Honors College SEBS Honors Tutorials
Research education requires learning opportunities that go beyond the classroom. The Honors Tutorials are designed to introduce students in the SEBS Honors College to scholarly research or other experiential professional activities. Students graduating from the program are expected to have completed a minimum of eleven credits of independent or experiential work, usually over the sophomore through senior years. The requirement of 11 credits of research is primarily meant to ensure that our students have advanced practical experiences in the research of their field. The Honors Tutorials are numbered to provide academic clarity as a student progresses.
The Course Numbers are:
11:554:297:02 (1 credit) - HONORS TUTORIAL I
11:554:298:02 (1 credit) - HONORS TUTORIAL II
11:554:397:02 (credits by arrangement; max of 3) - HONORS TUTORIAL III
11:554:398:02 (credits by arrangement; max of 3) - HONORS TUTORIAL IV
11:554:497:02 (credits by arrangement; max of 3) - HONORS TUTORIAL V
11:554:498:02 (credits by arrangement; max of 3) - HONORS TUTORIAL VI
Each Honors Research Tutorial needs to clearly build research experience. Simple work in a research laboratory can expose a student to lab culture and prepare them for more advanced work. For the purposes of Honors Tutorials, research experiences include scholarship and creative work for fields in which those are appropriate. But a professional internship would not fulfill the expectations unless it includes a research or scholarship component.
Students are permitted to conduct research and receive both, monetary pay and academic credit for their experience. However, students should be aware that the majority of opportunities for learning about research will be unpaid.
Honors Tutorials l and ll
The 1-credit tutorials for sophomores can clearly serve only as an introduction to the student's field of interest and should require no more than 45 hours of work on the student's part (three hours/week) over the course of the semester. Since this is likely the student's first experience with "independent study" – not to mention the "culture" of a laboratory or the procedures for professional work in this field –, clear direction and expectations from the Tutorial Advisor should be specified in the Tutorial Agreement, submitted at the outset of the term.
Sophomores may elect to "double-up" on Tutorials I and II, completing two credits in the same term given the demands of their fall or spring course loads. Independent or experiential work undertaken in the summer may be credited for Tutorials I and/or II in the fall, provided that no other academic credit has been granted for the work.
At the conclusion of the tutorial, students must complete a 1-page, single spaced summary, describing the work and what they learned from it. A copy should be submitted to the Honors College SEBS Advisor, via the SEBS HC Canvas site by the last day of classes.
Honors Tutorials lll and lV
Juniors must complete at least three credits of Honors Tutorial during the academic year, @ 0-3 credits/semester, depending on the demands of the student's other courses. Unless the student has changed fields completely, a bit more experience, initiative and "independence" on the student's part should be expected. A student may choose to take Honors Tutorial IV for additional credits in the spring semester.
Juniors may also substitute independent or experiential work required of their major or minor program in lieu of tutorials: e.g., design projects in landscape architecture or engineering, "Outreach" in biology, classroom observation in teacher education, participation in university-wide internships, etc.
Independent or experiential work undertaken in the summer may be credited for tutorials in the fall, provided that no other academic credit has been granted for the work.
At the conclusion of the tutorial, students must complete a 1-page, single spaced summary, describing the work and what they learned from it. A copy should be submitted to the Honors College SEBS Advisor, via the SEBS HC Canvas site by the last day of classes.
Honors Tutorials V and Vl
Honors College students are required to complete a 6-credit research based capstone in their senior year. Many of our students choose to complete the George H. Cook Honors Scholar Thesis. For those pursuing this option, the G.H Cook Honors Thesis can count for a maximum of 6 out of the required 11 research credits. This means that students are still responsible for securing 5 credits of research outside of their research based capstone. Other SEBS students may opt to complete the honors tutorial capstone option, conducting independent research, via honors tutorials V and VI for a maximum of 6 credits.
The Tutorial Advisor should expect the same level of initiative and independence as an honors thesis candidate, but no actual "thesis," "defense" or "committee" is required: Tutorials V and VI are simply independent study projects developed by the student. An exception to this might be the students using Tutorial V or VI to entirely change the direction of their post-graduate work, and thus seek an opportunity for independent study or experience-based education in a relatively unfamiliar field. As with the sophomores, clear direction and expectations should be specified in the Tutorial Agreement; however, more in the way of maturity and independence should be anticipated by the Tutorial Advisor.
Again, independent projects or internships demanded by the student's major/minor program may be substituted for Tutorials V and VI. And, a paper describing their project(s) and what they learned from it (them) must be submitted to the Honors College, even if not required by the substituted project.
At the conclusion of the tutorial, students must complete a 1-page, single spaced summary, describing the work and what they learned from it. A copy should be submitted to the Honors College SEBS Advisor, via the SEBS HC Canvas site by the last day of classes. For students utilizing the honors tutorials for their senior year HC capstone, a scholarly report must be submitted by the deadline specified by the capstone committee.
Honors Tutorial Registration (The Process)
All Honors Tutorial Agreements must be submitted via the SEBS HC Research Tutorial Qualtrics Form prior to the start of the research opportunity and before the end of Add/Drop Period. Students are responsible for discussing the terms of the tutorial research agreement with their Tutorial Advisor, prior to submitting the SEBS HC Research Tutorial Form. Once the form is submitted, the Tutorial Advisor will receive an automated email with a copy of the form for their records. Please ensure that all required fields on the form are completed to avoid delays in the approval process.
Upon the review and approval of the tutorial agreement, the SEBS HC Advisor will email the student to provide the honors tutorial registration information, detailing the appropriate index and special permission number needed for course enrollment. After the tutorial is approved and the SPN has been sent, the student will be added to the SEBS HC Tutorial canvas site.
If a student would like to use a department-based credit-bearing research experience (ex. ARESTY or Research in Biology) to count towards their honors research tutorials, the student should be submitting the SEBS HC Research Tutorial Form, providing a confirmation of the approved research form/email and appropriate departmental course numbers.
Conclusion of Tutorial
Upon the conclusion of ANY research experience that the SEBS HC student chooses to complete to fulfill the SEBS HC Tutorial research requirement, a project summary - detailing their research experience and learning outcomes - must be submitted. Final project summaries should be at least 1-page in length and in single-space format. All final project summaries should be uploaded to the SEBS HC Tutorials Canvas site by the due date outlined on the tutorial agreement or by the last day of classes. If the students’ Tutorial Advisor and/or department requires them to produce a final project such as a report or presentation, that can be submitted in place of the 1-page summary.
The SEBS HC Advisor will request SEBS HC Tutorial Research evaluations and grades from the students' respective Tutorial Advisors at the end of each semester.
Honors Tutorial Agreement: Complete the Form