Unconventional. Relevant. Eye-opening.

As an honor student, you’ll take interdisciplinary courses that aren’t offered anywhere else at FLC. Each course is designed to invite you to engage at the intersection of a variety of fields, and challenge you to think in new and creative ways about the issues we face as a society in a global world.

Honors courses

While the specific topics of some Honors courses change, the structure and flow remains consistent. See general descriptions below.

HON 100 Introduction to Honors

You'll be introduced to the Reed Honors Program, the FLC campus, and the Durango community. Using inquiry led by you and your fellow Honors students as the basis for learning, you'll address the concepts of community and community engagement, develop strategies to explore your communities, and begin to identify areas of further inquiry.

1 credit | Fall semester

HON 200 Contemporary Issues

Develop the knowledge and skills needed to make intelligent and informed decisions as citizens of the various communities you inhabit. You'll study issues, problems, and events of contemporary society. The specific content of this course varies each semester.

3 credits | Spring semester

HON 300 Honors Topics

Cultivate awareness of the many ways that humans perceive and interact with their environments in this course. You'll look at the intellectual and academic contributions that people have brought to the public sphere, and consider how to engage communities through experiential activities. This can include direct community interaction, identification of community-specific issues, and other approaches. The specific topics vary each semester.

3 credits | Fall and Spring semesters

HON 450 Honors Capstone I

Identify the subject of your capstone project and develop a proposal for a project to be completed in Capstone II (HON 451). You'll choose a project from the following options:

  • Service-learning
  • Campus dialogue
  • Creative project
  • Traditional thesis

1 credit | Fall semester

HON 451 Honors Capstone II

Continue the work you began and proposed in Capstone I. You'll take the outline you developed in HON 450 toits completion over the course of the semester. Your project culminates in the public presentation of your work, so in addition to gaining experience in project design and execution, you'll learn critical skills in public speaking.

3 credits | Spring semester

  • Minor requirements
  • Concentration requirements
Minor requirements

Core courses

HON 100 Introduction to Honors* 1 credit

HON 200 Contemporary Issues 3 credits

HON 450 Honors Capstone I 1 credit

HON 451 Honors Capstone II 3 credits

Liberal Arts Core courses 

Two Honors sections of Liberal Arts Core (LAC) courses 3 credits each / 6 credits total

  • Course options vary each semester**
  • Courses will have the same prefix and number as the regular LAC course but will be designated as Honors
    sections

Honors Topics

Complete a minimum of three Honors Topics courses

HON 300 Honors Topics 3 credits each / 9 credits total

  • Course numbers repeatable up to 5 times
  • Courses repeatable in the same semester

Total: 23 credits


*This course fulfills the new Freshman Launch course requirement
 
**COMP 253 Action Research will be offered more frequently than other LACs; you are highly encouraged to take this for CO2 requirement. 
 
Note:  After the Priority Registration Period, students with a 3.0 or higher can register for Honors classes, excluding HON 450 and 451.

Concentration requirements

Core Courses

HON 200 Contemporary Issues 3 credits

Liberal Arts Core  (LAC) courses

Two Honors Sections of LAC Courses 3 credits each / 6 credits total*

  • Course options vary each semester
  • Courses will have the same prefix and number as the regular LAC course but will be designated as Honors  sections

Honors Topics

Complete a minimum of three (3) Honors Topics

HON 300 Honors Topics 3 credits / 9 credits total

  • Course numbers repeatable up to 5 times
  • Courses repeatable in the same semester

TOTAL: 18 credits


*Students who have already completed LAC requirements can meet the Honors Concentration requirements by taking sections of HON 200 and HON 300.
 

Minor or concentration

Enrolling as a minor, you’ll take 23 credits toward the Honors program. Should that not be possible, you can choose Honors as a concentration and supplement your major with 18 credits of Honors program work. You can find more details in the Course Catalog, but here’s the overview.

See Honors in the Course Catalog

Core courses

8 credits

This includes an introductory course, a 200-level course, and two semesters for your capstone project. Your capstone project is original work that involves independent research and a final product of your design.

Liberal Arts Core courses

6 credits

You’ll take two courses from the Liberal Arts Core curriculum that have an Honors attribute. Read more about the Liberal Arts Core in the Course Catalog.

See Liberal Arts Core in the Catalog

Honors topics

9 credits

You’ll take three 300-level courses such as those described above on this page. These courses vary, are interdisciplinary, and are designed to address significant, relevant, and complex topics that fall between the standard domains of other courses.