Honors Program Courses
The courses listed below will be offered by the Kutztown University Honors Program for the Fall 2023 Semester!
First Year Seminar:
FYS 100 019H (2789) First Year Seminar
Muzeta| TH | 12:00-1:20 | BK241
First-Year Seminar is a required class that introduces students to the kind of academic work expected at the college level. In a small-class setting, students work closely with their professors and peers to explore a particular topic in depth and develop skills that are essential for success at the university. The specific topic of the seminar varies with the academic passion and expertise of the instructor. The course is designed to be taken very early in the student’s course of study, ideally in the student’s first semester at KU. The course is open to students who have earned or have transferred in fewer than 15 credits from an accredited college or university.
Honors Only Courses:
BIO 104 09H (2545) Principles of Biology
Heineman| M | 2:00-4:50 | BH202
This course provides students with an introduction to the biological principles and functional aspects of biology that will serve as a foundation for understanding the biology of plants and animals. The concepts covered in this course include the scientific method, cellular structures and processes, genetics, evolution, and biodiversity. This class meets for three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week.
Calling all science majors! This is an important and very informative class. Check two boxes off at once taking this lab sections of BIO 104.
CMP 100 21 019H (1275) Effective Composition
Dodson | MWF | 10-10:50 | LY 108
Students in CMP 100 examine and practice writing in public and academic contexts. The course focuses on writing processes and provides sustained practice in critical thinking, reading, and writing demanded by academic and public writing. Student writing and student writers are at the center of the class. Assignments challenge students to expand their approaches to revision and to experiment with a wide variety of writer's techniques. Particular attention is paid to the intersections of audience, purpose, genre, and context. That is, you will consider not only what to write, but also to whom and in what forms. You will also examine the influences that the writer's and audience's circumstances can exert on composition. The conventions of writing, which may include diction, grammar, syntax, usage, and structure, are addressed as part of the process of writing, and students may study how these conventions change with context.
Writing is imperative to daily life and in any profession. This is a great class to learn how to effectively write with any circumstance(s) thrown at you!
COM 10 019H (1643) Fundamentals of Oral Communication
Ironside | MWF | 9-9:50 | HH3G
The course introduces the theory and practice of oral communication in presentational, interpersonal, and group contexts. Students develop knowledge of, appreciation for, and the requisite skills to communicate effectively in our culturally and professionally diverse world. Students will learn to develop, organize, and prepare messages, as well as apply active and critical listening skills. This course also prepares students to understand the role of perception, ethics, beliefs, attitudes, nonverbal signals, and stereotypical language in oral communication.
Public speaking is not a fan favorite to many people, but Professor Ironside is an experienced oral communicator herself and has taught this class for many years. You know you’re going to be called upon to speak in front of professional audiences. We all need to get good at it, and that takes practice. This course will set you up with the tips and tricks to open doors in your career.
GEG 020 019H (2253) Human Earth Introduction to Cultural Geography
Conway | TH | 1:30-2:50 | GC2
The purpose of this course is to teach students how to think geographically about culture. This involves considering how people’s actions through social, economic, and political processes create and transform places. Topics include, but are not limited to, geographies of population, migration, language, religion, ethnicity, politics, urbanization, agriculture, and development. Students will study how peoples’ culture affects the world around them, and in turn, how it is affected by the cultures and environments that surround it.
Cultural geography is a subfield within human geography. Though the first traces of the study of different nations and cultures on Earth can be dated back to ancient geographers such as Ptolemy or Strabo, cultural geography as academic study firstly emerged as an alternative to the environmental determinist theories of the early 20th century, which had believed that people and societies are controlled by the environment in which they develop.
PSY 11 019H (1970) General Psychology
Lanter | MW | 3-4:20 | OM22B
An introduction to the psychological bases of behavior in motivation, learning, memory, development, personality, perception, abnormal behavior, psychotherapy, attitude change, and group behavior.
No matter what career you are going to do after college you are always going to interact with induvial of all backgrounds and experiences. PSY 11 is a great way to learn more about how individuals process information. Also, Dr. Lanter is really cool!
WGS 100 019H (2806) Into to Women’s Studies
Clemens| MWF | 10-10:50 | DF105
This course introduces students to the fundamental issues of gender and considers how gender constructions affect attitudes about bodies, sexuality and power with a focus on women's histories and waves of feminism.
This is a great class to take to expand your knowledge of women! There are tons of topics and fundamentals covered, if you are interested in the WGS minor this is one of the classes required. Professor Clemens is great!
WRI 207 019H (2786) Writing for the Workplace
O’Brien | MWF | 9-9:50 | OM130
This course focuses primarily on written forms, such as letters, memoranda, email, and both formal and informal reports. Through modeling and practice of forms, researching external sources, and examining case studies, students will gain experience writing in a business environment. This environment features deadlines, professional ethics, advanced communication technology, and audience expectations that influence the writing process. This course will also require students to practice oral presentations and analyze team dynamics during group projects.
Writing for the workplace is a great class to help you learn to communicate in professional settings. You will learn how to build resumes, write a cover letter, check in after an interview, and SO much more!
HIS 014 019H (2209) History of Civilization A
Johnson| MWF | 11-11:50 | LY109
This course will examine the origins, development and interconnectedness of major world societies to ca. A.D. 1600, focusing on the evolution of Western Europe and its importance in shaping the modern world.
This is a great opportunity to fill a category D course while earning honors credit as well.
CSC 120 019H (2984) Intro Creative Graphical Code
TBH | TH | 3-4:20 | Om158
This course is for students who want to go beyond using prepackaged software tool for editing graphical images. Students will create interactive images, videos, and multimedia compositions using a programming language specifically designed for these applications. Project include program-driven display of the basic shapes and imported images, display properties such as texture and shading, display-time image composition, generative art, interaction with user gestures, three-dimensional graphics, animation, video, and additional topics as time allows. The programming environment includes extensive language and library support for these activities, while simplifying the steps in introductory programming. There will be solo and/or team projects.
This is a great class to take for computer science majors and anyone interested in computer science! This also fills category C!
The sections below are DUAL ENROLLMENT COURSES that include
Honors Students and Traditional Students:
If you are selecting a dual enrollment course, please select the
Honors section (019H).
ANT 10 020H (3011) Cultural Anthropology
Schlegel| TH| 9-10:45 | AF102 | Honors Cap:
An introduction to the cross-cultural study of human behavior with emphasis on non-Western cultures. Selected ethnographic material as well as general theories of technology, social, political, religious, family, and economic organization will be examined.
CDE 130 039H (1831) Typography
Kresge| MWF | 10-11:50 | SH213 | Honors Cap: 5
A study of the principles of designing with type, including type history, and technological advancements. There is special emphasis on type selection, specification, and creative typographic design solutions. A minimum of 3 hours of work outside of class is required per week.
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and letter-spacing (tracking), as well as adjusting the space between pairs of letters.
CDE 160 819 (1835) Hist Survey Graphic Design A
Bosler| Online | Honors Cap: 10
The historical development of graphic communications as applied through graphic design, including typography, advertising design and illustration, from pre-historic times through the 19th century. Emphasis is on the search to give visual form to ideas and concepts and to bring order and clarity to information dissemination.
It was the evolution of mass production and communication in the West that specifically redefined graphic design as a professional practice and is this course’s particular narrative. We hope students will consider how to connect the themes and ideas offered in this course to your own culture.
CSC 122 019H (2421) Client-Side Web Deveolpment
Wang| TH| 1:30-3:00 | GR307 | Honors Cap: 5
This course introduces fundamentals of client side web site development using industry standard practices and programming languages. Basic concepts, including the World Wide Web (WWW), client-server interaction, and front-end/back-end site development will be introduced. Web Page content and formatting will be covered using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Presentation and style management, and its separation from content, will be addressed using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). User interactivity and site behavior will be explored using JavaScript, which will also serve to introduce fundamental programming language concepts and constructs. Issues associated with site organization, development, and management will be discussed.
In web development, client-side is a term that describes that describe where application code runs. The Client-side is everything in a web application displayed or occurring on a client’s (end user’s) device, including what they see – images, text, and the rest of the UI. It also involves any actions performed by the app within the user’s browser.
CSC 354 019H (2395) Software Engineering I
Schwesinger| MWF | 10-10:50 | OM 158| Honors Cap: 4
This is the first course in a two-semester capstone sequence. This course introduces the fundamental principles of software engineering. Coverage will include the System Development Lifecycle (SDLC) methodologies, capturing requirements, design modeling, project management, risk management, and quality assurance. Students will learn techniques for requirements elicitation, prioritization, validation, and specification.
They will be introduced to various design models that are used to capture requirements..
If you’re a computer science engineer, you know what this is. It’s what you want to take.
COM 261 1209H (1670) Intro to Health Communication
Cripe| Online| Honors Cap: 5
This course is designed to introduce students to the field of health communication. It will explore health-related communication as it applies to the dissemination, interpretation, and impact of health-related messages. Students will learn about communication between health-providers and patients/clients, health education initiatives and campaigns, as well as communication dynamics in health organizations. Students will gain both knowledge and experience in the use of communication to promote individual and public health.
Health communication is great for all majors! Whether you want to be a doctor, therapist, social worker, or you are just a normal human who encounters health care professionals, this class teaches you the ins and outs of best practices, cultural differences, and effective health communication strategies.
Eng 223 019H (2955) Games and Literature
Leonard| MW| 3-4:20 | LY215| Honors Cap: 10
In this course students will play, analyze, and write their own interactive narrative games. The literary nature of video console, computer, boardgame, and roleplaying games will be the focus of this course with particular emphasis on short form avant-garde games that challenge the genre. We’ll discuss the ways that narrative games transform the reader into a player with an active role in story creation, how games might be understood as literature, and the tropes that these games often rely upon. Playing and discussing games is one major part of the course activities, but writing will be equally important as the main method of responding to and creating interactive games.
Professor Leonard is great! This is a fun and exciting class to spice up your workload and learn how literature plays a role in fun game nights!
MGM 210 049H (2956) Principles of Mgmt.
Gardner| MW| 3-4:20 | DF01G | Honors Cap: 20
Management 210 is an introduction to the field of management, giving a basic understanding of the processes of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals. In today's business world, organizational leaders adapt to change, apply the fundamental management principles of planning, organizing, leading, staffing and controlling. This course explores the nature and application of these fundamental principles in the present environment of globalization, technological change, and increased competitiveness.
The principles of management are the activities that “plan, organize, and control the operations of the basic elements of [people], materials, machines, methods, money and markets, providing direction and coordination, and giving leadership to human efforts, so as to achieve the sought objectives of the enterprise.
The sections below must be signed up for in the Computer Science Department:
CSC 135 059H (2393) Computer Science I
Zhang| TH| 1-3:00 | OM159| Honors Cap: 7
An introduction to computer components; algorithmic design and the constructs of structured programming; elementary data types and data operations; programming in a high level language; one-and-two dimensional arrays; subroutines and top-down, modular, step-wise programming; computer solution of several numerical and non-numerical problems.
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information1. It deals with the theory of computation, the design of computers, and their uses for processing information.
CSC 150 039H (2403) Ethical Legal Pro Impact Digital Age
Demarco| TH| 9:30-10:50 | OM 159| Honors Cap: 7
This course covers ethical, legal, and professional issues germane to the computer science and information technology disciplines. Students will acquire foundational knowledge sufficient to identify significant current issues that can arise for a professional in our discipline and also an ability to identify potential effects resulting from advances in digital technology. Key topics that will be covered encompass ethical, moral, and legal aspects of digital technology. The impacts of these topics on personal, social, political, and educational environments will be discussed and debated. Theoretical and practical sides of issues will be included.
Ethics are "a system of principals and customs that affect how people lead their lives". Although we do not have to follow these principles or ethics, it is generally in the best interests of everyone that we do.
CSC 355 WI 819H (1166) Software Engineering II
Schwesinger | MW | 10-10:50 | OM 159
*Students wanting to enroll in this course must email frye@kutzotwn.edu with their name, student ID#, and class information to be added. Do this AFTER you enroll in your other classes for Fall 2022. This course is NOT visible on MyKU.*
This is the second course in a two-semester capstone sequence. This course presents the advanced principles of software engineering. Coverage will include the professional responsibilities of the software engineer, implementation, testing, configuration management, and the project management. Students will be introduced to different development and testing approaches.
Stage two software development, you know why you need this.
The section below is by INVITATION ONLY:
FIN 375 319H (1341) Appl. Investment Management
Walker | T | 6-8:50 | DF105| Honors Cap: 12
**See department to enroll **
A small group of students, guided by a faculty member, work as a committee to manage a portfolio of stocks and bonds with the goal of matching or achieving above average, risk-adjusted returns relative to a benchmark. The students apply research, financial analysis, and portfolio management principles and tools to the management of a balanced portfolio (i.e., a portfolio containing both equities and fixed-income securities).
Work with Dr. Walker in a small group environment to practice and learn through the process of managing real investments with real money. This is a great opportunity, especially for Finance majors.