Honors Program Courses

Catalog description: This course equips students with essential skills needed to lead and join conversations that respond to public problems. Students develop a deeper understanding of at least one specific issue of social concern, such as race, gender, or class, and learn about how communication contributes to the status of that issue. With the goal of preparing students to engage in deliberative processes needed to improve our current social situation, students enrolled in this class learn how to craft and deliver messages for diverse audiences across a variety of mediums, understand the power and influence that communication has over our identities and shared realities, and learn about the ethical and practical dimensions of advocating for change. This course prepares students to be engaged, reflective, ethical citizens across contexts, audiences and issues. 

Fall 25: Jennifer Malkowski, PhD (Communication Studies)

Spring 25: Jessica Eggen, PhD (Communication Studies)

Fall 24: Amy Oelrichs, MA (Communication Studies)

Fall 24: Kris Sanville, MA (Honors Program)

Spring 24: Jessica Eggen, MA (Communication Studies)

Spring 24: Jennifer Malkowski, PhD (Communication Studies)

Spring 24: Amy Oelrichs, MA (Communication Studies)

Fall 22: Jennifer Malkowski, PhD (Communication Studies)

Catalog description: An interdisciplinary introduction to the Arts with an emphasis on the visual arts, cinema, dance, music, and/or theatre in diverse cultural and international contexts. The specific content of the course varies by section and instructor.

Fall 25: Adria Davis, MFA (Art and Art History) This section focuses on Photography from Historical to Contemporary. Students will work on a semester-long project, creating photographs, and collaboratively producing a photobook about the Chico State campus (similar to the Portland Grid Project).   

Fall 25: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures) This section focuses on modern and contemporary poetry. 

Spring 25: Gloria Lopez, PhD (History) This section focuses on the Book in Common, Héctor Tobar's Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of 'Latino'.

Fall 24: Adria Davis, MFA (Art and Art History) This section focuses on Photography from Historical to Contemporary. Students will work on a semester-long project, creating photographs, and collaboratively producing a photobook about the Chico State campus (similar to the Portland Grid Project).   

Fall 24: Kristen Mahlis, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) This section has as its theme art and activism, drawing on literary, musical, and visual art from the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean, and incorporating portions of the 2024-25 Book in Common, Our Migrant Souls.

Spring 24: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures) This section focuses on modern and contemporary poetry. 

Fall 23: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures) This section focuses on modern and contemporary poetry. 

Fall 23: Lateasha Meyers, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) This section centers Social Justice issues by focusing on visual arts and art movements through an intersectional lens.

Fall 23: Heather Altfeld, PhD (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures) This section focuses on modern and contemporary poetry. 

Spring 23: Heather Altfeld, PhD (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures) This section covers poetry from the Modern and Contemporary era. Students will read widely and generate their own poetry in the vein of the voices we read. 

Fall 22: Lateasha Meyers, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) This section focuses on visual arts and art movements through an intersectional lens.

Fall 22: Jason Nice, PhD (History) This section is an antiracist introduction to historical art and commemoration.

Catalog description: An interdisciplinary introduction to Humanities with an emphasis on literature, history, comparative religion, and/or philosophy. The specific content of the course varies by section and instructor

Fall 25: Tricia Sweet, MA (Honors Program) This section focuses on the theme of young adulthood in world literature. 

Spring 25: Tricia Sweet, MA (Honors Program) This section focuses on the theme of young adulthood in world literature. 

Fall 24: Tricia Sweet, MA (Honors Program) This section focuses on the theme of young adulthood in world literature. 

Spring 24: Tricia Sweet, MA (Honors Program) This section focuses on the theme of young adulthood in world literature. 

Fall 23: Tricia Sweet, MA (Honors Program) This section focuses on the theme of young adulthood in world literature. 

Fall 23: Jason Nice, PhD (History) This section focuses on the 2023-24 Chico State Book in Common, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America.

Spring 23: Tricia Sweet, MA (Honors Program) This section focuses on the theme of young adulthood in world literature. 

Fall 22: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures) This section focuses on the theme of memory and forgetting in modern literature, history, and culture.

Fall 22: Tricia Sweet, MA. (Honors Program) This section focuses on the theme of young adulthood in world literature.

Catalog description: This course approaches a topic or problem in the Physical Sciences from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The specific content of the course varies by section and instructor. 

Spring 26: Nicholas Nelson, PhD (Physics) This section is focused on the topic "how to build a habitable planet," addressing issues in atmospheric science, astronomy, physics, and geology.

Spring 25: Thea Wilson, PhD (Chemistry and Biochemistry) This section is focused on the topic of color, especially the chemistry and physics involved, as well as the historical/cultural/social importance of dyes and pigments.

Spring 24: Thea Wilson, PhD (Chemistry and Biochemistry) This section is focused on the topic of color, especially the chemistry and physics involved, as well as the historical/cultural/social importance of dyes and pigments.

Fall 23: Sandrine Matiasek, PhD (Earth and Environmental Sciences) This section focused on California water issues and ways communities can prepare for sustainable water use.

Spring 23: Rachel Teasdale, PhD (Earth and Environmental Sciences) This section focused on California water issues and ways communities can prepare for sustainable water use.

Spring 22: Hyewon Pechkis, PhD (Physics)

Catalog description: In this course, students explore Ethnic Studies research methodologies. The course content is variable with a focus on at least one of the following groups: American Indian/US Native American Studies, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Chicanx/Latinx Studies. The course is centered on experiential learning opportunities to engage in introductory explorations of research methodologies. The course uses both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies; therefore, students are expected to produce course projects that demonstrate their understanding in both approaches

Fall 25: Deserea Langley, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) This section is focused on Native American or American Indian methodologies.

Fall 25: Gabby Medina Falzone, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) This section is focused on Black and Latine methodologies.

Fall 24: Darwin Fishman, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) This section is focused on African American or African methodologies.

Fall 24: Gloria Lopez, PhD (History) This section focuses on oral history methodologies.

Fall 23: Lateasha Meyers, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) This section is focused on African American or African methodologies.

Spring 23: Lateasha Meyers, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) This section is focused on African American or African methodologies.

Spring 22: Browning Neddeau, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies and School of Education) This section is focused on Native American or American Indian methodologies.

Catalog description: This course approaches a topic or problem in the physical and/or natural sciences from multiple disciplinary perspectives. This course welcomes transfer students to the Honors Program, and introduces the Honors Program capstone options: undergraduate research/creativity, or leadership. The specific content of the course varies by section and instructor.

Spring 26: Abbas Attarwala, PhD (Computer Science) and Jaima Raigoza, PhD (Computer Science) This section focuses on quantum mechanics and quantum computing.

Fall 25: Jeremy Miller, MS (Honors) What do we choose to eat and why? What are the implications of those choices? This class will be a guided journey exploring that which literally makes us who we are: Our food.

Spring 25: Russell Shapiro, PhD (Earth and Environmental Sciences) This section, focusing on Extinct Worlds, uses the fossil record to learn new dimensions of scientific inquiry and address local and global ethical issues as they pertain to natural resources.

Spring 25: Jeremy Miller, MS (Honors) What do we choose to eat and why? What are the implications of those choices? This class will be a guided journey exploring that which literally makes us who we are: Our food.

Fall 24: Eric Gampel, PhD (Philosophy) This section is centered on two major questions: what is a mind and who has one? If artificial intelligence (AI) like Chat GPT can consistently pass the Turing test, should we consider that to be a conscious mind? And if AI is a mind, what are the perils and promise of this groundbreaking development? To answer these questions, we'll use concepts developed in cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy. Along the way we will be exploring fundamental issues in philosophy such as the mind-body problem, the nature of consciousness, and free will.

Spring 24: Monica So, PhD (Chemistry and Biochemistry) and Kathleen Meehan, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering) This section approaches the topic of solar energy devices and systems from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

Fall 23: Michael Ennis, PhD (Psychology) This section focuses on two major questions: what is a mind and who has one?If artificial intelligence (AI) like Chat GPT can consistently pass the Turing test, should we consider that to be a conscious mind? And if AI is a mind, what are the perils and promise of this groundbreaking development?.

Spring 23: Eric Gampel, PhD (Philosophy) This section explored the psychological, philosophical, social, biological, and technical aspects of machine "minds," and explored core issues within a subset of the disciplines that comprise the cognitive sciences, including artificial intelligence, philosophy, and evolutionary psychology. Readings and discussions focused on theories of artificial intelligence and classic themes in human cognition.

Fall 22: Kristen Mahlis, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies) and Don Miller, PhD (Biological Sciences) This section investigated the ethics of food production and consumption in the past and present to make clearer the choices and crises that confront us in the 21st century, from our current pandemic to the existential threats of the climate crisis. 

Catalog description: As the first course in a two-course capstone, students learn how to choose an interdisciplinary topic for a thesis or creative project, and how to begin the research/creative process with a focus on social science approaches to their topic.

Fall 25: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures)

Fall 24: Stephen Caldes, MFA (Journalism and Public Relations)

Fall 23: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures)

Fall 22: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures)

Catalog description: As the second course in a two-course capstone, students continue the research/creative process with a focus on humanistic approaches to their topic, and complete an interdisciplinary thesis or creative project.

Spring 26: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures)

Spring 25: Stephen Caldes, MFA (Journalism and Public Relations)

Spring 24: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures, and Honors Program)

Spring 23: Heather Altfeld, MFA (Comparative Religion and Humanities, Languages and Cultures, and Honors Program)

Catalog description: This course examines the issues of power, influence, and change within the context of world cultures. The course includes comprehensive review of issues and perspectives on leadership, multidisciplinary and classic theoretical approaches and literature, moving to the examination of evolving contemporary beliefs of leadership, power, and change. Through a process of readings, self-discovery, group observations, film, and case studies, students identify, observe, and analyze change philosophies in historical and cultural contexts.

Fall 25: Audrey Denney, MS (College of Agriculture)

Fall 25: molly heck, MSW, EdD (Multicultural and Gender Studies, Social Work)

Summer 25 (London): Laura Nice, PhD (Comparative Religion and Humanities

Fall 24: molly heck, MSW, EdD (Multicultural and Gender Studies, Social Work)

Fall 24: Nathaniel Heggins Bryant, PhD (English)

Fall 23: Nandi Crosby, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies, Sociology)

Fall 23: Matthew Thomas, PhD (Political Science)

Fall 22: Nandi Crosby, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies, Sociology)

Fall 22: Matthew Thomas, PhD (Political Science)

Catalog description: Students study leadership and its impact on social, economic, and political structures and institutions from a contemporary perspective. Throughout the course, students identify, apply, and reflect on aspects of leadership development, power, influence, and social change. Topics cover leadership theories, personal assessment and development, motivation, power, followership, group dynamics, equity in leadership, conflict resolution, change process, and citizenship. Through a process of selected readings, self-reflection, group observations, and case studies, students identify, observe, analyze, and apply new leadership behaviors through integrated project-based application.

Spring 26: Jacob Vazquez, EdD (Agricultural Education)

Spring 25: molly heck, MSW, EdD (Multicultural and Gender Studies, Social Work)

Summer 25 (London): Jason Nice, PhD (History)

Spring 25: Jason Nice, PhD (History)

Spring 25: Nathaniel Heggins Bryant, PhD (English)

Spring 24: Nandi Crosby, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies, Sociology)

Spring 23: Nandi Crosby, PhD (Multicultural and Gender Studies, Sociology)

Spring 23: Dana Williams, PhD (Sociology)