The Carl and Winifred Lee Honors College

Irma López, Dean

The mission of the Carl and Winifred Lee Honors College (LHC) is to offer an exceptional undergraduate experience for academically motivated students, to inspire in our graduates a thirst for the lifelong pursuit of creative inquiry and discovery, to provide our students with the skill and passion to address critical challenges, and to foster personal responsibility informed by a global perspective.

Lee Honors College students pursue majors and minors in all eight of Western Michigan University’s (WMU) academic colleges. The Lee Honors College promotes critical thinking and active learning through smaller classes with more individualized coursework taught by expert faculty. Honors students are encouraged to engage in study abroad, independent study, internships or field experiences, as well as original research and creative scholarship. The Study in the States program allows honors students to travel with their peers and exceptional instructors to complete honors study outside of the Kalamazoo community while earning academic credit. Competitive scholarships, available only to honors students, provide financial assistance to pursue study abroad, research and creative scholarship and travel to present scholarly work at national or international venues.

Honors students participate in lectures, community service, events and cultural engagement trips around the Midwest organized and sponsored by the honors college. The LHC sponsors more than one hundred events each academic year and strives to provide holistic programming that aligns with the WMU Well-Being Wheel (wmich.edu/wellness/wheel) and broad enough in nature to appeal to the diverse interests and goals of our students. Honors students may also choose to live in one of our honors living learning communities that provide LHC programming within residence halls and allows honors students to live together.

The Lee Honors College actively supports students through the Peer Student Success Team (PSST), a group of upper-level honors students who serve as academic and social mentors for incoming honors students. PSST mentors host group activities for their mentees and provide opportunities for individual meetings and assistance. The honors college also houses the WMU chapter of the national honor society for first-year success Alpha Lambda Delta. This organization sponsors academic, social and volunteer opportunities throughout the year across campus and in the larger Kalamazoo community. The Lee Honors College is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Honors Education at Research Universities and the Mid-East Honors Association.

Admission to the Lee Honors College
The Lee Honors College admits students as incoming first-year students, institutional transfer students and current WMU students. Incoming first-year students are automatically invited to join the honors college based on having a high school grade point average of 3.6 at the time of application to WMU. Transfer students and current WMU students are invited based on college or university grade point average of 3.5. Students may also apply for admission to the honors college. Detailed admission information is available on the Lee Honors College website at wmich.edu/honors/lhcadmission.

Requirements for Graduation from the Lee Honors College
To graduate from the Lee Honors College, each student must meet the requirements listed below. More detailed information is available on the honors college website at wmich.edu/honors/requirements.

Maintain a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 3.5
Successfully complete a prescribed number of honors approved semester credit hours as detailed in their DegreeWorks record.
Complete one credit of HNRS 4980 and one credit of HNRS 4990 or approved equivalent courses or experiences.
Earn a minimum grade of “C” in courses counted toward the honors credit requirement.
Complete and defend a faculty-mentored and evaluated honors thesis or approved equivalent.
Complete a minimum of twenty hours of approved community service per year.

Attend a minimum of four honors college sponsored events during the first year and two during the second year. Transfer students and students who join the honors college after their first year must attend two honors college sponsored events during their first year in the honors college.

The Academic Program of Study
The Lee Honors College partners with each of the academic colleges to provide a well-rounded curriculum. Honors students choose one or more WMU major(s) and minor(s); honors classes and programs serve to complement and enrich the undergraduate experience. Students joining the honors college in their first year are required to complete a minimum of 18 credit hours of honors-approved coursework. Students joining the college after their first year as well as first-year students who have earned at least 26 credit hours of approved college credit have their honors credit hour requirement prorated, the minimum credits required for honors college graduation is nine (9), based on total hours already earned at the time they join the honors college. A wide variety of honors courses and seminars are offered each semester, many of which may be used to fulfill WMU Essential Studies or other curriculum requirements. Honors students may also be eligible to receive honors credit via experiential learning for approved independent study, study abroad and field experiences, study of a world language or American Sign Language, varsity sports or specified courses in fine arts. Available honors courses change each semester, and are described in the Lee Honors College course catalog, which is available online. Honors courses are typically taught in small seminar formats to foster discussion and dialogue among professors and fellow students. These courses are intended to encourage dynamic interchanges of viewpoints and ideas and emphasize experiential learning, teamwork and communication skills, rather than rote memorization of facts. For the current honors course catalog please see wmich.edu/honors/course-catalogs.

Students must complete one hour of HNRS 4980: How and Why to Write an Undergraduate Thesis (or an approved equivalent course or experience) at least one semester prior to registering for HNRS 4990. The culmination or capstone of the honors experience is HNRS 4990: Honors Thesis. Students must complete one credit hour of HNRS 4990 or an approved equivalent course during the semester they complete their thesis project. The honors thesis is an original work of scholarship appropriate to a student’s field of study and career interests. The thesis should reflect the academic standards of the field of study and must be guided and approved by a full-time WMU faculty member who serves as the honors thesis committee chair, and at least one additional committee member with significant expertise in the area of study or a closely related discipline. Examples of honors theses include senior engineering design projects, creative works of fiction, original documentaries, novel educational curricula, original performances or works of art and traditional research papers. The thesis project is expected to serve as a valuable component of a student’s portfolio for employment or admission to graduate and professional schools. All honors theses are published in ScholarWorks (scholarworks.wmich.edu).

Honors courses are indicated as such on the student’s transcripts. Graduation from the Lee Honors College is also noted on WMU transcripts and diplomas, as well as in the University Commencement Program. Thesis title and committee members are listed at the top of each graduate’s official transcript.

For further information on specific aspects of the Lee Honors College, please visit the honors college website at wmich.edu/honors or contact the college via phone at (269) 387-3230.