While
one of the goals of the Interdisciplinary Honors Program at Union is
to sharpen the student’s ability to assess ideas and situations
critically and to think about these creatively, another is to
encourage students to think freely and constructively across the
various academic disciplines offered at the University. The
Interdisciplinary Honors Program combines methods of teaching such as
the Socratic method, logic and dialectic, tutorials, mentoring,
lectures, seminars, and discussion groups in order to produce the
highest degree of academic success. The program is designed to be four
years in length to encourage a solid development of the student’s
knowledge base and critical thinking apparatus.
In contemporary
society, over-specialization has forced blinders upon many
individuals. As a consequence, they have developed tunnel vision. In
almost every field— medicine, education, business, politics, and
economics—the majority of people are incapable of looking beyond the
narrow confines of their particular area of interest and expertise to
comprehend how the pieces of the puzzle of human existence fit
together. As a result, they suffer the debilitating symptoms of
dehumanization, social fragmentation and misdirection, personal
meaninglessness, and the general loss of purpose in life. By enabling
students to perceive a broader picture of how various fields of
academic inquiry interrelate, the Interdisciplinary Honors Program
enriches them intellectually and spiritually and helps them avoid the
pitfalls and consequences of tunnel vision.
A third and
all-encompassing goal of the Interdisciplinary Honors Program—and one
which is of crucial and central importance to Union as a Christian
University—is to help students understand how all truth is God’s
truth. Because our Christian confession holds that God is the creator
and sustainer of the universe as well as the redeemer of humankind,
this means that our pursuit of truth will always be governed by the
context of this confession.
Frequently Asked Questions
posted May 23, 2003
Program Acceptance Requirements
Members of departments across the University serve as faculty and
mentors for students in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program. The
program is designed to be challenging and intensive. For this reason,
only select persons with a record of high academic achievement are
invited to participate.
Scholar-in-Residence Program
A scholar of worldwide reputation is invited each year to deliver a
series of lectures at the University. Students may take the
Scholar-in-Residence course, which involves research, writing, and
tutorials. Prerequisites: HON 210 and 220.
Honor Student Association
Incorporated into the Interdisciplinary Honors Program is the Honors
Student Association (HSA) whose purpose is to serve as the social arm
of the program. It functions as any social organization does, choosing
its officers from among the student participants and organizing its
functions to further the academic programs of the minor. Any student
who has participated in any of the Honor classes is eligible for
membership in HSA. Students interested in pursuing a minor in
Interdisciplinary Honors are also invited to come to meetings but are
not allowed to be voting members.
