Honors Advising

For Juniors

Changes in Advising System

• Our goal in the Honors College is to:– Know each student individually by having students complete interest

forms that we keep on file and by appointing an advising coordinator for each class level to whom students can reach out on an individual basis

– Ensure consistency and thoroughness in our advising of Honors students by holding group advising sessions for each class level

– Reduce redundancy in advising that occurs when students must see both an honors advisor and a major advisor by not requiring individual meetings with an honors advisor

– Provide students with the opportunity to share with each other ideas and opportunities in certain areas of study by providing for small group discussion time during group advising sessions

General Information• To remain in good standing in the Honors College you must have a GPA of

3.2 or greater by May 2014. If your GPA is or close to 3.2, you will have to concentrate on bringing your GPA up to 3.40 by the end of your senior year in order to graduate from the Honors College. Dr. Ganaway and Dr. Folds-Bennett will review mid-term grades this semester and next and contact you if they think you are in jeopardy of losing your honors status.

• All information you need about advising, forms for advising, and petitions for exceptions to requirements can now be found on:

The Hub - http://blogs.cofc.edu/honorshub/

• Your advising sheets must be turned in to the Honors Center by March 17.

• Priority registration takes place according to the chart on the next slide -- if you have turned in your signed advising sheet.

Registration Times for Fall 2014• Early Registration for Fall 2014 begins on Tuesday, March 25, for all

currently enrolled students by assigned entry time. • The entry time schedule is based on the hours that you have earned. This

does not include the hours in which you are currently enrolled.

Hours Day/Date106-122+ Tuesday, March 25

90-105 Wednesday, March 26

Athletes with less than 90 hours Thursday, March 27 and Friday, March 28

Honors students with less than 90 hours Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 4

Advising Strategies for SpringCollege of Charleston General Education Requirements:• 4-semester language requirement• 2 Humanities beyond Western Civilization• 2 Social Sciences• 2 Semesters of the same Lab Science• Math 120 and 200-level Math class

Honors Graduation Requirements:• A minimum of 3 additional Honors courses one of which must be interdisciplinary• Independent Study (3 credit hours)• Bachelor’s Essay (6 credit hours)• 3.40 GPA

If you have made strong progress towards completing gen ed, Honors, and major requirements, you may consider adding a minor, studying abroad, or doing research beyond the minimum required. Students who complete 12 hours of research are eligible to get the designation of Departmental Honors at graduation.

Your Independent Study• The Independent Study is an individual enrollment class.• If you have not completed or if you are not enrolled in your

Independent Study now, please see your Honors Advising Coordinator to discuss your plans.

• It is possible to complete the Independent Study over the summer but you must enroll and pay tuition for any credits earned in the summer.

• Please be aware that many departments (including Honors) require that you complete the paperwork for the independent study the semester before you enroll for credit.

• You must be enrolled by the Independent Study enrollment deadline of the semester you plan to receive credit (typically a week after the Drop/Add period.

• It is your responsibility to be aware of any departmental deadlines and requirements.

Using Internships to fulfill the IS Requirement

• In many disciplines it is professionally and personally beneficial to complete an internship or even two for credit

• At the completion of the internship, you may apply for it to count as the IS requirement for the Honors College provided that it appears on your transcript

• The petition for an internship to count as an independent study can be found on The Hub. Please review it before you enroll in the internship so that you are fully aware of the requirements for it to count toward the Honors requirement.

• You must submit your petition within six weeks after the completion of your internship

• Be aware that if you complete an internship or independent study in the summer, you must be enrolled for credit, pay tuition, and get the petition approved by the Honors College, to have it count toward your Honors requirement

Nationally Competitive Awards: Coming Up

• Fulbright Success: This year, we had 7 Fulbright finalists out of 13 applicants—up from 7 applicants and 4 finalists last year. Are you next?

• As a junior, you should consider the following: – Rotary Global Grants: 30K Minimum scholarship for 1-year overseas MA (any

country). If your work focuses on politics (peace and conflict), development, health, literacy, or water & sanitation, please look into this award. DEADLINE APRIL 1

– Fulbright: Overseas research, graduate study, or English Teaching Assistantships (multiple countries, any field). Apply in early fall—keep your eyes open for spring info session on fall awards.

– Marshall, Rhodes, Mitchell: Graduate study in the UK. Apply in early fall. – National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for those pursuing a

Ph.D. in the hard or social sciences: 32K + / Year for three years. Apply in early fall.

NCA: Reflect, Plan, Pursue• Applying for national awards requires thoughtful and strategic reflection

and preparation. Always ask yourself: where do I want to be and what do I have to do to get there? 

• What makes a successful application? o Key academic and research experiences: get to know your professorso Sustained campus and community involvement motivated by a desire to

bring about change: be a leadero Professional experience in your field: research and/or internshipso A clear sense of how all of those things map onto your core values and your

future goals. • Do everything you can now to be a convincing applicant for these

awards in the future.  Set your sites on a particular award and orchestrate your various engagements and activities around that goal. Meet with Dr. Vander Zee, NCA director to discuss your plans early in the process. 

NCA: What’s Your Award?• Go to nationalawards.cofc.edu and review the awards listed

on the NCA Awards Search and News link.• You will also find information there on how to strategically ask for

letters of recommendation, how to compose a personal essay, and more.  

• Fill out the Applicant Profile form on the NCA website form so the director of NCA will have you on his/her radar. Contact Dr. Vander Zee at nationalawards@cofc.edu to discuss your plans. Get ready for Fulbright and other fall awards and remember to pay attention to announcements for upcoming NCA info sessions!

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

• The URCA office provides funding for faculty and students to pursue scholarly work in the discipline during the academic year and the summer.

• Go to http://urca.cofc.edu/ for more information.• You can receive funding for the actual research and also to present

results of research at a conference.• The deadlines for grant projects being completed this academic year

and in Summer 2014 have passed but check this site for information about applying for grants next year.

• NSF, MUSC, and other organizations offer support for research during the summer. Info can be found on URCA website on the Grant Information page

Study Abroad• Many of you have studied abroad or plan to study abroad this

summer. With careful planning you could also study abroad in your senior year.

• Pay careful attention to courses that you take now, making sure that you avoid classes that might be offered during a study abroad program.

• It is sometimes possible to use an away course to count towards an honors elective, the honors interdisciplinary class, or the independent study. Check with Dr. Ganaway or Dr. Folds-Bennett before you leave to make sure you understand what would be required.

• You must petition for this within 60 days of returning to campus. The petition can be found on The Hub.

Mentoring Opportunities• The Hub is a great place to learn about internship and

mentoring opportunities. The Honors College often receives requests for interns specifically from the Honors College.

• The Honors College is coordinating a series of mentoring groups. The first, a pre-law group, kicked off in November. Stay tuned to The Hub for information about other mentoring groups forming.

• Résumés … you should have an updated, professional resume that you can quickly send to prospective employers and for internships. Your Honors Advising Coordinator should also have a copy of your résumé.

• For assistance with your résumé, go to the Career Center or see your Honors Advising Coordinator.

Use Summers Strategically• Summer is an important time for building the

evidence you will need to be successful in the job market, in graduate and professional school applications, and in post-graduate fellowships and internships.

• Look for research, internship, study away, etc. opportunities that align with your long-term goals early on.

• The Honors College will provide an opportunity for students in good standing to apply for summer enrichment grants. Stay tuned to The Hub in early spring for more information about the application process.

Questions?