HNRS 1000 Honors Summit (0 Credits)

Welcome to DU Honors! This is the first course of the core Honors sequence. It provides space for you to reflect on your values and what brought you here and to set goals for your college journey and your participation in the Honors community. We also want to be sure you have all the resources that you need to succeed in the University Honors Program, and to introduce you to the staff, faculty, and other students in the program. We will focus on advising and graduation planning that will help you to maximize your college experience. Additionally, we will highlight the resources at DU that are particularly important for Honors students, including opportunities for undergraduate research and other signature work, competitive external fellowships, and distinction resources. This is a zero-credit course. Students must attend one in-person four-hour session.

HNRS 2000 Extreme Academics (1 Credit)

How do you make the most of your experience at DU? How do you set yourself up for success after graduation? This course will provide resources and strategies for students to cultivate their passions and purpose through signature work and distinction, develop their networks, design a meaningful DU experience, identify and prepare for impactful opportunities like fellowships and graduate school programs, and tell their story. In doing so, it will advance students’ 4D Experience, enabling reflection, connection, and discovery. The culminating project for the course will be a personal statement, designed to help students reflect on and articulate how their experiences and values have shaped their academic and professional identity and make them a fit for opportunities of interest. Prerequisite: HNRS 1000.

HNRS 2400 Honors Seminar (2 Credits)

A number of these seminars are offered every year on a rotating basis. Topics vary every quarter. Honors Seminars are taught in a faculty member’s area of expertise – often on niche subjects that bring students directly into dialogue with faculty research, scholarship, or creative work. They are an opportunity for students to get to know faculty and engage with advanced content in small discussion-oriented seminars that are open to students from all majors.

HNRS 2401 HSEM Adventures in Fellowships (2 Credits)

This course is designed to empower students to develop their personal narratives and to pursue “good-fit” fellowship competitions that create pathways to impact. Students will explore external fellowships, parse funding organizations’ criteria and priorities, and work through applications to tell a coherent narrative with attention to common application components such as personal statements; letters of recommendation; and reflections on leadership, service, and impact. Class sessions and assignments will guide students through reflection about interests and goals, telling the story of their experiences, and identifying and preparing for competitive fellowships that will help them drive change on the issues that matter to them. Students will gain a foundation for expanded knowledge and growth in line with the 4D Experience as well as practical tools and strategies for crafting competitive applications for external opportunities. This course counts as an Honors Seminar (HNRS 2400) for the University Honors Program.

HNRS 2701 Wildlife Conservation & Cultur (4 Credits)

The focus of the course is the intersection of conservation and culture. The goal is to generate new and creative ways to think about conservation. Students will be exposed to different examples of conservation governance, ranging from state-controlled access commonly found in national parks to indigenous communities that are assisting conservation efforts. They will inquire as to what impacts different projects are having in not only helping stem the loss of habitat and wildlife, but also the informal governance institutions managing their unique ecosystems in sustainable ways. Importantly, we will consider our main questions through a very broad and informal cost/benefit analysis that encompasses more than the limiting economic factors normally used. This course counts toward the Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.

HNRS 3000 Into the Unknown (1 Credit)

For many high-achieving students, college is a given. It is the clear next step in life after high school. As you consider your post-baccalaureate plans, the future may feel less certain. This course is designed to give you space to reflect on your college experiences and to articulate their meaning – both to yourself and to potential future employers or collaborators. It also provides opportunities for you to consider goals and strategies for the future, including questions like: How do you define success and design the life you want? How do you decide whether an opportunity is a good fit? How do you assess and redirect when you experience failure, ambiguity, or change? The course provides repeated opportunities to engage in structured self-reflection, both individually and in community with peers who are also preparing to go into the unknown. This course is intended for Honors students in their final year at DU.

HNRS 3991 Independent Study (1-5 Credits)

By arrangement.