Honors in Health and Sport Studies

The Department of Health and Sport Studies is committed to offering high quality academic opportunities to students; one of the most important of these opportunities is a challenging and vibrant Honors Program. Honors Program students who complete the Health and Sport Studies honors requirements graduate with honors in their major. Students graduating with honors in Health and Sport Studies go beyond the basic degree requirements to demonstrate advanced understanding and skill-development in sport, physical activity, and health promotion. The white cord, which they receive during the commencement ceremony, marks this important and distinguished academic accomplishment. Students who have maintained a high GPA but who have not met Health and Sport Studies honors requirements will graduate with distinction, with high distinction, or with highest distinction. Students who meet both sets of requirements receive both recognitions.

Graduating with Honors in the Department of Health and Sport Studies (HSS) requires:

• Maintaining a GPA of 3.33 in both UI and HSS course work.
• Successful completion of an HSS Honors Designation, Research Practicum, Teaching Practicum, or Service Learning course.
• Successful completion of 28:194 Honors Readings (1-2 s.h.) under the supervision of an HSS faculty member.
• Successful completion of 28:195 Honors Problems (3-4 s.h.) under the supervision of an HSS faculty member. This course entails the creation and completion of an honors thesis, usually original research or a creative work.
• An oral or poster presentation of the honors thesis within an approved venue, e.g., department research seminar or professional conference.
• Applying to the UI Honors Program to graduate with honors in Health and Sport Studies.

28:194 Honors Readings 1-2 s.h.

The Honors Readings course is the first step in completing an honors thesis. In this course the student works with an HSS faculty member to read widely and comprehensively in a specific area, e.g., obesity in children, disabilities and sport, and sport in the media. Readings include research (articles and monographs), reviews, popular press, and editorials. The student produces an annotated bibliography that is presented to the faculty member at the end of the semester summarizing his/her readings. Within this class the student also identifies several research questions that might advance understanding of the issues within the selected area. Finally, the student, with assistance from the faculty member, writes a brief research proposal (one to three pages) summarizing the background, research questions, and methods for an honors thesis focused on the selected area.

The student and faculty member arrange times to meet once every two weeks to review progress, discuss articles, draft research questions, etc. An instructor number and approval are required for registration in this course.

28:195 Honors Problems 3-4 s.h.

This class is a continuation of the work begun in Honors Readings. Within this course, the student conducts original research or a creative project under the supervision of a faculty member. The research or project is described in the student's honors thesis report using an appropriate format (e.g., APA, MLA) and general guidelines for scholarly and scientific writing. The completed thesis is typically 30 to 40 pages in length (not including tables, figures, or references). Compliance with the prescribed format for the UI Honors Program is required.

The student and faculty member arrange times to meet once every week to review progress, collect data, analyze data, review report drafts, etc. An instructor number and approval are required for registration in this course.

Honors Designation Course Work 3 s.h.

To arrange for honors designation for an HSS course, the student and professor of the course should agree on a special course project that will add to the course requirements. An Honors Designated Course Work form must be completed by third week of the semester. At the end of the semester, the professor signs the original form to certify that the additional work has been completed. Once this process is completed, the student's transcript will reflect Honors Designation for the selected course.

HSS courses available for honors designated course work include: 28:244 Seminar in Health and Physical Activity Behavior, 28:249 Epidemiology of Physical Activity, 28:270 Social Psychology and Sport, 28:278 History of Women and Sport, 28:374 Sport History Seminar, and 28:300 Research Colloquium. Honors designated courses can be counted toward health promotion and sport studies elective course work. See the UI Honors Program for more information.

143:100 Honors Research Practicum 3 s.h.

Honors students can work as research assistants for HSS faculty, earning 3 s.h. of academic credit. Students completing an Honors Research Practicum course spend approximately 10 hrs per week assisting in all aspects of a faculty research project. An Honors Research Practicum can be counted toward health promotion and sport studies elective course work. For more information see the UI Honors Program.

143:101 Honors Teaching Practicum 3 s.h.

Senior HSS honors students can assist faculty as teaching interns in lower level HSS courses or other approved courses. A student completing the teaching practicum must have taken the course he/she will assist in and have received an A in that course. Teaching interns spend about 10 hours a week providing tutorial assistance for students, helping professors and graduate teaching assistants in the organization of the course, and course delivery. Interns attend class, maintain office hours, and receive 3 s.h. credit in exchange for their work. An Honors Teaching Practicum can be counted toward health promotion and sport studies elective course work. A UI Honors form must be completed prior to participating.

HSS courses available for teaching practicum credit include 28:074 Inequality in Sport, 28:075 Health in Everyday Life, 28:076 Psychological Aspects of Sport and Physical Activity, 28:136 Physical Activity through the Lifespan, 28:138 Exercise Testing and Prescription, 28:144 Peer Health Education, 28:170 Sport and Nationalism, 28:177 Sport in the Western World, 28:178 History of Sport in the U.S.

143:042 Honors Service Learning 1 s.h.

Students work with an HSS faculty member to arrange an honors service-learning project. A plan of study approved by the faculty member is filed with the UI Honors Program prior to beginning the course. Course work consists of on-the-job experiences in community health promotion, clinical health care delivery, and sport, e.g., coaching and sport promotion.

The student and faculty member arrange times monthly to review progress. An instructor number and approval are required for registration in this course.

For More Information

Visit the UI Honors Program to learn more about graduating with honors, honors designated course work, research practicum, teaching practicum, service learning, scholarships, and other academic opportunities. http://www.uiowa.edu/~honors/index.html

Contact the HSS Undergraduate Director to learn more about the HSS Honors Program. E-mail: kathleen-janz@uiowa.edu

Current HSS honors students: please sign-up for the honors LISTSERV with provides current information on important deadline dates, academic opportunities, social events, etc. Click on: http://www.uiowa.edu/~honors/cgi-bin/listserv/listserv.html