The Verrazzano School Honors Program offers honors sections for its students which are smaller than the average section at CSI, are taught by experienced faculty, and offer unique learning experiences. Honors sections are designated on your transcript as honors. We encourage you to fulfill as many general education and pre-major requirements as possible by taking Verrazzano Honors sections. It is great to be surrounded by motivated people, who also happen to be your Verrazzano friends.
Here is a list of Verrazzano courses offered in the upcoming semester.
You are required to successfully complete at least 3 Verrazzano Honors courses (in addition to those taken as part of a Verrazzano freshman learning community) to graduate with the Verrazzano Honors Distinction.
Among the classes you are required to take as a Verrazzano student (some of which will be in your learning community, others not) are
- ENG 111 (does not count as one of the 3 minimum)
- ENG 151 (only counts as one of the 3 minimum if not part of a learning community)—no incoming Verrazzano freshman are exempt from this requirement.
- A Verrazzano math course related to your major (counts as one of the 3 minimum)
For science-based courses with labs and lectures, the Verrazzano honors lecture section and Verrazzano honors lab section must be taken concurrently to be counted as one of the three required Verrazzano courses.
Verrazzano students are strongly encouraged to take HON 301 in the junior year to prepare them for capstone work. This course serves to develop the core skill set and toolkit necessary to conduct independent research, write original research proposals, and communicate research results to a general audience. Students with over 45 credits completed may consult with the Verrazzano office and seek permission of the instructor to enroll in this 4-credit course.
Honors Credit for SLS 301, 302, and 303
Students may take any section of SLS 301, 302, or 303 and convert them toward a Verrazzano course by writing a reflective piece for the Verrazzano Voyager, our blog. This is not part of your SLS grade, but must be approved by the Verrazzano Honors Program to receive honors credit. You are permitted to take the SLS courses out of sequence, but you are required to meet the other prerequisites.
Honors Contract
Students unable to complete the Verrazzano course requirement by taking Verrazzano-designated courses may propose an Honors Contract to substitute for one of the required courses. Honors Contracts must be completed with full-time faculty members unless otherwise approved by Verrazzano Honors. Course substitutions may not be done in the final semester before graduation.
Honors Contract Option 1
Students enroll in any course, then participate in agreed-upon enrichment activities to earn Honors credit. Enrichment activities might include conducting an individual research project or assisting with faculty research, in-class presentation of research conducted under faculty guidance, writing a research paper, applying information gained from the course to community outreach (service-learning), or involvement in special events such as conferences, lectures, and performances. Proposed activities must be in addition to requirements that are part of the regular class as indicated on the course syllabus or assigned by the professor.
Honors Contract Option 2
Students can submit a proposal for an independent study project with a full-time faculty member.
To receive Verrazzano course credit, students must:
- Submit a completed proposal to the Verrazzano office.
- Submit the final paper/project/etc. signed by the faculty mentor to the Verrazzano office.
- Email a 1-page reflection paper to the Verrazzano office. This reflection paper will be used as a blog entry for the Verrazzano Voyager. Pictures and illustrations are encouraged.
An honors contract through independent study is not designed to produce a capstone. Students may use it to explore topics, to begin research, to participate in service learning, or to work out the details of a project/line of inquiry/creative endeavor, but the capstone itself must be completed outside the honors contract independent study. A paper produced for the honors contract can be expanded to become, or serve as the basis for, the capstone, but by itself is not sufficient.
Deadlines
Proposals are due by 5 pm two weeks before the beginning of the term in which you plan to complete your Contract.
The final Paper and Blog Entry are due on December 1 (for the fall semester) or May 1 (for the spring semester).