Dr. Robert McLaughlin
333C Stevenson Hall
(309) 438-7997
Email Dr. McLaughlin
The Honors Program at Illinois State University challenges and stimulates academically talented and highly motivated students, enriching their classroom experience and offering them opportunities to work with faculty beyond the classroom.
English Majors in Honors enjoy many benefits, including smaller honors sections and closer interaction with faculty, personalized academic advisement, scholarships, graduation designations, opportunities for research and special projects, and various ways to get involved.
For more information please visit the ISU Honors Program Home Page.
Honors students may earn Honors credit in six ways, including Honors sections of regular university courses. These sections are usually available in General Education courses as well as several major courses. Summer and Fall 2009 Honors courses are listed on the Honors Courses page of the Honors website.
For more information on earning Honors Credit, see 6 Ways to Earn Honors Credit.
During the fall semester, freshman Honors students must meet with their Honors advisor before registering for spring semester. In the spring, the same process is highly encouraged. Upper-class students and transfers are advised primarily through their major departments, but may consult with an Honors advisor at any point. Honors advisors will also write recommendations and sign insurance forms for a "good student" discount.
For more information, see Honors Advising.
Current Honors students are eligible for several scholarships available through the Honors program, including partial tuition scholarships, research mentorships, merit-based scholarships, and the Bone Scholarship, the highest honor an Illinois State undergraduate can receive.
For more information on scholarships for current Honors students, see Current Honors Student Scholarships.
The Honors Program offers various ways to get involved with other Honors students and the community. Just a few of these ways are listed below.
Sigma Tau Delta
The mission of Sigma Tau Delta is to encourage scholarship in English studies and to engage in related community service.
Honors Student Organization
Gives Honors students an opportunity to get to know each other and get involved in their campus and community through social events.
Senior Professionals
The Senior Professionals Mentoring Program is an association of retired local professionals who volunteer to mentor Honors students. Mentors share experiences, career advice, and friendship with their student mentees.
Honors students have the opportunity to take part in several extra research opportunities, which include:
Research mentorships which earn a monetary stipend
Undergraduate research participation, which earns Honors credit
Honors Thesis, the culmination of the student's Honors experience involving a comprehensive written thesis and oral defense of the research.
The Honors website contains descriptions of current research projects open to undergraduate assistance, including those by English faculty.
For more information, see Research Opportunities.
English Majors in the Honors Program have the opportunity to graduate with Departmental Honors. Departmental Honors offers the chance to work one-on-one with a faculty member on an in-depth research project. With the guidance of a faculty member, you will define a research project and pursue it during a semester-long Honors Independent Study (ENG 299). The result of your work will be a thesis (approximately 40 pages) that you will defend before a committee made up of the faculty member you have been working with, another faculty member with expertise in the area, and the Department’s Honors Coordinator.
A Departmental Honors project will enhance your classroom work, allow you to work closely with a faculty member, and initiate you into a more professional way of participating in your field. It can also be good preparation for going on to graduate school. The Departmental Honors designation will be indicated on student diplomas and transcripts.
The English Department’s requirements for Departmental Honors are:
A PDF file of a complete description of Departmental Honors in English is available at the Honors website.
To discuss the Honors Program in English or the possibility of Departmental Honors, contact the Department’s Honor’s Coordinator, Dr. Robert McLaughlin.
