Dr. Philip LeMasters, Director
The McMurry University Honors Program includes two distinct tracks designed to enrich the academic experience of our most outstanding students. Every McMurry student with a 3.25 GPA is considered an honors student and encouraged to take honors courses. In order to graduate from the Honors Program, a student must be admitted to and complete all the requirements of one of the following honors tracks, including completion of an honors thesis in the major field:
University Honors
Incoming First-Year Students
Incoming first-year students are eligible to apply for admission to this four year honors track if they meet one of the following criteria: 27 ACT/1290 SAT; standing in the top 5% of the graduating class; or completion of twelve hours of dual-credit courses at McMurry with a GPA of at least 3.5. Incoming students may apply to the program upon their admission to McMurry, and should do so as early as possible. Scholarship awards range from $3,000.00 a year for four years up to a limited number of full-tuition scholarships.
Application Procedure for Incoming First-Year Students
Qualified applicants for the University Honors Track will receive detailed information on the honors admissions process upon their admission as McMurry students. They will participate in an interview, write an essay, provide a reference letter from an academic teacher, and submit a summary of their activities and accomplishments in high school.
Transfer Students
Transfer students are eligible to apply for admission to this four-year honors track if they have a GPA of at least 3.5 for at least twelve transferrable hours completed at another accredited institution. Transfer students may be eligible to receive honors scholarships up to $3,000.00 per year.
Current McMurry Students
Current McMurry students with a GPA of at least 3.5 may enter the program with the approval the honors director. They may be eligible to receive honors scholarships up to $3.000.00 per year.
Course Requirements
University Honors students will earn honors credit in at least twelve hours of honors courses, preferably taken during the first year and complete an honors thesis that meets the requirements for departmental honors in their major field. In order to continue in this track and retain an honors scholarship, they must maintain 3.25 GPA for their honors work and a 3.5 GPA for all McMurry course work. They must also make reasonable progress toward graduation from the program. This track is open to all majors. Students with honors scholarships must register for thesis hours during the senior year in order to retain their scholarships.
Departmental Honors
This honors track is designed for students who wish to develop an advanced level of competence in their major field. Students must have a 3.25 GPA* and have completed 60 semester hours of college work in order to apply for admission. Students will earn 7 hours of honors credit, normally including 3-6 hours of honors courses in the department and a 1-3 hour honors thesis in the major field. Students in all majors may participate in Departmental Honors.
*(A GPA higher than 3.25 is required for admission to departmental honors in Business, Communications, Curriculum & Instruction, Music, and Nursing. It is possible to apply for admission to Departmental Honors in Music after completing 30 hours of college work.)
Departmental Requirements for Honors Thesis
Each academic department determines the prerequisites for writing an honors thesis in that discipline. Regardless of which track of the honors program a student is in, he or she must meet the requirements set by the major field. In the case of an interdisciplinary thesis, such as one in Great Books, the honors program director will appoint at least three appropriate faculty members to determine the course requirements for the student and oversee the thesis. In all cases, it is the responsibility of the student to be aware of the requirements for graduation from the honors program and to be in touch with the honors program director whenever questions arise.
In order to receive the approval of an academic department for admission to its honors program, a student must complete the “Application for Honors Program” form with the endorsement of the head of the appropriate department. In order to begin work on an honors thesis, a student must complete the “Honors Thesis Proposal” form with the endorsement of the student’s thesis committee. A copy of each of these forms is included in the appendix of The Honors Handbook. These requirements apply to students in both tracks of the honors program.
In order to graduate from either track of the honors program, a student must earn at least seven hours of honors credit and maintain an overall and major field GPA of at least 3.25. The following departments require a GPA higher than 3.25 for their honors students: Business, Curriculum and Instruction, Music, and Nursing.
Art
Admission requires completion of at least 60 hours of credit, including 12 hours of Art, with an overall and art GPA of at least 3.25. Students will complete seven hours of honors credit, including three to six hours of honors tutorial in Art and a senior thesis (1-3 hrs), and graduate with an overall and Art GPA of at least 3.25. Dependent upon the focus of the thesis, the student may present along with it his/her original art work.
Biology
Admission is open to students who have completed BIOL 1306 /BIOL 1106 , BIOL 1307 /BIOL 1107 , BIOL 3460 , and BIOL 3110 with an overall and Biology GPA of at least 3.25. Required honors courses: four hours of BIOL 4X96* - Biology Honors Research (in one or more semesters) and BIOL 4X97* - Biology Honors Thesis . Students must graduate with a Biology GPA of at least 3.25 in order to receive the honors designation.
Business
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college credit and a GPA of at least 3.5 in ACCT 2310 and ECON 2305 , with a GPA of 3.25 in all other college work. Students must complete seven hours of honors courses in Business, including BUSI 4X96H - Honors Tutorial and BUSI 4X97H - Honors Thesis . Departmental honors will be obtained in the Student’s major.
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college credit, including CHEM 1410 , CHEM 1420 , CHEM 2430 , CHEM 3410 , and CHEM 3420 with an overall and Chemistry/ Biochemistry GPA of 3.25. Students must complete seven hours of honors courses, to be distributed between CHEM 4X96H and CHEM 4X97H and culminating in a senior thesis.
Computer Science
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college credit, including COSC 1325 , COSC 1340 and COSC 3360 , with an overall and Computer Science GPA of 3.25. Students must complete seven hours of honors courses, to be distributed between COSC 4X96H and COSC 4X97H , and culminating in a senior thesis.
Criminology
Admission requires completion of at least 60 hours of college work; an overall Criminology GPA of 3.25; and completion of 15 hours in Criminology. Students will complete 7 hours in honors tutorial and honors thesis.
Curriculum and Instruction
Admission requires completion of 60 credit hours with a GPA of at least 3.5. Thesis proposals by EC-6 students will require the approval of the Education faculty, and students will complete a thesis in some facet of elementary education (e.g., pedagogy, curriculum, etc.). Theses on elementary education will be directed by a member of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Students will earn six hours of credit for the senior thesis, which will function as six hours of major electives.
English
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college credit, 15 hours of English, and an overall and English GPA of at least 3.25. Students must complete at least seven hours of honors courses. The coursework begins with ENGL 4X96H , the Honors Tutorial, followed by ENGL 4X97H , the Senior Thesis. The division of the required seven hours between the two courses will be determined by the faculty member overseeing the student’s opus or thesis. A senior thesis or opus in English must be between 75-150 pages in length. The senior opus must be a piece or collection of original prose, poetry, or drama.
History
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college work, 15 hours in History, and an overall and History GPA of at least 3.25. Students will complete seven hours of honors courses, HIST 4X96H - Honors Tutorial (3-6 hrs) and HIST 4X97H - Senior Thesis (1-3 hrs), and at least 24 hours in History.
Human Health Science
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college credit, including a minimum of 9 hours in HHSC courses, and a GPA of at least 3.25 in HHSC courses and overall. Students must complete HHSC 4X96 Honors Research/ Tutorial (in one or more semesters) and HHSC 4X97H - Honors Tutorial for a total of 7 hours, and successfully present a senior thesis.
Information Technology
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college credit, including COSC 1325 , COIS 2350 , and one of the upper-level required courses, with an overall Information Technology GPA of 3.25. Students must complete seven hours of honors courses, to be distributed between ITEC 4X96H and ITEC 4X97H , culminating in a senior thesis.
Kinesiology
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college work, including KINE 2330 OR KINE 2335 , and an overall and KINE GPA of 3.25. Students will earn seven hours of honors credit, including KINE 4X96H - Honors Tutorial (3-6 hours) and KINE 4X97H - Honors Thesis (1-3 hours). KINE 4399 Special Topics: History of the Olympics will also count toward honors requirements in KINE.
Mathematics
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college work, including MATH 2315 , MATH 2421 , MATH 2322 , MATH 3302 , and an overall and Mathematics GPA of 3.25. Students will complete seven hours of honors credit, including MATH 4X96H - Honors Tutorial and MATH 4X97H - Senior Thesis Or Project
Music
Admission requires completion of 30 hours of college work for sophomores or 60 hours of college work for juniors; and overall GPA of 3.25 and music GPA of 3.4. Students must complete seven hours of honors courses in music and maintain the above GPA’s at graduation. Students will choose one of the following tracks: (1) Music History, Music Education, or Music Theory: requires the completion of an honors thesis in music or (2) Performance: requires the completion of at least one honors recital. The honors thesis and honors recital courses are each two-hour courses, and may be repeated once.
The honors recital will be evaluated by a committee structured in the same way as a thesis committee. The student must secure the approval of the committee by audition at least four weeks prior to the beginning of the final examination period for the semester in which the recital is completed. All students choosing the recital track will complete Honors Recital: a performance of at least 52 minutes of music, with at least one work memorized and program notes written by the student for each work. Students enrolling for a second honors recital may also complete Honors Recital II: a lecture or recital of at least 60 minutes duration on a specific subject, genre, or composer. Program notes will be at least 10-15 pages long. Students delivering a lecture will submit to the committee a text of at least that length on which the lecture is based.
The following courses may be taken for honors credit in music:
- Music History (3-6 hours): MULH XX99 - Special Topics (such as Symphonic Literature, Chamber Music Literature, composer, comparison, and period courses), and MULH 4X95 - Independent Studies .
- Music Theory (3-6 hours): MUTH 4260 Advanced Orchestration, MULH XX99 - Special Topics (such as Compositional Trends and Analysis, Schenkerian Analysis), MUTH 4X95 - Independent Studies .
- Music Education (3-6 hours): MUED XX99 - Special Topics (such as The Changing Voice, Implementing the National Standards Through Instruction), and MUED 4X95 - Independent Studies .
- Honors Thesis or Recital (2 hours, repeatable once).
Nursing
Admission requires completion of at least 60 hours of college work, completion of 23 hours in Nursing, including NURS 2301 , NURS 3324 , NURS 3410 , NURS 3622 , NURS 3421 , and NURS 3323 , and an overall and Nursing GPA of 3.25. Students will complete seven hours of honors courses, to be distributed between NURS 4X96, Honors Tutorial and NURS 4X97 Honors Thesis.
Physics
Admission requires completion of 60 hours of college work, 15 hours of Physics, including PHYS 2510 , PHYS 2520 , and PHYS 3300 , and overall and Physics GPA of 3.25. Students will complete seven hours of honors credit in physics courses, including honors section or honors contract in PHYS 4175 - Senior Research Proposal , PHYS 4275 - Senior Research Project , and PHYS 4X97H - Honors Thesis/Project .
Political Science
Admission requires completion of at least 60 hours of college work, 18 hours of Political Science, an overall and Political Science GPA of 3.25. Students will complete seven hours of honors credit, including POSC 4X96H - Honors Tutorial and POSC 4X97H - Senior Thesis .
Psychology
Admission requires completion of at least 60 hours of college work; an overall and Psychology GPA of 3.25; completion of 15 hours in Psychology; and eligibility for membership in Psi Chi. Students will complete PSYC 4X96H Honors Tutorial and PSYC 4397H Honors Thesis.
Religion
Admission requires completion of at least 60 hours of college work, 15 hours of Religion, including RELI 1330 , RELI 2350 , RELI 2330 , and RELI 2340 , and an overall and Religion GPA of 3.25. Students will complete seven hours of honors course work in Religion, including RELI 4X96H - Honors Tutorial (3-6 hours), and RELI 4X97H - Senior Thesis/Project .
Sociology
Admission requires completion of at least 60 hours of college work; an overall and Sociology GPA of 3.25; completion of 15 hours in Sociology; and eligibility for membership in Alpha Kappa Delta. Students will complete SOCI 4X96H - Honors Tutorial and SOCI 4X97H - Senior Thesis .
Sustainability and Renewable Resources
Admission requires junior standing, completion of SUST 1310 , GEOS 1405 , and SUST 2310 with an overall and major GPA of 3.25 or higher. Honors students are required to successfully complete seven hours from a combination of the courses SUST 4X96 and SUST 4X97 .
Theatre
Admission requires completion of at least 60 hours of college work, including THRE 2320 , THRE 2320 , THRE 2340 , THRE 3320 , THRE 3344 , THRE 3345 , and one of the following: THRE 3350 , THRE 3365 . Students must have a Theatre and overall GPA of 3.25, and will complete seven hours of honors work in Theatre, including an honors tutorial and the senior thesis.
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