The Honors Program at UM-Dearborn is dedicated to providing a well-balanced undergraduate education and developing students' critical thinking skills
The Honors Program at UM-Dearborn is designed for qualified, highly-motivated students who want an extra level of challenge and stimulus in their college experience. Honors students take a special sequence of classes that satisfy basic requirements and at the same time provide a well-balanced undergraduate education. The program teaches students to think critically and independently, to perceive connections between diverse areas of knowledge, and to express their thoughts clearly and effectively. Honors Program classes are small, enabling students to interact closely with the faculty and each other.
The Honors Program at UM-Dearborn aims to counter a major problem in modern college education: the fragmented and overly-specialized nature of many undergraduate programs. Our Honors courses offer a broad overview of the history of Western culture. Students learn about the basic traditions, the essential thoughts, the pivotal events that have shaped our society. At the same time, since the courses are taught by professors from different fields, students also come to understand how the various strands in our history are linked with one another.The Honors Program recognizes that young people today will enter a multiethnic society and a world of closely-linked competing nations. Our two required courses in non-Western culture help students to develop a respect for cultural traditions that differ from their own.The atmosphere of the Honors discussion classes is open and convivial. Students are encouraged to express their own thoughts freely and to treat diverse points of view in a considerate and collegial manner.The Honors curriculum follows a logical progression, leading from discussion classes in the freshman year to independent research in the junior year. Students in the program develop academic abilities that gradually build on one another and create increasing competence and self-reliance.The skills and values fostered by the Honors Program should benefit students not only during their college or graduate education, but also in their later personal lives and professional careers.
