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Commonwealth Honors College
Contact: Brenda Barlow Dean: Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina; Director of Advising: Brenda Barlow. Commonwealth Honors College offers highly motivated UMass Amherst students an opportunity to pursue broad inquiry and to engage in the creation of new knowledge by working closely with faculty. With a commitment to building a diverse and inclusive community, Commonwealth Honors College encourages students to become leaders in thought and action. The college offers a variety of educational, service, social, and advising opportunities to support its 3,500 academically talented students. Love of learning lies at the heart of Commonwealth Honors College. The curriculum of the honors college emphasizes inquiry and facilitates critical analysis, independent research, collaborative work, and effective communication skills. Honors students experience the advantages of a small college and the wide-ranging opportunities of a nationally recognized research university. Commonwealth Honors College is a campus-wide program; students from all majors in every college are eligible to join the honors college. The Commonwealth Honors College Residential Community (CHCRC), home to 1,500 of our 3,500 honors students, is located on the west side of campus, near the main library and the Recreation Center. Freshmen may select from several Honors Residential Academic Programs (RAPs) and many other RAPs designed for all University students. Students are encouraged to design their own major through Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC), which serves both non-honors students and honors students and is described in the Academic Departments and Programs section of the Guide. The college also encourages students to undertake research and supports their efforts by helping to identify faculty mentors, proffering thesis workshops, and offering research fellowships for financial assistance. In addition, the college provides academic advising, sponsors a lecture series that brings distinguished visitors to the campus to speak on selected national issues, publishes a web-based newsletter, sponsors service projects and student gatherings, and administers a competitive awards program. Consistent with the land-grant mission of the University, Commonwealth Honors College promotes engagement with society. The college affords its students many opportunities for engagement through a variety of academically-based opportunities including internships, co-ops, experiential learning courses, leadership training, and community-engaged research. The college also promotes student leadership through specific leadership courses, through its speaker series and alumni programs, and by encouraging student participation in college activities including peer mentoring, committee work, and activity planning. Commonwealth Honors College students are recognized for their achievements with one or more of the following graduation distinctions: Commonwealth Honors College Scholar, Departmental Honors, Multidisciplinary Honors, or General Studies Honors. |
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