Who Is A Pennoni Honors College Student?
We see the “Honors” in Pennoni Honors College as recognizing all the ways students can be curious, engaged, and motivated. These traits can take lots of different forms, and the offices and programs within our college are here to help you capitalize on them.
Whether you are interested in adding breadth to your learning through the Honors Program; building your own academic path through the Custom-Designed Major; testing new ideas, techniques, or technologies through undergraduate research; or exploring opportunities for further personal and intellectual growth through fellowships, you have a home with the Pennoni Honors College. Pennoni puts students first and enhances their Drexel experience through a supportive community that provides access to customizable educational opportunities, mentored experiential learning, and plenty of room for exploration, creativity, and imagination.
Honors Program
Joy is central to learning in the Honors Program. Honors courses provide breadth and depth when it comes to education: challenging students to consider what it means to know, encouraging students to play with ideas, and providing a framework to explore topics outside of their fields. Honors classrooms are vibrant spaces, where their small size and discussion-based format encourage students to be inquisitive and engaged. Outside the classroom, the Honors Living Learning Community and student-centered programming provide opportunities for students to connect with one another and develop lifelong friendships. Through all its offerings, the Honors Program fosters a community of students who are curious, creative, and highly engaged. Students from all colleges and majors at Drexel are welcome to apply to the Honors Program, either as incoming first-year students or at the end of their first or second years at Drexel.
Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry
Education in the 21st century should be customizable, adaptive, and interdisciplinary. That is what the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry (CII) helps to deliver for undergraduate students. CII recognizes that the challenges and opportunities of our rapidly evolving, globalized world require people who can think and make connections across fields, communicate and collaborate effectively with others from different backgrounds, and apply tools, techniques, and ideas from one context to another. To help prepare students for that world, CII offers two primary opportunities: the Custom-Designed Major and the Symposium. With the aid and guidance of the dedicated CII staff, the Custom-Designed Major empowers students to create individualized, interdisciplinary majors. These majors have included human genetics, costume design, global health technologies, and sustainable food systems, among others. The Symposium brings together faculty from different disciplines to co-teach courses as part of a yearly theme such as monsters, aging, and water.
Undergraduate Research
Creating, applying, and experimenting with new knowledge is at the heart of research. Undergraduate Research and Enrichment Programs (UREP) is Drexel’s centralized office for undergraduate research and provides students with experiential learning opportunities through faculty-mentored research, guided reflection and recognition of ongoing research efforts, and funding for doing and sharing research. These opportunities include the STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) Scholars Program, SuperNova Undergraduate Research Fellows, undergraduate research mini-grants, and travel grants. Students in all colleges and majors are eligible for these opportunities and have access to UREP advising and informational resources. If you are looking to learn more about undergraduate research, jumpstart your research trajectory, or capitalize on your ongoing research endeavors, UREP is the place for you!
Fellowships
Undergraduate Research and Enrichment Programs also houses Drexel’s centralized office for fellowships. Fellowships are external awards that fund different types of experiences and learning opportunities. These can include things like funding for external research opportunities, study abroad and language learning, mentorship and professional development, graduate study, and more. Our advisors provide advising and support to undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni interested in applying for these awards. They can help you navigate the application process, including identifying appropriate awards, preparing for interviews, and assembling letters of recommendation, as well as helping to reflect on and write about your experiences as they relate to application criteria. While winning an award is great, the fellowship application process itself is an excellent opportunity for growth and development as you reflect on your achievements at Drexel.