Study Abroad/Away and Honors

Honors requirements that can be fulfilled:

HNR 300: Campus/Community Engagement

  • Substitute any course you complete during your study abroad for HNR 300.

HNR 401 and HNR 499: Senior Project Proposal and Honors Senior Project

  • Substitute any course you complete during your study abroad for HNR 401/499. Reflection paper required. 

Course Approval Process

After completing your program, submit the Study Abroad Proposal to tell us which course(s) you completed that will satisfy your Honors requirements. 

Study Abroad Proposal

Honors students in Haiti with a GVSU flag

HNR 401/499 Reflection Paper

Submit this reflection paper with your Study Abroad Proposal to fulfill HNR 401/499 through a course taken abroad.

Please compose a 1- to 2-page, single-spaced reflection on how your experience contributed to your honors education. Reflect on the entirety of your experience, including your course work and your experiences outside of the classroom (i.e., sight-seeing, mass transportation, lodging, encounters with other people, buying food, etc.). Be sure to include some attention to what you consider an honors education to be.

Current programs within the Honors College:

Water in the West

Join Professor Wampler for this high-impact learning experience. This program is a deep dive into learning about water issues first-hand through experts and experience. Students will take two hybrid courses in the first 6-week spring term: two weeks of online coursework before and after a 4-week trip to the southwestern United States (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico). Learn more here

Israel: Historical, Geographic and Social Contexts of the Bible

Join Professor Cataldo in Jerusalem, Israel. Explore geographic and historical contexts of the Jewish and Christian Bibles and how biblical interpretations continue to influence the social-political world today. Field trips include Petra, Masada, the Western Wall, Sea of Galilee, Dor, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Jericho, the Dead Sea, and many more. Note: This program will not run in 2024.

Finding a Program

Honors students can participate in any available program! Visit the Padnos International Center to begin your study abroad journey.

Padnos International Center

 

Study Abroad FAQs

Studying abroad allows students to embody the Honors College motto of "live, learn, lead". Imagine walking through a crowded street filled with the aromas of the food vendors and fish dealers in Costa Rica, or studying development and social change in Nepal. Honors students who choose to study abroad will live in a foreign country, immersed in a culture different from their own!

Yes. You must secure the departmental approval for each course you complete abroad before you can complete the Study Abroad Proposal. All courses completed abroad are assigned a GVSU course equivalency by the relevant academic department. The course equivalency is a required field on the Proposal form.

Students will not receive final approval prior to studying abroad. The Study Abroad Proposal form requires a written reflection essay to be attached when you are requesting approval to fulfill the HNR 401/499 requirement.  Students may check with an Honors Advisor prior to studying abroad to make sure their requirements will be fulfilled, but this is not required.

The requirements for fulfilling HNR 300 and/or HNR 401/499 are: The course(s) you complete abroad must each be approved as a minimum of a 3-credit course at GVSU. It can be more than 3 credits, but it must be a minimum of 3 GVSU credits.

Yes. If the course you complete abroad meets a major or minor requirement, it can also be used to meet an Honors requirement.

It may take several weeks for your myPath to be updated. You will only hear from the Honors College Office staff if there are any concerns or questions about your proposal.

Yes, Honors requirements can be completed through the Semester in Detroit program.



Page last modified January 11, 2024