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Contact UsSpring 2026 - Colloquium Courses
Date/Time: Spring 2026 | M/W 9:30-10:45
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Michala Stock
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director. ENG 1020 or ENG 1020
Description: In this course, students examine human growth and development from a variety of perspectives, tracing life history stages from before birth, through infancy, to childhood, and adolescence. Students will explore the ways in which different factors influence human growth and development, including the intersections of (epi)genetic and biocultural processes, whose plasticity ultimately produces variation within humanity. The goal of this course is to provide learners with a more nuanced understanding of how evolutionary, environmental, and cultural processes interact in the growth and health in human populations.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
Date/Time: Spring 2026 | T/R 12:30-1:45
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Liz Macy
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director. ENG 1020 or ENG 1020
Description: In this course, students examine the role of music within the context of disaster. Understood to be catalysts for artistic expression, disasters produce musical expressions related to trauma in myriad forms. Following an historical overview of large-scale natural and man-made disasters and the kinds of music produced in relation to them, we will examine the ways in which disaster figures into the production and consumption of music in places like Haiti, New Orleans, Indonesia, South Africa, Cambodia, Uganda, and in the Post-9/11 world. Moreover, students will discuss music as a tool in social justice, considering the way that music is used as social commentary and critique and for social activism. Students will develop an understanding of how music and disaster have historically been intertwined, and how music shapes our understanding of conflict and catastrophe.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
Date/Time: Spring 2026 | M/W 11:00-12:15
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Judy Strathearn
Prerequisite(s): GWS 1001 or Permission of instructor
Description: This spring, GWS is offering the GWS3670 Contemporary Issues in Women’s Studies course in conjunction with 1Book. This course is based on the 1 Book/1 Project/2Transform initiative at MSU Denver and this year’s book selection, We Will Be Jaguars by Nemonte Nenquimo. It is a memoir that highlights Indigenous feminist activism, ancestral resilience, and environmental justice. We will examine how colonial and capitalist forces have caused land displacement and affected cultural preservation. The course links ancestral knowledge as a foundation for advocacy and analyzes the memoir genre through foundation feminist theories, discussions, writing projects, ethnographic and environmental research methods.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
Spring 2026 - Honors Courses
Date/Time: T/R 12:30-1:45
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Jason Jordan
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director
Description: This course teaches students how to design and deliver effective, ethical presentations. The ability to adapt to different audiences and contexts – such as professional or public situations – is emphasized. The course provides instruction on and practice of organization, delivery and performance, technology, and research skills. Students also learn effective listening techniques and critical thinking skills. The course empowers students to become successful professional presenters and public speakers.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
General Studies: Oral Communication
Date/Time: T/R 11:00-12:15
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Doug Petcoff
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director. ENG 1020 or ENG 1020
Description:In this course students learn about the initial discoveries that sparked new scientific fields and about the subsequent revolutions caused by such discoveries. By examining the role of the scientific method in the production of knowledge, students improve their own scientific literacy and learn to critically examine historical scientific experiments. Students investigate the methodologies used, the theories and hypotheses tested, and manipulate original data created in selected experiments. Course discussions also examine the complex relationship between science and world views.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
General Studies: Natural and Physical Sciences
Date/Time: M/W 12:30-1:45
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Roger Green
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director. ENG 1020 or ENG 1020
Description:
Technology’s impact on human life emerges in a wide array of fields such as agriculture, medicine, warfare, politics, education, transportation, space exploration, communication, data science and robotics. In this interdisciplinary course, students consider definitions of technology and examine the historical relationship between humans and technology. Course discussions also explore debates on the ethical uses of technologies and how technological developments impact our lives as individuals and collectively.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
General Studies: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Date/Time: M/W 11:00-12:15
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. David Tasker
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the Honors Program or Permission from the Honors Director. ENG 1010
Description: This is a course for students in the Honors Program and addresses the process of writing extended essays supported by research. The course includes an introduction to research methods, practice in critical reading, thinking, and writing across the disciplines, integration of source material, and the conventions of MLA and APA styles of documentation. Students can expect to do a series of shorter writing and research assignments leading to the longer, documented paper and will write reflectively on their writing process.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
General Studies: Written Communication
Date/Time: Online
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Jessica Parker
Prerequisite(s): ENG 1020, ENG 1021 and Junior or higher standing
Description: Students study the expectations that shape scholarly writing in their various academic disciplines. Students draw on research appropriate for discipline-specific peer-reviewed publications and/or conference presentations. During this course, students learn to transform their written work into submission-ready artifacts with the guidance of instructor feedback and peer review. This course is ideal for students who plan to attend graduate school or are in writing-intensive degree programs.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
General Studies: Written Communication
Date/Time: T/R 12:30-1:45
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Luis Rivas
Prerequisite(s): ENG 1020, ENG 1021 and Junior or higher standing
Description: Students explore the expectations that shape scientific writing in their various scientific disciplines and employ the correct forms, interpret and synthesize the literature and present their researched writing to various audiences. Students draw on research appropriate for discipline-specific publications and/or conference presentations. During this course, students transform their work into publishable/presentable texts with the guidance of instructor feedback and peer review. This course is ideal for students who are majoring in a science discipline.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
General Studies: Written Communication
Date/Time: Online & 11:00-12:15
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Jane Vigil
Prerequisite(s): ENG 1020 or ENG 1021 and Junior-level standing
Description: This course introduces key concepts and practices of professional writing, including various written genres, research, document design and visual rhetoric, and use of style guides. Students explore the expectations that shape professional writing such as how to employ the correct forms, interpret and synthesize the literature and present their researched writing to various audiences. During this course, students learn to transform their work into sharable documents with the guidance of instructor feedback and peer review. This course is ideal for students to develop and polish writing skills that will be needed for their career.
Note: B- or better required for Honors credit.
General Studies: Written Communication
Date/Time: W 2:00-4:50 (EDS 4010 meets online with 8 synchronous (online) meetings on the following Wednesdays: 1/21, 2/4, 2/18, 3/4, 3/18, 4/8, 4/22, 5/6.)
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Philip Bernhardt
Prerequisite(s): Senior Standing or permission of department
Description: In this senior experience course, students will have opportunities to synthesize the knowledge, skills, and theoretical constructs learned throughout their undergraduate studies. Students will design an action research project relevant to their field of study, discipline, and/or profession. The course requires students to identify applicable research topics, formulate research questions, analyze the quality and credibility of research, synthesize research to develop and organize a literature review, select appropriate research designs and methods, and develop a research proposal aligned with the elements and requirements outlined by MSU Denver’s IRB process and Human Subjects Protection Program. Students will have the opportunity to present and discuss their research proposals to demonstrate developed expertise.
University Requirement(s): Senior Experience
Date/Time: M 3:30-4:30
Credits: 1
Instructor: Dr. Megan Hughes
Prerequisite(s): “C” or better in ENG 1020 or ENG 1021, Junior or Senior standing, Enrollment in the Honors Program and Permission from the Honors Director.
Description: This course is taken prior to the Senior Honors Thesis (HON 4950) and is only open to Honors students. This course familiarizes students with project organization and the scope and proper format of an undergraduate thesis project. Each student develops: a thesis statement, a project outline, an initial bibliography and a working abstract. Students also identify a primary Thesis Advisor for their projects. The Thesis Advisor is a faculty member with expertise in a discipline closely related to the topic of the thesis project.
Note: This course must be completed with a B- or better in order to advance to the Senior Honors Thesis.
Date/Time: T 3:30-4:30
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Megan Hughes
Prerequisite(s): HON 4948 with B- or better, Senior standing, Enrollment in the Honors Program and Permission from the Honors Director, approval from student’s department/degree program if taken in place of Departmental Senior Experience course.
Description: The Honors Thesis is the culmination of the Honors undergraduate experience. In this course, students complete an independent research and/or creative project under the direction of a primary Thesis Advisor and the Honors Director. The Thesis Advisor is a faculty member with expertise in a discipline closely related to the topic of the thesis project. Students submit a written thesis and deliver a public oral presentation of their work.
Note: This course must be completed with a B- or better in order to count for Honors credit.
University Requirement(s): Senior Experience
Date/Time: T 3:30-4:30
Credits: 1
Instructor: Dr. Megan Hughes
Prerequisite(s): HON 4948 with B- or better, Senior standing, Enrollment in the Honors Program and Permission from the Honors Director This one-credit course must be paired with an upper division departmental Senior Experience, research or capstone course
Description: The Paired Honors Thesis is the culmination of the Honors undergraduate experience. This one-credit course must be paired with an upper division departmental Senior Experience, research or capstone course. In this course, students complete an independent research and/or creative project under the direction of a primary Thesis Advisor and the Honors Director. The Thesis Advisor is a faculty member with expertise in a discipline closely related to the topic of the thesis project. Students submit a written thesis and deliver a public oral presentation of their work.
Note: This course must be completed with a B- or better in order to count for Honors credit.