In one of her freshman classes in the UC Davis Integrated Studies Program, student Helen Cunningham (now a third-year student) participated in a discussion with Vietnam veteran Chuck Lewis, who talked about his experiences in the war. (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis archive photo)
Departmental honors programs
Thanks to her departmental senior honors thesis, UC Davis student Lara Polse presented her research on the brain at a national cognitive neuroscience conference.
Undergrads to benefit from stronger honors programs at UC Davis
Beginning next academic year, top students coming to UC Davis looking for honors programs will find stronger programs and more options.
The residential honors program Integrated Studies has been expanding beyond just a freshman year experience and now includes an honors thesis option.
Davis Honors Challenge, the other campus-wide honors program, has adopted higher academic standards.
Both programs have been bracketed together along with a new program for chemical and biochemical engineering students under the University Honors Program.
All three programs remain separate entities, with their own staffs, application processes and requirements. But now, interested students may go to the University Honors Program Web site, to find information about all three honors programs.
Fred Wood, interim vice provost of undergraduate studies, hopes prospective students will have an easier time reviewing and comparing the programs.
In the past, "They looked disconnected," Wood said of Integrated Studies and Davis Honors Challenge. "They almost looked as if they were in competition with each other. One advantage of making this change is that it creates a unified presentation to students."
Students in all three programs must now meet similar academic standards to continue participating–maintaining a 3.25 grade point average–and will receive the same perks.
Benefits include priority registration, allowing students to register for classes before other students; extended library privileges, permitting students to check out library materials for an entire quarter instead of the usual two weeks; and a transcript notation.