Although the Honors courses are challenging and invigorating, a large part of the NMU Honors Program experience happens beyond the courses and the physical classroom. Students earning either Upper Division Honors or a Full Honors designation participate in a senior capstone project. Additionally, they are encouraged to learn a language other than English, study abroad, conduct research, attend and present at conferences and publish.
Conference, Presentations, Publications
Every year, the NMU Honors Program participates in the annual National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Conference. During this conference, Honors students (typically juniors and seniors) and staff present their research on a national level, while also attending workshops and presentations with other Honors Programs and Honors Colleges from across the country. Students are provided complimentary airfare, hotel accommodations, and conference fees paid by the Honors Program.
International-ization
In collaboration with the Honors Program, every summer the English Department offers "The NMU Stratford Festival Experience", a field-based course designed to give NMU students an opportunity to experience Canada's world-renowned Stratford Festival first-hand. Participants in this course will read these plays during the upcoming summer, before they head to Stratford to view them in mid-August. Upon their return to campus, students work with the course instructor to develop a research project to pursue for academic credit during the fall semester, based upon their experiences with both text and performance in Stratford.
For an Honors designation, the Honors Program requires students to learn a language other than English and also encourages them to volunteer and study abroad.
Research at NMU
Unlike many larger universities, NMU undergraduates have many opportunities for collaborative research with the faculty. Honors students are encouraged to participate in the Freshman Fellows and McNair Scholars programs, and they have the opportunity to conduct further research in customizable honorization/course contract projects in their upper-level courses. Most Honors students present their research at Northern's Celebration of Student Scholarship during the winter semester.
Excursions
Many interesting cultural venues and historical sites in the U.S. are located within a day's drive of Marquette. Every year, the program takes a weekend trip to a major Midwest city to enjoy cultural activities and fine food, while strengthening relationships among students, faculty, and staff.
Previous trips include enjoying the world premiere of a play at the Minneapolis Guthrie Theatre, seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, when Honors 211 (Food and Society) visited the Lansing and Detroit areas, and the Honors 111 (Modern Art European Sources) trip to the Chicago Art Institute.
Many interesting cultural venues and historical sites in the U.S. are located within a day's drive of Marquette. Featured on this page are field trip experiences enjoyed by NMU Honors students- another example of activities beyond the classroom.
Eight freshman Honors students traveled to Milwaukee in late September to visit Ten Chimneys the home of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne and attend a Milwaukee Symphony concert.
Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne are widely considered the greatest acting team in the history of American theatre. Every summer they would return to their home west of Milwaukee and invite fellow artists to spend time with them.
Their home is now a National Historic site where visitors get to learn about their lives and friendships against the backdrop of the American theatre.
The group traveled by van from Marquette to Milwaukee, en route to 10 Chimneys the group stopped off in Hartford Wisconsin for lunch. Dr. Broadway, the interim Honors Director, stopped to ask the mounted policeman where a good place for lunch was - the policeman recommended the Mineshaft- Wisconsin's largest restaurant and bar.
In the evening the group headed out for dinner at the John Hawks restaurant on the Milwaukee riverfront and walked to the concert hall where they heard a Brahms Symphony and a Beethoven piano concerto.