Robert E. Cook Honors College

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The Robert E. Cook Honors College is an honors college housed within Whitmyre Hall at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. One hundred students are allotted for each year, although frequently less than that are admitted.

Students are exempt from many liberal studies courses. In place of these courses, they are required to take "core classes" that consist of two literature units, one history unit, one philosophy unit, one fine arts unit, and one elective unit. Students take two units per semester, and each unit addresses a question that is examined from the views of the various disciplines. Some questions include, "What do we know; what do we believe, and what, therefore, should we do?" "How do we tell the good from the bad, and what, therefore, should we do?" and, "What is art, and what, therefore, should we do?" Students typically have a paper to write each night on an assigned reading. At the end of the unit, students are required to write thesis papers, and each class comes together to create a presentation or consensus paper to be presented to the other units.

In the 2002 Spring semester, the Honors College introduced two science core units, where students can take either psychology, anthropology, or biology. These units address questions such as, "What does it mean to be human? What, therefore, should we do?"

The college focuses on critical thinking skills, and classes are run as round-table discussions. Class participation and critiquing of ideas are encouraged. A staple book of the honors college is Asking the Right Questions, which expands on how to critically think, which chapters on concepts such as logical fallacies and value assumptions. Students have shortened it to "A.R.Q.", and within the honors college ("H.C.") students use the term "A.R.Q." as both a verb and a noun. ("I need to A.R.Q. Plato's Allegory of the Cave in my paper tonight." "I hate A.R.Q.") Students in the honors college also state that they begin to "A.R.Q." things outside of class, such as sitcoms and advertisements.

In addition to taking the "Honors Core" classes, students in the Robert E. Cook Honors College also live in Whitmyre Hall, where their honors classes are held. This provides a unique learning experience because almost everyone within the building is taking "Honors Core". This allows for a friendly, open environment where everyone has "Honors Core" in common. Students also comment on the fact that while it is an honors environment, people are typically more relaxed than one might expect.