University Honors Program
The Honors Program is designed for students with a particularly strong academic record. It is intended to provide such students with classroom and extracurricular experiences that foster a spirit of inquiry and discovery. Participants in the Honors Program have the opportunity to take special honors courses. These courses, which are generally smaller than non-Honors courses, are not necessarily more demanding than regular classes in terms of the amount of work required. Rather, they are structured to allow for spirited discussion and interaction. Honors courses are taught by faculty members selected for their ability to stimulate and challenge inquisitive students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual activity.
The Honors Program encourages participation by students from all of the different schools and colleges in the university. Honors courses count toward the university’s general education requirements, which must be met by all Widener students. Thus, it is even possible for students with very demanding majors to participate in the program. In addition to the intellectual stimulation that participation in the program can provide, involvement in the program can have a positive impact on an individual’s career. Employers and graduate schools view participation in an honors program very favorably in evaluating applicants.
A Certificate of Honors in General Education is awarded at graduation to students who successfully complete a minimum of five honors courses. The usual course distribution is the Honors English, an honors section of ASC 101, one honors colloquium, and at least two other honors courses. Students are encouraged to take as many additional honors courses as they wish. An Advanced Certificate of Honors in General Education is awarded at graduation to students who successfully complete an additional honors colloquium or an honors independent study in some field of general education.
To complete the Honors Program, each participant must attend a minimum of six outside-of-class academically or culturally enriching events during each academic year. Students must also have an overall grade point average of 3.25 or better at the end of the penultimate semester.
Incoming first-year students are invited to participate in the Honors Program based on their high school records and SAT scores. After the first and second semesters of the first year, other interested students displaying excellence in college work may be invited to join the program.
Exploratory Studies
Not all first-year students wish to declare an academic major immediately upon entering Widener. Therefore, Widener provides a program known as Exploratory Studies, designed to meet the particular needs of students wishing to explore several academic major options. Any entering first-year student who has not made a decision about a college major may elect to be an Exploratory Studies (ES) student.
Selection of an academic major generally occurs by the end of the first year, although some students continue their ES status into the second year. Exploratory Studies students are advised that if the selection of an academic major is prolonged beyond the first year, summer and additional semester work may be required to meet graduation requirements, depending upon the field of study ultimately selected. Exploratory Studies students matriculate fully. Students take courses with students from all other academic divisions, and ES students have successfully pursued admission to several degree programs. There are requirements for certain degree programs and ES students should meet with their academic advisor to further discuss. Each ES student is advised by an academic advisor; students are also encouraged to work with the staff in Career Design and Development.
Prospective students are encouraged to discuss this program with their Widener admissions counselor or to contact the Office of Student Success, which is home to Exploratory Studies.
Students planning to attend law school in the future often describe themselves as “pre-law.” However, preparation for law school varies widely. As the American Bar Association notes, “The ABA does not recommend any undergraduate majors or group of courses to prepare for a legal education. Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic discipline.” Students should select any major that they are interested in, that is intellectually challenging, and that will build their skills in reading comprehension, written and oral expression, and critical thinking.
Widener’s Pre-Law Advisor spearheads the university’s support for pre-law students, often in collaboration with major advisors, the Pre-Law Advisory Committee, and the Pre-Law Society student group. Students can expect regularly scheduled, faculty-organized information sessions, application workshops, and expert panels on law school and the legal profession. Students may also schedule one-on-one meetings with the pre-law advisor to discuss legal careers, their preparation for law school, and questions about the application process. The pre-law advisor oversees the Legal Studies and Analysis minor, and serves as the contact for preferred admissions partnerships with the Delaware Law School and Commonwealth Law School. To be added to the Pre-Law Canvas page or learn more about pre-law at Widener, contact Dr. Jordan Smith.
A pre-health professions/pre-med pathway is one of the first steps toward a career in medicine. Widener fully subscribes to the position established by the Association of American Medical Colleges that individuals from diverse educational backgrounds are needed by the medical profession. At Widener, this means choosing the right major for you. Students may major in any field, provided that they acquire a strong foundation in the natural sciences (biology, biochemistry, chemistry, mathematics, and physics), highly developed communication skills, and solid background in the social sciences and humanities that medical schools uniformly seek in their applicants. Biochemistry, biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, computer science, and psychology are examples of majors that have been pursued by Widener students who have competed successfully to enter medical school.
As part of your pre-medical pathway, you’ll pursue your interest in medicine while also exploring your major and taking the required science courses you need to enter medical school. As you complete your pathway, you’ll gain the foundational skills you need to excel in medical school and beyond. See Widener’s website for Pre-Med.
With support from your health professions advisor coordinator Dr. Alexis Nagengast (aanagengast@widener.edu), you’ll leave Widener ready for a powerful medical education and ultimately, a rewarding career. The health professions advisor actively assists students from the beginning of the first year of study to provide maximal opportunity for each student to attain an academic and extracurricular record worthy of admission to medical school. Students who are interested in preparing for professional careers in the physician assistant field, optometry, pharmacy, podiatric medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, or chiropractics are also personally guided by the health professions advisor. Special efforts are made to enable each student to explore all the options which are available so that fully informed decisions can be made. Please contact Dr. Nagengast for more information.
Open Major
The open major enables Widener students to design their own interdisciplinary program. It was created to encourage students to participate in many of the diverse disciplines offered at Widener. A student must be in good standing to qualify for participation in an open major program. Interested students should consult their academic advisors who will help them form an advisory committee of three members of the faculty. This process should be instituted at the normal time for declaring a major. Once the student and committee have designed a program, it is submitted to the Faculty Committee on Open Majors. This faculty committee will approve and review the progress of each program once a year and (upon the recommendation of the student’s advisory committee) will be responsible for recommending to the faculty the granting of the appropriate degree for which the student qualifies.
There are a number of possibilities within this framework in such fields as international affairs, multinational enterprises, urban affairs, management, and others.
Because of the nature of such programs, the advising relationship between the student and the faculty is important.
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