Honors Program

The Stevenson Honors Experience

Freshman Experience

As a freshman in the Stevenson University Honors Program, you will get the chance to be part of a vibrant living and learning community with other similarly motivated and talented students.

You will start your first semester off by moving into the residence halls early and meeting your fellow Honors students and Honors faculty by taking a trip to explore Hampden and visit the American Visionary Art Museum, both of which exemplify different parts of Baltimore’s cultural scene.

Over the course of the year, you and your fellow students will live together, take Honors sections of general education courses and Honors 100 together, and participate in events designed by the student-led Honors Council.

You’ll also have the opportunity to attend the Baltimore Speakers Series as the guests of President Hirshman and meet distinguished leaders, scholars, and prominent cultural figures such as David Cameron, James Comey, Lisa Genova, Robin Wright, and Rick Steves.

Your freshman year will culminate in an celebratory event marking the completion of the first year of the program.

Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Years

Over your next three years, you will have a variety of Honors experiences both inside and outside the classroom. You will continue your Honors coursework while fulfilling general education and major requirements and cap off your academic experience with Honors 400, which allows you to explore your creativity and work with fellow Honors students from all different disciplines in a semester-long project-based class that asks you to work as a team to tackle a real-world problem/challenge.

Benefits

As a member of the Stevenson University Honors program, you will:

• receive priority registration
• take academically engaging Honors courses taught by engaging and talented faculty
• have access to specialized advising and mentoring (including a dedicated Honors librarian)
• participate in career preparation programming tailored to the specific goals and aspirations of Honors students
• enjoy the opportunity to meet distinguished political, social, and cultural leaders from around the world
• receive an Honors designation on your transcript and Honors seal on diploma and participate in an Honors cording ceremony upon successfully completing the program

Scholarships

Honors students receive the highest level of merit scholarship and are also invited to apply for the Founders’ Scholarship, which recognizes a student’s potential to be an active, engaged member of the Stevenson Community. All scholarships are renewable for four years. For more information, please see the Scholarship & Grants page.

Curriculum

HON 100
second semester freshman year

This course introduces students to collaborative, interdisciplinary thinking.

General Education Honors Courses
freshman and sophomore year

A minimum of four Honors sections of general education courses are needed to fulfill University degree requirements, such as the following:

• Honors Writing Seminar
• Honors General Biology Lab
• Honors General Chemistry I (lecture and lab)
• Honors General Chemistry II (lecture and lab)
• Honors Intro to Art History
• Honors US History Colonial America – 1877
• Honors Introduction to Psychology
• Honors Public Speaking
• Honors Introduction to Sociology

Two Honors contracts
sophomore - senior year

The Honors contracts give you an individualized academic experience tailored to your own interests within courses you are already taking to meet your degree requirements. You will work one-on-one with your faculty member to design an additional component to the course work that will allow you to take an interdisciplinary approach to a project. This will give you the opportunity to explore the intersections between different areas that interest you and work closely with your instructor.

HON 400
junior or senior year

This course allows you to explore your creativity and work with fellow Honors students from all different disciplines in a semester-long project-based class that asks you to work as a team to tackle a real-world problem/challenge. This class is creative and fun and prepares you for the kind of collaborative problem-solving that you will find in the workforce.

Student Honors Council

The Student Honors Council has sponsored events such as the Freshman Halloween Dorm Door Decorating Contest and an Honors Workshop Series, which included workshops such as “What is Success,” led by the Director of Advising and Health Career Professions and “Making your Honors Education Work for You.”

Honors Council Members

Jessica Alicea

Major: Business Administration

Hometown: Piscataway, NJ

Campus Involvement: Stevenson Softball and Intramural Volleyball,

Career Goal: Event Planner

Lauren Brightwell

Major: Film and Moving Image

Double minor in Software Design and Coding and Theatre and Media Performance

Hometown: Columbia, MD, Stevenson

Campus Involvement: Softball team, FMI/NBS club, DJ on Wild Stang Radio

Career Goal: Director or Cinematographer

Grace Fillmore

Major: Biology

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

Campus Involvement: Club Volleyball, Mustang Mentors

Career Goal: Geneticist

Pooja Ravi

Major: Biology

Hometown: Olney, MD

Campus Involvement: Stevenson Golf, American Chemical Society

Career Goal: Endocrinologist

Alexia Smith

Major: Biochemisty

Hometown: Lusby, MD

Campus Involvement: All Natural (a capella group)

Career Goal: Oncologist

Director

Rivka Glaser , Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biology
Director, Honors Program
Owings Mills North N115
rglaser@stevenson.edu
443-394-9644

As a graduate of an honors program herself, Dr. Glaser is passionate about honors education and is thrilled to be the director of SU’s honors program. 

Dr. Glaser earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Goucher College and her Ph.D. in Human Genetics and Molecular Biology from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.  She has been at Stevenson University since 2006, first as an adjunct professor for 7 years, then as a Visiting Assistant Professor for two years, and now as an Assistant Professor.  Dr. Glaser has been teaching introductory biology, genetics, and molecular biology to majors and non-majors for over ten years.  She is an active participant in the American Society of Human Genetics Undergraduate Education Workshop Subcommittee and is on the Board of Directors of NFTumor Foundation, a support group for people with neurofibromatosis.  She also serves as the liason for Stevenson University to the Collaborative Teaching Fellowship Program and is a faculty member in the Genomics Education Partnership, a consortium of undergraduate institutions and the Biology Department and the McDonnell Genome Institute of Washington University in St. Louis.  Her research interests include genetics education research, as well as psychosocial ramifications of living with genetic disorders.