Robert Donald Clark Honors College

Faculty

Monique Balbuena, associate professor (diaspora and multilingualism, Jewish, Latin American, and Maghrebi literatures). BA, 1988, MA, 1994, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; PhD, 2003, California, Berkeley. (2004) 

Louise M. Bishop, associate professor (Old English, medieval and Renaissance literature). BA, 1978, Fairleigh Dickinson; MA, 1980, PhD, 1984, Fordham. (1987)

Mark Carey, assistant professor (Latin American and environmental history). BA, 1991, State University of New York, Potsdam; MA, 1998, Montana; PhD, 2005, California, Davis. (2010)

Mai-Lin Cheng, assistant professor (19th-century British literature). BA, 1993, Brown; PhD, 2006, California, Berkeley. (2008)

Frances B. Cogan, professor (Victorian, 19th-century literature). BA, 1969, MA, 1970, PhD, 1981, Oregon. (1981)

Joseph G. Fracchia, professor (European intellectual history). BA, 1972, California, Davis; MA, 1975, California, Santa Barbara; PhD, 1985, California, Davis. (1986)

David A. Frank, professor (rhetoric and communication); dean; director, forensics. BA, 1978, MA, 1979, Western Washington; PhD, 1982, Oregon. (1979)

Samantha Hopkins, assistant professor (evolution and paleoecology of aplodontoid rodents). BS, 1999, Tennessee, Knoxville; PhD, 2005, California, Berkeley. (2007)

Ocean Howell, assistant professor (history). BA, 1997, MS, 2005, PhD, 2009, California, Berkeley. (2010)

Vera Keller, assistant professor (history). BA, 2002, Harvard; PhD, 2008, Princeton. (2010)

Susanna Soojung Lim, assistant professor (19th- and 20th-century Russian literature with focus on representations of East Asia). BA, 1996, MA, 1998, Korea; MA, 1999, PhD, 2006, California, Los Angeles. (2007)

Roxann Prazniak, associate professor (Chinese history, European intellectual history). BA, 1970, California, Berkeley; MA, 1973, San Francisco State; PhD, 1981, California, Davis. (2002)

Daniel Rosenberg, professor (European intellectual and cultural history, 18th century). BA, 1988, Wesleyan; MA, 1991, PhD, 1996, California, Berkeley. (2000)

Helen Southworth, associate professor (20th-century French and English literature, women’s literature). BA, 1989, London; MA, 1991, PhD, 1999, Southern California. (2002)

Emeritus

Henry M. Alley, professor emeritus. BA, 1967, Stanford; MFA, 1969, PhD, 1971, Cornell. (1982)

The date in parentheses at the end of each entry is the first year on the University of Oregon faculty.

Affiliated

Edward Awh, psychology

John Baumann, environmental studies

Gregory D. Bothun, physics

William Cadbury, English

Elisabeth Chan, landscape architecture

Suzanne Clark, English

Shaul E. Cohen, geography

Jenifer Craig, dance

Alisa D. Freedman, East Asian languages and literatures

Dave Frohnmayer, law

Esther Hagenlocher, architecture

Sara D. Hodges, psychology

Garrett K. Hongo, creative writing

Eugene D. Humphreys, geological sciences

Colin Ives, art

Bart Johnson, landscape architecture

Loren Kajikawa, music

Michael E. Kellman, chemistry

Jeffrey S. Librett, German and Scandinavian

Jane Mendle, psychology

Daniel L. Miller, journalism and communication

Helen Neville, psychology

John Nicols, classics

Dorothee Ostmeier, German and Scandinavian

Alan W. Rempel, geological sciences

Deni Ruggeri, landscape architecture

James M. Schombert, physics

Ellen K. Scott, sociology

Steven Shankman, English

Carol Stabile, English

Courtney Thorsson, English

Nathan J. Tublitz, biology

Tuong Vu, political science

Glen R. Waddell, economics

Mark Whalan, English

W. Ed Whitelaw, economics

Lisa Wolverton, history

Mary E. Wood, English

Robert F. Young, planning, public policy and management

Clark Honors College

The Robert Donald Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon is a competitively enrolled, small liberal arts college of approximately 700 students. Its classes—limited to nineteen students—and four-year curriculum feature close interaction between students and faculty members. The Clark Honors College emphasizes creativity, interdisciplinary scholarship, and independent research.

The college's curriculum—lower-division courses, upper-division colloquia, and thesis courses—integrate the humanities, social sciences, and sciences and feature the study of cultures and issues from around the globe. Honors college courses are taught by its resident faculty as well as by specially selected faculty members from other campus schools and programs. The college's curriculum fully satisfies and replaces the general-education requirements mandated for all university students.

Each honors college student selects a major from the academic departments or professional schools of the university. Fifteen percent of honors students have more than one major. Every school and department at the university, from architecture and music to biology and business, enrolls Clark Honors College students pursuing majors in those fields.

The student’s undergraduate education culminates in the thesis, a required advanced research project completed in his or her major field, designed to help students achieve future success in graduate school, postgraduation careers, and civic commitments. The thesis embodies the defining characteristics of a Clark Honors College education:

• intellectual discipline
• independent judgment
• capacity to design and execute a complex project
• ability to focus and pursue a subject in depth
• skills of analysis, synthesis, and clear writing

The thesis is the culmination of work in a major—a natural outgrowth from and expression of the ideas, problems, and approaches taught in that discipline. It creatively applies the methods of the discipline and tests their power and limits. It reflects dialogue, common work, and apprenticeship with faculty members in their specialized fields of interest.

Honors college students are assessed honors college tuition, established yearly by Oregon's State Board of Higher Education. Complete tuition information is available on the honors college website. The honors college awards need-based tuition-remission scholarships based on the expected family contribution listed on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Students and Faculty

Clark Honors College has fifteen resident faculty members who hold appointments in the college, and numerous affiliated faculty members drawn from departments and schools across campus, including history, English, geology, journalism and communication, and music and dance, and programs including comparative literature, medieval studies, and Latin American studies. The honors college faculty has earned local and national recognition for research, publication, and pedagogy, including grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation.

Honors college students participate in a range of campus and community activities: student and university government and committees; the student newspaper, the Oregon Daily Emerald; University Theatre; Clark Honors College Creative Arts Journal; Clark Honors College Student Association; Oregon Student Public Interest Group (OSPIRG); School of Music and Dance productions; forensics (debate and individual events speaking); intramural and varsity athletics; and ROTC.

Many honors college alumni continue their education in graduate schools across the country and around the world. They study such diverse fields as law, architecture, medicine, molecular biology, and English language and literature. Other graduates go on to endeavors in such areas as public service, private enterprise, Teach for America, and the Peace Corps.

Facilities

The honors college is located in Chapman Hall on the west side of the University of Oregon campus, close to Knight Library.

Honors college facilities consist of a classroom, seminar room, faculty and administrative offices, lounge, kitchen, the Robert D. Clark Library, and the David E. Boyes Computing Laboratory.

Entering the Clark Honors College

Clark Honors College seeks high-achieving students who will bring their own unique and diverse contributions to the student body. The admissions committee looks for evidence of academic scholarship, motivation, and creative critical thinking.

Application Procedure

General university application procedures, prerequisites, and requirements apply. Applicants to Clark Honors College must complete a single online application to apply to both the honors college and the University of Oregon at one time.

Students with an excellent academic record who have attended another higher-education institution, or who are enrolled in the university but not in the honors college, may apply for admission by submitting a Clark Honors College supplemental PDF application by January 15 for fall term admission. Students interested in winter term admission should contact the Clark Honors College Office of Admissions directly. Winter term admission is on a space-available basis. Spring term admission is not available.

International students who wish to apply must complete an International Undergraduate Application for Admission and a Clark Honors College supplemental PDF application by January 15 for fall term admission.

A complete Clark Honors College online or supplemental PDF application must include a short note of introduction, an essay, and a description of accomplishments. Supporting documents also required are two teacher evaluations, official high school transcripts, official college transcripts (if applicable), and official test scores. Transcripts and test scores will be shared between UO and honors college admissions offices.

The Clark Honors College online application, available August through January 15 for the following academic year, is part of the University of Oregon online application. The Clark Honors College supplemental PDF application and Clark Honors College Teacher Evaluation form are available from the websites for the honors college and the UO Office of Admissions.

Application Deadlines

Early notification deadline: November 1
Supporting documents due by November 7
Regular notification deadline: January 15
Supporting documents due by February 1

Deadlines to apply are the same for all applicants including domestic and international freshmen and transfer students.

Academic Requirements

Requirements in the honors college satisfy the general-education requirements that other University of Oregon students meet for graduation. Honors college faculty members advise honors college students concerning these requirements and mentor them concerning their academic choices. Students retain full responsibility for understanding and shaping their study programs.

Depending on test scores, students may use advanced placement or international baccalaureate credits toward honors college mathematics and science requirements, second-language requirements, applicable major requirements, multicultural requirements, or university electives.

History and Literature Requirements

Students complete a total of five courses: two courses in Honors College Literature (HC 221H, 222H), two in Honors College History (HC 231H, 232H), and one research course—either Honors College Literature (HC223H) or Honors College History (HC 233H).

Mathematics and Science Requirement

Students complete a total of four courses in mathematics and science: at least one mathematics course (MATH 105 or higher) and one science course with a laboratory component. Courses may be chosen from the list below.

Mathematics. Courses chosen from MATH 105 and higher; CIS 110, 111, 122 and higher; DSC 330; PPPM 413; PSY 302, 412; SOC 312, 412, 413; or other approved courses. Web-based courses do not fulfill this requirement.

Science. Honors College Science (HC 207H, 209H) or approved courses in anthropology, architecture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental studies, geography, geological sciences, human physiology, physics, or psychology, listed on the honors college website. Web-based courses do not fulfill this requirement. Currently enrolled students may consult the Clark Honors College Blackboard site for a complete list of approved courses, and questions may be directed to an honors college faculty advisor.

Multicultural Requirement

Honors college students complete one approved course in two of the three multicultural categories described in the Registration and Academic Policies section of this catalog, for a total of two courses. In addition to the courses listed there, students may fulfill the multicultural requirement with Honors College Identities Colloquium (HC 424H), Honors College International Cultures Colloquium (HC 434H), or Honors College American Cultures Colloquium (HC 444H), which can also be used to satisfy honors college colloquium requirements.

Other Requirements

Colloquia. Five required colloquia include HC 421H, 431H, 441H, and two electives selected from among HC 421H, 424H, 431H, 434H, 441H, or 444H. Students may enroll in colloquia after their freshman year. Recent topics include Madness in Society; The Literature of War; Cosmology; Latin American History; Language, Sustainable Communities, and Global Warming; and Physics and Politics of Global Energy Generation.

Thesis. Students take Workshop: Thesis Orientation (HC 408H) for an introduction to the thesis project, and Thesis Prospectus (HC 477H) at least two terms prior to their intended graduation to formalize the thesis project.

Writing. The honors college is committed to excellence in writing. The core curriculum integrates instruction and practice in fundamental rhetorical skills—writing, reading, speaking, and listening—with the subject matter of the courses. Students who complete the honors college history and literature curricula satisfy the university writing requirement with these courses. Consult the director of composition in the Department of English for further information.

Second Language. For either a bachelor of arts (BA) or a bachelor of science (BS) degree, honors college students must (1) demonstrate second-language proficiency equivalent to completion of the second college year in a second language and (2) satisfy all requirements in a university department, program, or school that offers a major leading to a BA or BS degree.

The second-language requirement is waived if a department, program, or school requires 90 or more credits of course work for a major leading to a BS degree. Such majors include biology, business administration, biochemistry, chemistry, computer and information science, environmental science, environmental studies, general science, geological sciences, human physiology, marine biology, and physics. The second-language requirement is also waived for students pursuing bachelor of architecture or bachelor of fine arts degrees. In music, where there are several choices of degrees, the second-language requirement is waived only in cases in which it is not a requirement for the student’s chosen degree.

University and Major Requirements. Honors college requirements, which replace university general-education requirements, represent roughly one-third of a student’s total four-year schedule. Before graduating, Clark Honors College students must also meet the requirements, listed elsewhere in this catalog, of their major department or professional school. They must maintain a 3.00 or better cumulative grade point average (GPA).

Honors College Courses (HC)

Clark Honors Introductory Program (CHIP) is the topic for a one-credit Special Studies course (HC 199H), offered only in the fall and required of incoming freshmen; transfer and visiting students may also choose to take the CHIP course. More information on the program may be found at honors.uoregon.edu/content/chip.

199 (H) Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

207, 209 (H) Honors College Science (4,4) How science may be applied and misapplied in answering questions about nature and society. Includes discussions and demonstrations. Primarily for nonscience students.

221, 222, 223 (H) Honors College Literature (4,4,4) Literary history and modes of literary analysis and interpretation. 221: premodern literature. 222: modern literature. 223: research in literature.

231, 232, 233 (H) Honors College History (4,4,4) 231, 232: Introduction to methods of historical inquiry and to major historical trends in a global framework; focuses on premodern and modern history. 233: research in history.

The following courses are open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

399 (H) Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

401 (H) Research: [Topic] (1–21R)

403 (H) Thesis (1–21R)

404 (H) Internship: [Topic] (1–6R) R twice for a maximum of 16 credits.

405 (H) Reading and Conference: [Topic] (1–21R)

406 (H) Special Problems: [Topic] (1–21R)

407 (H) Seminar: [Topic] (1–5R)

408 (H) Workshop: [Topic] (1-12R)

409 (H) Practicum: [Topic] (1–21R)

410 (H) Experimental Course: [Topic] (1–5R)

421 (H) Honors College Arts and Letters Colloquium: [Topic] (4R) Offered in a range of topics with an emphasis on arts and letters. R thrice when topic changes for a maximum of 16 credits.

424 (H) Honors College Identities Colloquium: [Topic] (4R) Topics focus on construction of collective identities (classes, genders, religions, sexual orientations), the emergence of representative voices, and the effects of prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination. R thrice for a maximum of 16 credits when topic changes.

431 (H) Honors College Social Science Colloquium: [Topic] (4R) Offered in a range of topics with an emphasis on social science. R thrice when topic changes for a maximum of 16 credits.

434 (H) Honors College International Cultures Colloquium: [Topic] (4R) Topics focus on race, ethnicity, pluralism-monoculturalism, or prejudice-tolerance of international cultures, or may describe and analyze a worldview substantially different from current U.S. views. R thrice for a maximum of 16 credits when topic changes.

441 (H) Honors College Science Colloquium: [Topic] (4R) Offered in a range of topics with an emphasis on science. R thrice when topic changes for a maximum of 16 credits.

444 (H) Honors College American Cultures Colloquium: [Topic] (4R) Topics focus on multiple American racial and ethnic groups—African American, Chicano or Latino, Native American, Asian American, European American—from historical and comparative perspectives. R thrice for a maximum of 16 credits when topic changes.

477 (H) Thesis Prospectus (2) Students create prospectus, exchange critiques and ideas, and present research in mock defenses with thesis advisor present.