A new opportunity to excel at Madison College has arrived. One of Madison College’s very own instructors, Dr. Julia Haseleu has started up a program called the Honors Program.

The Honors Program at Madison College has been modeled after a program that Haseleu had previously developed at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.

The Honors program is open to all Madison College campuses, spreading across all of the disciplines.

“This is a project-based program; that means that students will work with an individual faculty member and be supervised by that person,” said Haseleu. “Both full and part time faculty members will be participating,”

So, how exactly does the honors program work? The Madison College student must seek out a faculty member who teaches in the field that the student is interested in.

Goals, topics, and formats within Honors projects will vary and the faculty member and student must sit down together to work out their project and agree upon a learning contract.

“Before [the student and faculty member] start the semester, they’re committing to what the project will look like,” said Haseleu.

I have my own experience with the Honors Program and I am working on a project this fall. The discipline I have chosen is social psychology and the project is titled, “Attachment Disorders & Couples.”

So far this semester, I have been doing extensive research on this topic and by the end of this semester I will have written a formalized research paper.

Besides the opportunity to deeply explore a subject that interests the student, the Honors Program offers many other benefits. Possible benefits include recognition at graduation, transcript recognition, strong letters of recognition, Honors competition participation, attention from transfer colleges, as well as an increased chance for scholarships and awards.

In order to become a part of the Honors Program one must meet certain requirements. Current students at Madison College must have a minimum of 12 credits completed and a GPA of at least 3.5 to participate in the Honors Program. New students must have a high school GPA of at least 3.5.

It appears that the Honors Program at Madison College has the potential to open up many doors for its students. In order to get involved and for more information, visit the Honors Program website at http://madisoncollege.edu/honors-program.