Honors Program

Pick, design, and complete a project on a topic or issue that interests you, and earn a credit. Sounds big, but we know you can do it. In fact, a faculty mentor with expertise in your project area provides you with guidance and encouragement from start to finish.

Interested in seeing past Independent Studies? You can find them at the SCC Library, a few examples include:

• A criminology student examined murder in the Quad Cities over a 15-year period, discussing trends and presenting hypotheses about gang involvement.
• An elementary education student created a 70-minute video of American Sign Language students signing children’s stories and nursery rhymes.
• A radiology student created a 2-hour presentation that was delivered at a professional radiology conference.
• A psychology student wrote a research paper on the use of corporal punishment with children based on Biblical teachings.

Serve your community earn a credit. Volunteer 33 hours at a not-for-profit organization, journal about your experiences, and write a paper sharing what you loved, learned, and how it changed or reinforced your views. This experience will be memorable, and quite possibly, life changing.

Some past examples of Honors Service Learning Projects include:

• Serving as a lab assistant at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
• Assisting with surgeries and spaying and neutering animals at the Quad City Animal Welfare Center
• Assisting in the Special Collections Department at the Davenport Public Library
• Educating teenagers about HIV and AIDS at the AIDS Project of the Quad Cities
• Providing clerical assistance for the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce
• Answering crisis lines and observing counseling sessions at the Davenport Domestic Violence Center
• Learning disaster relief procedures at the Quad City Red Cross

The course includes a 5-day trip to D.C., after which the students compose a 10-page reflective essay where they write about their experiences as they relate to the three learning objectives.

Understand the American Federal Government

• Tour the Capitol Building and the Supreme Court
• Meet our legislators
• Visit the White House
• See some Executive Departments
• Meeting the people behind the scenes who do the work and who, coincidentally, are often in their 20s or 30s.

Understand Washington as a Focal Point for U.S. Foreign Relations

• Almost every country in the world has an embassy in Washington, with thousands of diplomats doing economic, cultural, and other kinds of work.
• Honors program students select which country they are interested in, and visit that embassy, talk to their diplomats about their country, its foreign policy goals, and how it views its relationship with the U.S.

Gain knowledge and insight from someone in the students' content area

• Students, with the help of a faculty mentor, identify someone in Washington that they want to meet with, and that meeting is arranged if possible.