ESF Honors Program Courses
ESF 109 Honors Seminar in Environmental Science and Forestry (A.K.A. "Freshman Seminar")
This seminar course introduces honors students to the various academic units at ESF. Each academic unit (Faculty/department) lead students to explore science, engineering, design, management and social science and its application to regional, national and global issues. At the end of the semester, students submit written reports and make presentations on an aspect of the annual theme. After completing this course students should be able to:
- Recognize multidisciplinary dimensions of science, engineering, design, management, and policy;
- Understand the value of literature review to identify a topic associated with current or previous investigations;
- Discuss scholarship of previous and concurrent academic experience to critically evaluate issues;
- Participate in meetings with other researchers and critically evaluate the research approaches and presentations of their peers; and
- Identify appropriate laboratory, library, or field research necessary to answer questions of importance in scholarly inquiry.
ESF 309 Honors Exploration Seminar (A.K.A. "Junior Seminar")
ESF 309 -- the Honors Exploration Seminar -- introduces students to Thesis Project Honors and the upper division program requirements, and answers questions such as: What are the parts of an effective research problem statement? What is the difference between ‘quantitative’ and ‘qualitative’ research? How do I know which type is appropriate to use for my topic? How many sources do I need to consult? What is a primary source? How do I cite sources? After completing this course students should be able to:
- Understand what a thesis or project is;
- Understand what personal resources (time, energy, motivation, etc.) are necessary for successful completion of a thesis or project;
- Write a statement that describes the research or project topic;
- Identify a faculty member who will serve as the honors advisor;
- Submit a project plan for that outlines the schedule of courses, justification for the courses and a timeline for completing the thesis or project; and
- Understand the types of research methods used for independent research.
During the first half of the semester, there is a series of seven seminar meetings, assignments, and exercises designed to meet the course objectives. During the second half of the semester, students meet independently with the seminar leader and their honors advisors to discuss progress in the program.
ESF 499 Honors Thesis/Project
ESF 499 is a required course for students who are working on the thesis or project. Students complete at least four credits of ESF 499 that are typically completed over three sequential semesters to provide continuity for the research project. In the first semester of the thesis honors program, students complete the introductory course, ESF 309. In the following semester, students register for a credit ESF 499 (to conduct the literature research and develop the research design methodology), then another credit of ESF 499 (conduct the research) and finally at least two credits of ESF 499 (write and present the final thesis project). Each section of ESF 499 is completed through guided independent study with the honors thesis advisor. After completing at least four credits of ESF 499, students should be able to:
- Conduct independent research;
- Produce a thesis or project that is representative of independent research; and Present the results of the independent study in an oral presentation (Spotlight on Student Research).
