Lower Division Curriculum

All Barrett students begin their intellectual journey in one of our signature first-year seminars. The Human Event, a year-long, small, intensive, interdisciplinary, discussion-based seminar, forms the foundation of the first-year honors experience. It focuses on key social and intellectual currents in the history of human thought from the earliest written texts to the present. While united by a shared set of learning objectives aimed at cultivating communication skills and critical thinking, each section of The Human Event explores a unique set of texts according to the professor’s areas of expertise.

Barrett students have exclusive access to upper-division honors seminars on a range of special topics according to faculty areas of research and expertise. These popular courses explore important issues in history, literature, philosophy, physics, film, anthropology, law, politics and much more. Upper-division courses also provide honors students valuable opportunities to work closely with Barrett faculty, in small seminar settings beyond The Human Event, in areas of intellectual inquiry that resonate with their majors, minors or other areas of passion. Many students enroll in upper-division seminars in topics outside of their majors to explore new areas of interest and conduct research for their honors thesis.

The honors thesis is the culmination of Barrett students’ honors experience. It is an original project developed by a student under the guidance of a committee and an opportunity to work closely with faculty on important research questions and creative ideas. The honors thesis, which can have either a research or creative focus, enables students to design, execute and present an intellectually rigorous project in their chosen field of study. It provides tangible evidence of research, writing and creative skills to prospective employers, and can serve as a writing or research sample for graduate school applications.