SYMPOSIUM
A
Honors Programs in Chemistry
Bennett R. Willeford, Jr.
Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
The Development of Honors Programs in Chemistry
Various sorts of honors programs in chemistry, and indeed honors programs in general, have been in operation for many years. Though the existence of honors programs is not new, widespread interest in such programs is a comparatively recent phenomenon. I n a paper which serves as a general introduction t o a symposium such as this one, it is desirable to review some of the ideas and suggestions pertaining to the subject. Since the two papers which follow are to be concerned with specific programs a t various schools, no attempt is made here to go into the details of any particular program. Mention of certain programs is intended to be illustrative, and in no sense exhaustive. The term "honors program" means many things to many different people, and to some, the meaning is uncertain. Some use the term to refer to programs for the superior student a t all levels, others to programs for seniors only. The following definition has been suggested: the term "honors" inclndes "whatever may he done in colleges and universities on behalf of the more able student-whatever may be accomplished in terms of the special needs of such students during their undergraduate years."l Such a definition is quite broad, and some would say almost meaningless, vet it seems desirable for ~urnosesof this discussion Presented at the Symposium on Honon Programs in Chemistry, Division of Chemical Educat,ion, 140th meeting of the ACS, Chicago, September, 1961. ' COKEN,J. W.,The Superior Sludenl, 1, No. 5 , 2 (1958).
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E u I ~ R 'NOTE: s The symposium here presented in written form was organised by Professor Andrew Patterson, Jr., of Yale Univemity. In addition to the papcm, the program included discussion participation by the audience, sparked by a panel consisting oi the contributors and moderated by Dr. Pattenon. One of the most interesting unresolved questions raised by the discussion was the role of chemistry honors programs in the education of t,he gifted student who does not intend to major in chemist,ry. Many saw this as a possible means of bridging C. P. Snow's "two cultures." Perhaps this will be the focus for another similar symposium.
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Journal of Chemiccll Education
to include under the term the many programs which have been found invaluable by superior students; their usefulness has been demonstrated over the years, even though some schools have not designated them as "honors programs." The fundamental reason for the development of many types of honors program is the recognition that college students differ widely in ability, in motivation, and in ambition. Because of these differences, curricula which challenge the average student often bore the best student. That every student should be challenged to work as nearly to his capacity as possible is a fundamental tenet of honors programs. Traditionally, it is the student in academic difficulty who receives the most attention. The superior student, who is often left to shift for himself, certainly deserves equal attention. Two other factors which must be considered are the improvement in the quality of high school science courses and the increasing number of high schools which offer advanced placement programs. These factors probably have more implications for a general revision of the traditional college curriculum, such as was considered a t the Bucknell Conferen~e,~ than for honors programs. However, the advanced placement program in particular has also certainly influenced the development of a number of honors program^.^ Many colleges now give degree credit for college level courses taken in high school. Some require an examination before credit is given. The result is usually an acceleration of the student's college course. This leads to earlier graduation for some students, to additional time for advanced work for others. Concern for the student of superior abilities is not new. A number of early American honors programs were based on the practice of the British universities (beginning early in the 19th century) of awarding the B.A. degree in two forms, honors and pass. As early as 1873, honors were awarded a t Wesleyan University on the basis of a thesis and certain courses. Though 2 WILLEFORD, B. R., AND CMPP, L. B., THIS JOURNAL,38, 251 (1061). 8 For s. discussion of the development of this program, see 33,232,237(1956). N o ~ m sB. , M., m r s JOURNAL,
no formal program was instituted, Arthur A. Xoyes inaugurated a policy a t the California Institute of Technology of actively seeking out promising students, beginning a t the freshman level, and attempting to stimulate their interest by providing them with research opportunities, a policy which is still in effect today. Other notable programs instituted by the 1920's include those at Vermont, Princeton, Columbia, Missouri, Washington, Harvard, Lafayette, Rice, Smith, and Bowdoin. Perhaps the most far reaching change in the traditional curriculum to he iuaugurated for honors students was the program introduced by President Aydelotte a t Swarthmore in 1922 involving honors seminars in the junior and senior years. The admission of talented students to the University of Chicago after only two years of high school rather than four should certainly also be mentioned as one of the most far-reaching attempts to use "honors methods" for all students. As a result of these and other experiments, many colleges adopted honors programs of one sort or another. By 1943, it was reported that about three-fourths of the colleges and universities on the approved list of the Association of American Universities were providing special facilities for the superior student. Unfortunately, it must he said that many of these were "college catalogue" programs; with very few exceptions, they made a negligible impact on the academic world. With the coming of World War 11,most were abandoned during the emergency, and very few were resumed after the war. The current wave of interest in honors programs may he considered to have developed mainly since 1955. I t seems to have coincided with the realization that increasing college enrollments lay ahead, that the quality of education was thereby endangered, and that something must he done to strengthen the qualitative influences on the campus. A survey of current honors programs recently conducted by the Inter-University Committee on the Superior Student shows (Table 1) that only about 10% of the current programs have a Table 1.
Year iinaueuratad
Total
Current Honors Proarams
Public
Private
Total
92
82
li4
Data. from l'he Supenol Student, 3, No. 9,40 (1961).
pre-war history, and approximately t,wo-thirds of the programs have been started since 1957. This survey was not exhaustive, and a number of programs not formally designated as honors programs are probably not included. Nevertheless the steady growth since 1955 is readily apparent, and it is probable that the growth of informal programs has been similar. One of the most significant developments since 1955 was the formation of the Inter-University Committee on the Superior Student. This resulted from the
recommendation of a Couference in Boulder, Colorado in June, 1957, and has been financed by two grants from the Carnegie Corporation. Its main function is to serve as a clearing house for information and materials regarding the challenge of the superior student, and t,he programs designed to meet that challenge. The Committeestaff members, and particularly the Director, Professor J. W. Cohen, have visited many campuses to consult with faculties on the initiation of honors programs. A number of regional conferences on the superior studeut have also been organized. Types of Programs
Aydelotte has grouped the "pre-war" honors programs in three types: (1) those in which honors work is an "extra"; (2) those in which honors work replaces one or more of the regular courses; and (3) those in which honors work entirely replaces the ordinary academic program. The first of these is undoubtedly the simplest of honors programs, and also probably the least effective. There is no lessening of the requirements for graduation. Students may he permitted to undertake extra reading or laboratory work under the directiou of a memher of the faculty. This may he considered to he something of a tutorial arrangement. Sometimes theses and/or examinations on the extra work are also involved. This usually means "extra" work for the faculty member as well as the student, and the number of persons on both sides of the fence milling to do this has always been rather small. Some of these objections are removed in plans of the second type where some of the course requirements are waived for the student undertaking honors work. These programs are generally limited to the senior year (sometimes to junior aud senior years) and to the department of the major. Studies outside the major field are usually carried on in conventional courses, and it is not unusual to have certain standard course requirements in the field of the major as well. Though this practice of waiving certain course requirements is a step in the right direction, the fundamental problem of sufficient time for independent study is not met. The pressures of daily assignments and quizzes in the conventional courses detract seriously from the independent study. With most students, who are acutely conscious of the fact that they will he receiving grades in their conventional courses, it is the independent study that suffers. What could have been an outstanding project often turns out to be only good, what could have been good turns out to he only mediocre. The number of schools where honors work is given on a full time basis is quite small. Probably the best known example of such a system is that which has been in operation for many years a t Swarthmore. Students selected for honors a t Swarthmore spend their entire junior and senior years in independent study. The student participates in two seminars each semester for the two year period. No tests are given, no grades are given. The A.R. degree and the degree of honors awarded depend only on the results of the comprehensive examinations conducted by outside examiners a t the end of the senior year. The programs currently being inaugurated differ in several ways from those of the pre-war years. Most Volume 39, Number 3, March 1962
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of the current programs are more comprehensive. They tend to start earlier in the academic career of the student (in the freshman and sophomore years) rather than being concentrated only in the senior, or junior and senior years. Further, there seems to be less of a departmental or specialized emphasis. Departmental and divisional lines are crossed more readily. "General education" is a nasty term these days because of its association with watered down survey courses in the past, hut the idea behind it is still hoth valid and important. A number of schools are combining honors programs in "general education" in the freshman and sophomore years with specialized honors programs in the junior and senior years. There also seems to he a wider recognition of the need for wise counseling of honors students: counseling by faculty members and not by full-time counselors who do no teaching. Most programs today do not involve abandonment of the course-hour-quality credit system, hut involve rather an adaptation of this system to serve the needs of the honors student. I n the past, most schools used a single approach to the honors question. This is in contrast to the many-sided approach, involving special sections, independent study and research, seminars and colloquia, special courses, acceleration, and even Honors Colleges, all of which are aspects of highly developed honors programs today. Data from the 1960 survey mentioned previously on the number of schools offering various types of programs are shown in Table 2. In all, 168 institutions reported about 17,500 students engaged in honors work, ranging from fewer than 10 students in some schools to over 700 in at least one. However, one must rememher that enrollments are counted in different ways by different schools; some count only those students formally admitted to honors programs, while others include students admitted to any honors course. Table 2 Type of program Four years Upper class only Soph., Jr., Senior Other Total
-Number Public 61 23
3 11 98
of Schools--Private Total 39 100 44 67 10 5 98
13 16 196
Data from The Superio?. Sludent, 3, No. 9, 39 (1961).
Chemistry Honors Programs
Many chemical educators have always been aware of the superior student, and have done something to encourage him to take on more work, to cover more territory, or to dig deeper. Usually this has taken the form of encouraging the student to start doing research. Almost all schools now offer academic credit for research carried out by undergraduates, so that this sort of honors work need not be of the "extra work" type. The effect of this undergraduate research has been beneficial, hoth for the student and for the quality of the undergraduate chemical education a t the ~ c h o o l . ~The introduction of special work for 'LEWIS, HARRYF., Ed., "Research and Teaching in the Liberal Art8 College," A Report of the Wooster Conference, Division of Chemical Education, ACS, 1959.
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freshmen and sophomores is also not new in chemistry. The work of Arthnr A. Noyes at the California Institute of Technology has already heen referred to. h y m o n d E. Kirk was vigorously urging research for freshmen and sophomores back in the 20's and 30's. Some of the larger universities have long had special ability sections of the freshman chemistry course. Chemists have certainly always been leaders in this sort of work for the superior student. Questions and Problems
The institution of honors programs raises a number of questions. Some of these pertain to all honors programs. Perhaps the most fundamental is the question of selection, particularly for honors work that begins in the freshman year. Many faculty members have an inherent distrust of selection procedures, especially when they are instituted "early in the game." These fears are not groundless. One of the most frequent criticisms one hears of European education is the early age at which an almost irrevocable decision must he made as to whether or not to prepare for university study. Closely related to this question of selection is what to do on the one hand about the good student who was missed in the selection process, perhaps a "late bloomer" or someone for whom the usual criteria for selection were not applicable, and on the other hand about the student selected for honors work who does not measure up to the standard expected. Other questions apply more specifically to instruction in chemistry. One of these is the applicability of the seminar or colloquium method, supposedly the best of all possible methods for honors work and frequently referred to as the heart of an honors program. The ideal of free discussion of ideas has real merit in the humanities and social sciences, but it is a real question whether chemistry undergraduates have sufficient background of basic experimental facts to sustain free discussion. The Swarthmore seminars in chemistry are based on definite reading assignments, and the discussion revolves around an understanding of this material rather than around so-called free discussion. One may question whether the success of the Swarthmore program in chemistry is not due as much to the small size of the classes and to other factors as to the fact that they are conducted as seminars. Another question concerns undergraduate research. Should it be required of all chemistry majors, or should it be available for those who desire to pursue it? There are honest differences of opinion here. A related question, asked in all good faith, is whether formal honors programs have any real value. The chemistry curriculum itself is highly selective, these would say and go on to point out that when a student is capable of doing satisfactory work in mathematics, languages, and physics, and in rigorous basic courses in chemistry, he is a superior student, and no special provisions are necessary. I t is interesting that this point of view is most often expressed by faculty members a t schools whose admissions policies are highly selective. Perhaps it is this additional selective factor which makes their personal experiences valid. Another question involves the effect of simple acceleration of the student's program. Some students are now entering college with sophomore standing as' a result of advanced
placement work in high schools. I n addition, some graduate schools are offering graduate credit for work done in the senior year in college. The program instituted a t Columbia University leading to the PhD after six years is illustrative of what can be done under these and similar c i r c u m s t a n c e s . ~ u c hprograms tend to limit the student's academic experience to one institution, a consequence less likely to happen if the student's undergraduate work is definitely separated from his graduate work. These arrangements for acceleration are undoubtedly excellent for some gifted students, but some have questioned the desirability of too widespread adoption of this type plan. Programs for Non-Science Majors
As the adoption of honors programs becomes more widespread, chemists and other scientists are being called upon more and more frequently to participate in programs designed primarily for the non-science major.6 Terminal courses in chemistry may he conveniently divided into two categories: (1) those socalled "tool-courses" for other science majors, engineers, nurses, home economics majors, etc.; and (2) those courses given as parts of a liberal arts major. It is the latter type which should be of major concern to those interested in honors programs. While the "snrvey course" may be satisfactory for the average student, this type of course as it is all too frequently given will not only bore the good student but will actually repel him. Certainly it is especially important that these students get a real feel for science and the way it develops. Most of the special honors courses in science for non-science majors will almost of necessity have to be interdisciplinary, involving at least one other department besides chemistry, and sometimes m o r e a notable exception is Hubert Alyea's well-known chemistry course a t Princeton. A nnmber of attempts a t the interdisciplinary approach have been and are being made. Some of the schools involved are Amherst, Wesleyan, Colorado, and Michigan. It is generally conceded that it is much more difficult to develop honors work in science for non-scientists than viceversa. One of the very real problems in such courses is that the students lack sufficient background in the simple experimental facts to enable these courses effectively to accomplish their ends. One of the things that should be of concern to us is the rather general experience that the regular physical science courses, which are taken to satisfy liberal arts requirements, have not provided sufficient background for meaningful discus sion in honors seminars. There seems to be a particular need a t this time for programs which not only provide our best liberal arts students with a more adequate background in the
' Chem. Eng. News, 36,No. 7,94(1958). "n this connection, the report of the 1960 Montana State Conferenceis of interest. See THIS JOURNAL, 38,253 (1961).
natural sciences, hut also adequately present the challenge of a career in science and the necessary background for its development. The Directed Studies in Science program a t Yale is one which fills this need. It is based on three premises: (1) that there are in the freshman class a considerable number of students who are "good at everything" and who do not know what kind of a career to undertake; (2) that most of these have had good high school courses in mathematics and science; and (3) that the increasing effect of science in shaping our culture makes it imperative that we develop scientifically literate laymen. The program consists of a two year course in mathematics and a two year sequence in science, the first year a high-level combined physicschemistry course, the second year a high-level combined biology-geology course. Both courses involve laboratory work. The students also take courses in social science, literature, language, philosophy, and history. At the end of this two year program, the student will he accepted as a major in almost any department of the University. Finally, it mnst he kept in mind that each college and university has the obligation to design its own program in accordance with its own needs. The report of the Boulder Conference in 1957 puts it quite well: "There is no royal road to an honors program. The hope that one can devise a fool-proof honors program which can be packaged and exported for use on any campus is delusory. Institutional differences and the practicalities of each campus mnst be faced frankly in creating a successful honors program."' This is another way of saying that in this area as well as others, with schools as well as individuals, i t is still true that one's own salvation must be worked out with fear and trembling. Bibliography The literature on honors programs is already extensive, and is growing rapidly. A few excellent sources of further information are listed below. Sources of more complete bibliographies are also indicated. Grateful acknowledgment is made to these authors for muchof the material in this paper. FRANK,"Breaking the Academic Lock Step," AYDELOTTE, Harper & Brothers, New York, 1944, A detailed discussion of pre-war honors programs. F., AND DRUSAAL,J. BoNTFIIUS, ROBERTH., DAVIS, JAMES GARBER,"The Independent Study Program in the United States," Columbia University Press, New York, 1957. COHEN,J. W., Editor-in-Chief, The Superior Studat, University of Colorado, Boulder. This is the newsletter of the InterUniversity Committee on the Superior Student. It contains information about new programs, both in the various disciplines and of an inter-disciplinary nature, as well a s discussions of ideas, philosophy, problems, and questions concerning honors programs. Lists of materials pertaining to honors programs are given from time to time [see 3, No. 6,27 (1960), and No. 8,24(1960)l. Tnrs J O ~ Npublishes AL papers from time to time dealing with honors programs in chemistry. Some recent papers include 39, 16 (1962); 37, 121, 579 (1960); 35, 250, 251 (1958); 34, 294(1957); 33,636(1956).
The Superim Student, 1 , No. 3,1(1958),
Volume 39, Number 3, March 1962
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