Honors College Opportunities for Faculty

Dear Colleagues,

How often do you get to teach a specialized course on a topic of your choice to a small group of highly motivated students or mentor an outstanding student in your field of interest? The Honors College offers these opportunities and I invite you consider becoming a Faculty Fellow or teaching a 3-credit Honors Core course or 1-credit Honors Seminar for the Honors College.

The Honors College is an undergraduate-only college that draws almost 1,800 students from colleges and departments across the campus.  We strive to provide a small liberal arts college experience within a large research university by offering small seminar-style classes, hands-on advising, and access to grants and scholarships. Our courses cover a wide range of topics centered in different academic disciplines.

Honors Core courses are mandatory, 3-credit hour General Education courses for Honors College freshmen. All have low enrollment limits, are usually taught in a seminar format, and provide both a challenging and intimate learning experience for Honors undergraduates. These are typically compensated with $8,000 paid directly to departments for faculty replacement. Adjunct and emeritus faculty are compensated directly.

Honors Seminars are elective, one-credit hour courses open to all Honors students, but usually taken by sophomores and juniors. The seminars are graded on a Satisfactory (S) / Unsatisfactory (U) basis. Teaching an Honors Seminar is an opportunity for you to share a favorite topic with a small class in a one-hour-per-week meeting.  It is also a great way to workshop an idea you are considering developing into a course at a later date.  Faculty from every UIC College have enjoyed teaching our students in a seminar, many more than once. The compensation is $1,000 per seminar.

Faculty Fellows: The Honors College Faculty Fellows program gives high-achieving students and faculty the opportunity to develop a relationship outside the classroom. Beginning with the sophomore year, Honors students are assigned to Honors College Faculty Fellows in their discipline or a related area. Fellows serve as sources of information about the department, the campus, graduate school, or careers, and provide an opportunity for students to receive mentoring from leaders in their fields.  Each fellow is asked to meet with their students at least once a semester. The amount of interaction you have above and beyond that is really up to the fellow and the student.  We assign each fellow no more than six advisees so that it is a good experience for both fellow and student, and not an undue burden for the fellow.  As a Faculty Fellow, your time commitment need not be great, but your impact is huge.

I welcome your participation in the Honors curriculum.  I appreciate that you have numerous teaching, research, and service commitments, but I hope you will consider working with our Honors students in some capacity. If you are interested, please email Michele McCrillis, Assistant Dean for Curriculum and Outreach Programs, at mmccrill@uic.edu. Feel free to contact her for further information.

Best wishes for the new semester,

Ralph Keen

Dean
UIC Honors College

For more information, please contact:
Michele McCrillis
mmccrill@uic.edu