WSU Honors College Offers Three New Summer Programs for Current and Prospective Students
PULLMAN, Wash. – Typically, the Honors College at Washington State University restricts its summer offerings to high-impact, faculty-led study abroad courses for current students. But summer 2011 will be different, when the college launches new programs designed for current and prospective students.
“We know that many students have an interest in continuing their education throughout the summer months, and thanks to private funding we are able to offer three new programs this year,” says Libby Walker, dean of Honors.
Two are pilot programs and one is a followup to a successful pilot program offered in summer 2010.
The “Summer of Excellence” is a pilot that takes its name from the key word Honors uses in everything from its alumni and friends magazine to its description of what it aims for: excellence. This program offers up to 30 high school students the opportunity to see what an honors program is like at a land-grant major research institution. For one week (June 26 through July 2), they will attend mini classes taught by faculty from engineering, business, liberal arts, and the sciences. Current Honors students will be their 24/7 mentors. Participants in the program will also experience the Palouse region around Pullman in structured activities including kayaking, rock climbing, and walks. The application deadline is April 1.
The second pilot program is “Summer Research Scholarships.” Current Honors students can apply for financial support so that they can continue their ongoing, faculty-mentored research throughout the summer, says Walker. Scholarships of up to $3,000 each can be used to meet expenses or be applied to costs associated with their research. Honors is using the WSU Undergraduate Research definition of research to include scholarship and creative activity projects. The application deadline is March 7.
The third program is “Summer Foreign Language Immersion Program,” which builds upon a pilot program last year. Honors is committed to imparting to its students a rich understanding of global problems and issues, as evidence in its recently revised Honors curriculum. As part of their academic requirements, all Honors students must achieve an intermediate proficiency in a language other than English. By living and studying in another country, they fully immerse themselves into the language, culture, and activities of that country. By living and studying in Spain, Ecuador, and Germany last summer, students in the pilot program made progress to meeting their foreign language requirement with some deciding to pursue a second major or minor in that language.
“Through immersion in a language other than English, students in the Honors College can begin to fully understand what it means to be part of, and leaders in, a global marketplace,” says Walker. The application deadline for this program was January 31.
CONTACT: Beverly Makhani, Communications Director, WSU Honors College, 509-335-6679, makhani@wsu.edu
Libby Walker, Dean, WSU Honors College, 509-335-4505, walkerl@wsu.edu