Honors Opportunities
What is the Social Ecology Honors Program?
It is a three-quarter long course sequence for Social Ecology seniors
who are conducting thesis projects. Enrollment is by invitation and
limited to about 20 students. Each student will work individually with
a faculty mentor on the particulars of the student's research and all
students will come together in the Honors Seminar to address common
issues regarding research design, execution, and presentation.
What kinds of activities do students in the School's Honors Program engage in?
The specific activities for the seminar will vary from coordinator to
coordinator and from year to year. Typically, however, students spend
the Fall quarter laying the foundation for research projects. Each
student completes a literature review and, in the seminar, discusses
such topics as computer-based literature search methods, human subjects
review procedures, and proposals for research funding. In the Winter
quarter, students spend more time with their individual mentors on data
collection and analysis. The seminar meets on fewer occasions, but has
workshops on running computer statistical packages, preparing
PowerPoint presentations, and creating home pages for internet sites.
The Spring quarter focuses on finishing the research projects,
presenting them at the UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium (sponsored
by UROP) in May, and summarizing the project in written thesis form.
Why should I participate in the Social Ecology Honors Program?
The University of California is designated as the primary research institution in the California educational master plan. That means that UC professors all engage in scholarship and UC students have a unique opportunity to work under their guidance to do original research. The School's Honors Program provides a special opportunity to work closely with not just one, but two professors, and with a small group of elite students. Conducting a research project will help students to review and integrate the materials that they have studied in texts and lecture and bring it to bear on a topic of personal interest. Students can help their chances of admission to graduate school by demonstrating research skills and working with faculty who can testify to their readiness for advanced training.
The faculty members that oversee this program have developed a presentation that explains the many benefits of participation in the Social Ecology Honors Program.
- To view the presenation using PowerPoint, click HERE.
- To view the presenation using Adobe Acrobat, click HERE.
How do I get in the School's Honors Program?
Social Ecology majors meeting the following requirements are eligible to apply for the Social Ecology Honors Program in the spring quarter of their junior year if they wish to be considered for the program:
- A 3.2 UC GPA and a 3.5 GPA in upper-division Social Ecology major courses (minimum of four such courses) at the end of winter quarter of their junior year
- Submission of a brief research proposal
- A letter of support from a Social Ecology faculty member who agrees to serve as mentor
- A commitment by the student to enroll in all three courses of the Honors Program sequence in the senior year (this means being in residence at UC Irvine all three quarters)
- An Official UCI Transcript
The deadline to apply for the Honors Program is typically in early to mid May of each academic year. All applications for the 2008 - 2009 academic year have been reviewed - no more applications will be accepted. Future application deadlines will be announced here.
Archive of past participants and their presentations:
2003 - 2004 cohort
2004 - 2005 cohort
2005 - 2006 cohort
2007 - 2008 cohort
