Honors Program
Mission Statement
The LaGrange College Honors Program aims to bring together a community of thoughtful and driven students who will grow together even as they pursue a variety of different academic disciplines. Over the course of their first two years at the college, students in the program will take four exclusive classes – one per semester – that fulfill certain requirements of the general education curriculum. These four classes center around high impact practices such as experiential learning, undergraduate research, or service learning. Then, with the help of a professor in their chosen field, students will put together a culminating presentation using the skills they acquired from their Honors courses and the knowledge they gained from their major or minor.
Student Learning Objectives
The LaGrange College Honors Program seeks to build:
- Critical Thinking and Clear Communication Skills by developing students’ ability to analyze information, solve problems, and articulate new ideas.
- A Passion for Excellence by encouraging students to excel in all the courses they take across campus.
Program Objectives
The LaGrange College Honors Program provides students with the chance to take part in
- High Impact Learning Practices, including experiential learning, undergraduate research, and service learning.
- A Cohort of Scholars by fostering a community in which like-minded individuals can explore and grow in a challenging academic environment together.
Assessment of Outcomes and Objectives
Students will:
- Take the four required HONS courses, which must be satisfied with a grade of "C" or higher.
- Maintain a 3.60 cumulative GPA at LaGrange to continue in the program. Students whose cumulative GPA at LaGrange falls below 3.60 will have one semester to raise it above the required level or they may be dismissed from the program.
- Complete a presentation at an academic conference, at the LC Undergraduate Research Symposium, or in another suitably appropriate venue as determined by the director of the LC Honors Program. This requirement can be met at any time over the course of students’ last two years at the college. Each student would need to complete an agreement with an instructor teaching a course in that individual’s major or minor. This agreement would acknowledge the instructor’s willingness to oversee the work, detail the instructor’s expectations of the student, and list the potential venue for the presentation.
Majors and Minors
Major Minor
Honors Program CurriculumCourses
Hope springs eternal, the ancient sages tell us. This course, however, examines fiction (stories, novels, tv, and film) that presents the bleakest of dark scenarios. Class discussion will focus on the hope we might possibly find in such works.
This course explores our history, values, operating procedures, and campus organizations with the goal of encouraging first-year students to engrain themselves into the life of LaGrange College. Students will demonstrate growth in their academic skills and learn to take charge of their schedules and other responsibilities. HONS 1000 promotes personal professionalism by helping students to improve their financial literacy, their soft skills, and their readiness for the job market. Lastly, the class helps students understand the challenges faced by the LaGrange community and address needs head-on through direct action on campus and in the city of LaGrange itself.
This course entails reading and producing nonfiction prose that is exemplary for its clarity and finesse. Providing each other with feedback in classroom workshops, students write an interview; a critique of the fine arts; a humor piece; a travel piece; a piece on science, technology, or sports; and a memoir.
In this honors course, students transform everyday objects--trash cans, bottles, scrap metal, and more--into instruments for collaborative performance. Combining rhythm, composition, and creativity, the ensemble explores how unconventional sound sources can inspire music-making. Students design, rehearse, and present an original performance that highlights innovation, teamwork, and the artistry of reimagined sound.
We will meet broken, brave and astonishing characters and consider and discuss their choices all made in compelling instances of love. We will read novels/plays, watch films/plays and attend a live performance/s, in order to engage in lively discussions of how far characters are willing to go, what they will risk and sacrifice—for love; romantic love, love of family, love of the game, of country, an education, music, humanity, community and cooking.
