleoanthropologist Meave Leakey, American Indian author N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam, prolific and wide-ranging African American author and National Book Award recipient Charles Johnson, playwright Edward Albee, a prominent innovator in modern American drama, and Kathleen Sullivan, a renowned constitutional law scholar.
The college is also home to the John J. Rhodes Chair, designed to bring persons to the college who have significantly contributed to civic life and distinguished themselves as public service leaders. Students have unique opportunities to engage intellectually with these outstanding visiting lecturers. In 1998, the college was honored to have Dr. Henry A. Kissinger serve as the inaugural chair. American Indian scholar Donald Lee Fixico was the 2002 Rhodes Lecturer, followed by Jean Strause, notable biographer of J. P. Morgan in 2003, world-renowned astronomer David Levy in 2004, and leading alternate energy expert Hal Harvey in 2005.
Barrett and all its facilities and services are fully available to every student, regardless of where he or she lives. The Honors Halls of Residence offer students an integrated living-learning environment. Barrett has its own faculty and academic advisors to serve all honors students. Classrooms, recreational and study lounges, and a state-of-the-art computing lab make up the principal facilities of the college.
Students enrolled in Barrett receive priority at preregistration and have extended checkout privileges in the campus libraries. Honors courses in disciplinary departments are typically limited to 25 students. Honors courses (with the prefix HON) are usually limited to 19.
Students who meet all requirements of both their disciplinary college and Barrett receive transcript recognition of that accomplishment, as well as special acknowledgment during graduation ceremonies and collegiate honors convocations.
Barrett students have diverse interests and strong records of success. Many are accepted into the nation’s finest graduate and professional programs, including Chicago, Cornell, Harvard, Michigan, MIT, Northwestern, Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Yale. Many students have published portions of their honors theses and have presented their work at national and regional meetings of scientific and honors societies.
Students who have demonstrated high levels of academic achievement in high school or college may apply for admission to Barrett. All candidates for admission must file an application to the college separate from their ASU application.
Applicants are evaluated on the basis of their high school GPA (Arizona Board of Regents GPA based on 16 competency courses), high school class rank, and performance on the SAT or ACT; as well as talents that contribute to leadership and community service. Continuing ASU or transfer students are evaluated on their college GPA.
Application forms and additional information about the college and its activities are available by calling 480/965-2359 or by accessing the Web site at honors.asu.edu.
Honors students must maintain high standards of academic performance and show progress toward completion of graduation requirements in their disciplinary majors and in Barrett. In order to graduate from Barrett, students must complete the following (which includes a total of 36 semester hours of honors course work):
1. HON 171 and 172 The Human Event must be completed by the time a student has earned 45 semester hours at ASU. Students are placed on inactive status if this requirement is not met.
2. Thirty additional semester hours of honors course work must be earned with a letter grade of “C” or higher. This may include HON prefix classes, honors sections of classes, honors contracts, or any automatic honors course such as ENG 105, CHM 117, CHM 118, or PHY 333, or any 500-level course.
3. Included in the 30 semester hours of honors course work are 18 hours of upper-division or graduate-level honors credits for an earned letter grade of “C” or higher, including six semester hours of honors course work outside the academic major. Students should investigate specialized honors upper-division tracks within their majors.
4. Transfer students (defined as 60 or more university credits completed at the time of Barrett application) must complete a 300-level upper-division HON special topics course in addition to the 18 required hours of upper-division honors course work. A total of 21 hours of upper-division honors course work are required for transfers because transfers do not have time to complete all 36 honors hours.
5. Students are required to complete an honors thesis/creative project for at least three semester hours though students are encouraged to complete six thesis semester hours. The thesis semester hours may be included in the 18 required hours of upper-division honors course work. The thesis is launched with a prospectus form due one academic year before the defense. The final copy must be filed by the last week of classes during the student’s graduation semester.
6. ASU graduation requirements in an academic major must be met.
7. The student must maintain a cumulative ASU GPA of 3.25 or higher.
Barrett students are expected to meet regularly with honors advisors. Three sessions are mandatory: one during the first semester in Barrett, one during the second year, and another during the first semester of upper-division status. To make an appointment with an honors advisor, call 480/965-9155. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in MB C100-L1.
Barrett course requirements may be met in a variety of ways. There are two specific required courses for first year students. Only courses in which a student receives a grade of “C” (2.00) or higher may be used to meet Barrett requirements.
Those entering the college as lower-division students must take 18 lower-division honors credits, which include HON 171 and 172 The Human Event. This cross-disciplinary seminar acquaints them with ideas that form the foundation of a university education and emphasizes critical thinking, discussion, and writing. Barrett students complete HON 171 and 172 during their first 45 units at ASU.
Those who enter as upper-division students must take 21 honors credits, including a required 300-level honors course. Junior-level seminar courses introduce them to critical thinking, discussion, and writing in a topical area chosen by the instructor. It is expected that all students complete this course no later than the first or second semester after transferring.
Departmental courses carrying footnote number 19 in the Online ASU Interactive Schedule of Classes are limited to honors students and others who receive special permission from the instructor to enroll. Enrollment in these courses is limited. Compared to their nonhonors equivalents, these courses are designed to offer a richer, more complex intellectual experience appropriate to the discipline and the level of the course for all students enrolled. Other disciplinary honors courses group honors students in small cohorts to work on research projects of common interest.
Departmental courses carrying footnote number 18 in the Online ASU Interactive Schedule of Classes allow honors students to contract with the instructor of designated nonhonors courses to earn honors credit by pursuing enrichment activities, which may include supplemental sessions with the instructor. Footnote 18 contracts must be filed during the first four weeks of class and completed during the semester in which the course is offered. Each contract form offers guidelines to aid students and faculty in developing appropriate contracts.
Course numbers listed in the Online ASU Interactive Schedule of Classes as 298, 492 Honors Directed Study, 493 Honors Thesis, 497 Honors Colloquium, and all classes with the HON prefix are reserved for students in Barrett and always carry footnote 19. Students may receive credit for more than one of each of these courses in a given department.
Departmental courses with the number 493 are reserved for honors students completing their honors theses and creative projects. A student may enroll for these courses only with the approval of the sponsoring academic department and of the faculty member who serves as the student’s thesis director. Course numbers listed in the Online ASU Interactive Schedule of Classes as 493 fulfill the student’s upper-division literacy and critical inquiry (L) General Studies requirement.
There are certain courses that carry automatic honors credit. These include ENG 105 (any section) and CHM 117 and 118. MAT 300, PHY 201, and PHY 333, when taken by students with 45 or fewer semester hours also carry automatic honors credit, as long as the student receives a grade “A” (4.00) or “B” (3.00). Graduate level courses automatically earn honors credit, but credit toward graduation must be approved by the department and dean of the college in which the student majors.
All courses used to fulfill graduation requirements for Barrett must carry earned letter grades of at least “C” (2.00). A “Y” grade meets college requirements only for HON 492 Honors Directed Study and HON 493 Honors Thesis.
To graduate through Barrett, students must
complete all honors course requirements;
complete all required semester hours of honors course work with a grade of “C” (2.00) or higher (a “Y” grade is allowed for HON 492, HON 493, and for one-semester-hour courses offered through Barrett) unless otherwise provided for by Barrett and the college of the student’s major;
complete ASU graduation requirements in an academic major; and
earn a cumulative ASU GPA greater than or equal to 3.25 (4.00 = A).
Certificate in Philosophy, Politics, and Law
Students enrolled in Barrett may pursue the Certificate in Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL). This interdisciplinary program affords an opportunity to engage in a focused program of study that brings analytical rigor to bear on the philosophical issues involved in law and politics. The concentration comprises six courses (18 semester hours), three of which are offered through Barrett. One of these courses, normally taken in the student’s second year at ASU, is a seminar on law, justice, and morality (HON 310); the second is a junior-senior seminar on theories of justice, or a related topic in philosophy, politics, and law, that entails an extended paper (HON 410). The remaining four courses must be approved by the PPL Council and selected from courses regularly offered in philosophy, political science, and other areas.
The PPL Council consists of the PPL director and several members of the ASU faculty whose research and teaching focus on political, legal, and moral philosophy. ASU has exceptional resources in this area, with more than a dozen faculty members—in the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Political Science, Barrett, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, and other departments—working in this field. Among them are several professors who have won teaching awards and national or international honors for their scholarship.
The PPL Program aims to sharpen the critical, conceptual, and analytical skills that law schools and graduate programs in philosophy, political science, and other fields require. By engaging students in the analysis of classical and contemporary political, legal, and moral concerns, moreover, PPL hopes to prepare them for public service, whether it be as lawyers or scholars, in government or in watchdog groups, or simply as active and responsible
citizens.
HON 410 Philosophy, Politics, and Law (3)
Choose four of the following elective courses (12)
PHI 307 Philosophy of Law HU (3)
PHI 309 Social and Political Philosophy HU (3)
PHI 310 Environmental Ethics HU (3)
PHI 335 History of Ethics HU (3)
POS 340 History of Political Philosophy I HU/H (3)
POS 341 History of Political Philosophy II HU/H (3)
POS 346 Problems of Democracy HU (3)
In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of the program, students may count no more than three courses from any one department toward the PPL certificate. The PPL director maintains a list of approved courses, and students may petition the council to add a course to that list. PPL students are encouraged but not required to write their honors thesis in the field and under the supervision of a PPL faculty member.
Barrett, the Honors College
Courses
Information about all courses is available on the Web at ASU Interactive. For more information, see Classification of Courses.
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