Coolidge Otis Chapman Honors Program

The Honors Program at Puget Sound explores and interrogates the intellectual traditions of the liberal arts. Through a sequence of courses that fulfill university core requirements, students in honors investigate the issues and challenges of today through a critical examination of the past. The program culminates in a senior thesis written in the student’s major or area of interest. In addition to academics, honors offers a residential and a cocurricular cohort experience enriched by cultural and social events, and faculty and peer mentorship. First-year students in the program live together in Regester Hall. With approximately 34 incoming students each fall, the Honors Program fosters strong and lifelong relationships among peers and faculty members.

The Honors Program explores contemporary questions through critical and comparative study, such as:

• Where do our ideas—about self, society, purpose, politics, justice, beauty, truth, progress—come from, and how have they been shaped by different periods, cultures, and intellectual traditions?
• How do our academic traditions interact with non-Western cultures? How do different traditions shape our expectations and limit our perceptions and understanding?
• How have other cultures addressed shifting belief systems, political upheavals, or environmental changes?

• Honors classes are taught as discussion-based seminars that provide a sequenced pathway through university core requirements.
• The Honors Senior Thesis and program requirements complement any Puget Sound major or minor.
• The residential cohort is central to the honors experience at Puget Sound. Honors is not just about the classes, but includes residential opportunities, community service, cultural events, and informal social events.