An experiential Honors senior project is defined as a project that requires direct personal involvement on the part of the person who has designed and implemented the project. At the heart of an experiential Honors senior project lie two central elements: 1) the experience itself and 2) the analysis and assessment of the nature, process, and products of the experience.

An experiential Honors senior project can take many forms. For example, this kind of senior project might involve participation in a university and/or community service project, such as coordinating a project in the community schools or coordinating a fund-raising effort sponsored by a community business organization. This kind of senior project might involve participation in an active learning experience, such as travel and study abroad. It might involve participation in autobiographical writing, performance, and/or artistic endeavors, such as the creation of memoir, painting, sculpture, theater performance, or another form of creative expression.

When one is developing and implementing an experiential Honors senior project, a primary objective is new learning on the part of the individual completing the project. A second important objective is perspective-taking on the part of the individual completing the project. This process consists of several stages: 1) self-observation as one plans and becomes involved in the experience, 2) contemplation of the nature and purpose of the experience as it happens, 3) reflection on the process after it has been completed, and 4) reflection on what has learned about oneself and others as the result of doing the project.

While planning and implementing an experiential Honors senior project, it is important to keep a journal/notebook/diary in which one makes periodic observations about the following aspects of the project: 1) the process involved in planning the project; 2) the potential challenges involved in planning the project; 3) the steps involved in implementing the project; 4) the attitudes and values of the person doing the project (both while planning and while implementing the project); 5) the observations of the person doing the project concerning others who might be taking part in the project; 6) reflections on the project’s successes, failures, and challenges upon completion of the project.

After completing an experiential Honors senior project, one needs to write a detailed paper in which one defines the project, describes its planning and implementation, and analyzes its effectiveness. This paper needs to be based on one’s experiences and can draw on the journal/notebook/diary kept while the project was underway as well as on observations gleaned from discussions with the faculty advisor and others who participated in the experience. Note: Permissions from others must be secured if one wishes to quote their words in the final paper. The final paper, along with the completed Honors senior project form, signed by the student and project advisor, are to be given to the Honors Director at 203 Morris Hall before the end of the semester in which the student plans to graduate.  Questions: contact suzanne.bunkers@Mnsu.edu 

Honors Program web site:  www.intech.mnsu.edu/honors/