College of Education

James Scholar Honors Program
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Program Details

Dedicated James Scholar Courses

Any College of Education James Scholar can use the following courses for their semester project. Please note, Service Learning & Social Justice, LINC Courses and Leadership Courses do not receive Honors grades for taking the course. All other courses will have an H attached to the course as long as a B- or above is earned.

Chancellor's Honor Program (CHP) Courses

All CHP courses count as dedicated James Scholar courses. Please note, none of these courses count as research projects.

Leadership Courses

LEAD 140 Harnessing your Interpersonal Intelligence 2 credit hours

Who Should Take This Class: Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior students in ANY college/major interested in developing their self-awareness, self-management, and interpersonal communication skills to be effective team members and leaders.

Students will expand their capacity for communication, collaboration and team leadership to navigate the complexities of the university and beyond. In this course, students will learn communication strategies to work with others and practice self-awareness, self-management, and interpersonal communication skills in a supportive setting to reach their personal potential as emerging leaders.

LEAD 170 Leading Student Organizations 2 credit hours

Prerequisite: Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior Standing Required.

Students will develop their capacity for leadership in university and volunteer organizations. In this course, students will learn about organizational structures, elements of effective organizations, strategies for leading other people, and applications beyond formal student organizations.

LEAD 440 Interpersonal Intelligence for Professional Success 2 credit hours

Restricted to students with Senior or Graduate class standing. Fall only course.

Students will develop their capacity for leadership in their current and future professional positions in business and academic research teams, as well as within their broader community. This course's activities are designed to help students understand organizational structures, effective organizations, leading other people, and application of systems thinking beyond formal organizations to communities and society. 

LEAD 470 Leading Professional Organizations and Communities 2 credit hours

Graduate Student or Senior Standing Required. Spring only course.

Students will develop their capacity for leadership in their current and future professional positions in business and academic research teams, as well as within their broader community. This course's activities are designed to help students understand organizational structures, effective organizations, leading other people, and application of systems thinking beyond formal organizations to communities and society.

LINC Courses
Research Courses

These courses count as research credit without any additional project(s). All other research projects are completed outside of normal class structure. 

 

EDUC 102   Freshman Honors Seminar   credit: 1 Hour. (Freshman Only)

Provides an introduction to critical issues in education with focus on selected contemporary issues in the field; emphasis is on critical analysis and reflection on relationships between teachers, schools, and society.

 

CI 205   Undergraduate Honors Research   credit: 1 Hour. (Spring Semester Only)

Course focuses on reading/understanding education research and working with a College of Education faculty mentor on a small research project. Student projects will be presented at the Spring Campus Undergraduate Research Symposium. Classes initially will be led by the instructor, but later will be conducted as a seminar with students leading discussions on the topic of their research. To the extent possible, students will select readings and research topics of personal interest. May be repeated in separate semesters if topics vary. Prerequisite: Restricted to College of Education James Scholar Program Students.

 

HDFS 494   Applied Research Methods   credit: 1 to 4 Hours.

Participation in faculty-supervised research as a member of a transdisiplinary team investigating questions related to the health and well-being of children and families. Students propose their own research questions and present findings developed from data gathered by the team. 1 to 4 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours in the same term or to a maximum of 12 hours in separate terms. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

 

*URAP Program GC 295

James Scholars who participate in the campus URAP program will take GC 295 and their eHCLA will be a course related project. However, this project WILL fulfill one of your research requirements for the James Scholar program.

Service Learning & Social Justice Courses

Please consult the campus Class Schedule for availability and times:

  • ART 260   Museums in Action   credit: 3 Hours.
    Considers how scholarly discourse in museum interpretation and educational program development are translated into practices that engage culturally diverse audiences. Readings, research, and professional activities provide students with opportunities for examination of museum interpretive practices, programming decisions, and public engagement activities, along with analysis of Krannert Art Museum's presence on the university campus, in the larger community, and on the World Wide Web. Additional fees may apply. See Class Schedule.
  • SPAN 232   Spanish in the Community   credit: 3 Hours.
    Introduction to Spanish-speaking communities in the Champaign-Urbana area, focusing on issues of particular interest to the local Hispanic community, developing contextualized oral proficiency, and facilitating student civic engagement. Active student reflection is structured throughout the course. Meets two hours a week in class and two hours a week in community-based service work. In their interactions with community members and organizations students both learn from and contribute to the community.
    Same as LAST 232. Prerequisite: SPAN 141, SPAN 142, or equivalent.
  • SPAN 232   Spanish and Entrepreneurship (SPRING only course)   credit: 3 Hours.
    Entrepreneurship means more than starting a business. This course emphasizes social entrepreneurship, in which the basic process of entrepreneurship-opportunity recognition, resource gathering and value creation is used to address social issues, not to create profits. Students do community-based learning in non-profits serving the local Spanish-speaking community, thereby building their language skills, acquiring cultural knowledge and gaining hands-on experience with social entrepreneurship (theory and practice). Each week class meets two hours in class and two hours in community-based service work.
    Prerequisite: SPAN 228.
  • UP 478   Community Development Workshop   credit: 4 Hours.
    Application of community development principles and techniques to the solution of environmental, economic and social problems facing low income urban communities. Involves small group projects and off-campus field work in collaboration with community leaders.
    4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: UP 260, senior or graduate standing, or consent of instructor.
  • EPOL 380   Education & Social Justice   credit: 3 Hours.
    Introduces students to key definitions, theories, and practices of justice in education. Using a combination of philosophical and political theory-based analyses of the features of justice: fairness, equity, representation, responsibility, and difference, among others, readings invite students to consider how education and schooling can help to nurture democratic ties and equity.
    Same as EPS 380.