University Honors Program

Marquette’s University Honors Program is designed for intellectually curious, academically engaged students who want to learn in a close-knit community of their peers at the heart of a vibrant research university. Its broadly based, interdisciplinary curriculum addresses our most pressing contemporary challenges with cutting-edge knowledge and research and the wisdom of centuries of Jesuit values and pedagogy. Our Honors values and learning outcomes emphasize curiosity and open-mindedness, active listening and dialogue, breadth of learning and experience, and a commitment to equity, justice, and human rights.

The UHP offers two ways to participate in Honors: Core Honors, in which students follow an Honors version of the Marquette Core Curriculum throughout their undergraduate career; and Disciplinary Honors, in which students do Honors work in their majors.  Students may participate in either program or both.  Core Honors is open to incoming first-year students, who apply after being accepted to Marquette; students apply to Disciplinary Honors programs in their sophomore year. For more information on both programs, view our values and learning outcomes, browse our website, or contact us!

Honors News & Events

research fair

Honors Undergraduate Summer Research
Fellowship

Due: March 20, 2024, 5:00pm
MU Honors will award 20 undergraduate summer
fellowships to Honors students, in the amount of
$3500 each, on a competitive basis for research or
creative projects to be carried out June-August 2024.
Full details on the fellowships and application process
can be found here. Honors will hold information
sessions about research fellowships on February 27 at 2pm and February 28 at 12pm in the Honors Suite.

study abroad

  • Honors Study Abroad Award
    Spring Application Cycle for Summer & Fall 24
    Due: March 1, 2024 | 11:59pm

    Honors offers awards ranging from $500-$1500
    for study abroad programs with preference going
    to Honors-designated programs. To review
    available programs and learn more, visit the
    honors study abroad webpage.

spring class

Spring 2024 Classes Posted & Pre-
Registration Advising Availalbe

Honors classes for Spring 2024 are posted
to the courses webpage!

Updated advising instructions have been
added to the Academic Advising page for
pre-registration appointments. Make sure
to double check how and where to make
an appointment so you can register on time.

faculty award

Drs. Jennifer Henery & Khadijah (Gigi) Makky
Receive Honors Graduating Class of 2023
Outstanding Faculty Awards 

Dr. Jennifer Henery is a Teaching Assistant Professor
in the Department of Theology.  An alumna, she earned
her M.A. and Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University. She also holds a B.A. in English Literature
from Franklin College. After a decade as the Director of Spiritual Life and Character Development at a secondary  
boarding school, Dr. Henery returned to Marquette
in 2018 where she has enjoyed engaging students
in the exploration of theology and their formation in
Ignatian pedagogy. She is the inaugural recipient
of the Marquette Core Curriculum Teaching
Excellence Award in 2021. 

Dr. Khadijah (Gigi) Makky is a Clinical Professor
in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. Her
work focuses on teaching, mentoring and directing
the “Sterilizer Mentoring Service” lab. She is a past
recipient of The Rev. John P. Raynor Faculty Award
for Teaching Excellence and the College of Health
Sciences’ Dorothy H. Wood Award that recognizes
outstanding commitment and dedication to excellence
in teaching. Dr. Makky loves her role as an educator
and considers it a privilege and responsibility. After
12 years of teaching, her greatest reward comes
when she sees the spark of student inspiration –
a result of her philosophy of providing extensive opportunities for self-directed and well-earned success. 

christina curtis

Honors graduate Christina Curtis’s study 
Correlating Barriers to Medication Adherence
With Trait Anxiety, Social Stigma, and Peer
Support in College Students With Chronic Illness

co-written with Professor Astrida Kaugars, was
published in the Fall 2022 Psi Chi Journal of
Psychological Research
. Christina passed away on
July 21, 2020 at the age of 23. Christina graduated
in May 2020 with bachelor’s degrees in biomedical
sciences and psychology. She was a member of both
Core Honors and the Honors in Psychology programs.
She was also the recipient of the Alpha Sigma Nu
Jesuit Award for Outstanding Student and Community
Service and a member of Psi Chi: The National Honor
Society in Psychology. 

theo at gesu
theo at gesu

THEO 1001H Classes visit The Church of the Gesu
The Fall 2022 Theo 1001H courses of Drs. Dempsey, Henery, Bosserman, and Nussberger were introduced to
Marquette's Jesuit identity and the art, history, and
architecture of the Church of the Gesu by Dr. Derrick Witherington. 

core 1929h

In Spring 2022, CORE 1929H honors students
interviewed prominent Latinx bilingual education
activists in the Milwaukee area who changed
how bilingual programs are built in the city. With
the help of their professors, Sergio Gonzalez and
Sonia Barnes, students learned oral history
collection skills and what it means to be a
contemporary historian. Their interviews and
research will be contributed to the Wisconsin
Latinx History Collective
 and the Wisconsin
Historical Society
. Learn more about the project by listening to the WUWM 89.7 FM coverage of the
project
.

 

honors logo

Honors Digest

Published Bi-Monthly
Read through the Honors Digest, a bi-monthly roundup for current students of various upcoming honors events, opportunities, research announcements and more! 
Read the current issue.


student on bench

Prestigious Fellowships

Competitive fellowships and scholarships offer unique opportunities, both nationally and internationally, to expand your horizons and deepen your understanding. 
Learn more about prestigious fellowships.



Student News & Accomplishments

  • Congratulations to the Spring 2024 Honors Study Abroad Award Winners:
  • Clare Kirchner, SLU Madrid, Spain
  • Kat McGinnis, SLU Madrid, Spain
  • Henry Reinert, Sciences Po, Menton Campus, France

Congratulations to the Honors Research Fellowship Awards Winners for Summer 2023! Student awardees receive $3500 each for research or creative projects to be carried out June-August 2023. Awardees will present their research findings at the Honors Undergraduate Research Fair in Fall 2023! Learn more about their summer proejcts.

Michael Bergmann Margarita Buitrago
Mari Huglin Lara Koutah
Grace Koziol Grace Lindstrom
Sean Martin Bridget Neugent
Delanie Nikolay Liam Pyne
Sherlean Roberts Matthew Wagener
Arik Zintel  


Congratulations, Honors Graduates, Class of 2023!
We look forward to all that is to come after your graduation from Marquette! Please stay in touch. 2023 Honors Commencement Program

 



Congratulations to the Honors Study Abroad Awards Winners for Summer and Fall 2023 programs!

    • Margaret Karabatsos, American College in Greece
      Jack Killian, Arcadia Abroad, International Studies Institute, Florence, Italy 
      Natalie Murray, Universite Catholique de Lille

      Julia Beck, St. Louis University in Madrid, Spain

 

Humanities Disciplinary Honors student Jamal Hanson (class of 2023) was selected as the 2023 undergraduate student commencement speaker and honored as the Arts & Sciences Outstanding student. Read more about Jamal and his success at Marquette on Marquette Today.


Nabil Othman (class of 2026) accepted an offer to conduct research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) during summer 2023. He will be studying neurovascular brain imaging in the stroke branch of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Specifically he will be using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify potential biomarkers of stroke that can be used in future therapeutics for cerebrovascular disease.


Erica Ness (class of 2018) received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Columbia for the 2023-2024 academic year. Ness works as a positive youth development educator and outreach specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also serves as director of community engagement with Leaders of Kenosha, a collection of Kenosha women who have the urgency to empower Black American communities in their daily lives, work, and education to achieve complete excellence in their lives as well as the generations to follow. She graduated from Marquette with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, political science, and international affairs.


Congratulations to Emma Strick (class of 2023) on a variety of accomplishments this year: she was professor-nominated for Best Undergraduate Writing in Non-Fiction Award at Marquette, her creative non-fiction was published in Marquette Literary Review, she was an Outstanding English Major 2023 nominee, and a 2023 English Department Writing Contest Winner in Poetry.


Isabel Bonebrake (class of 2024) was chosen as one of eight student interns in the O’Brien Fellowship program for 2023-2024 academic year. As an intern, she will be working alongside professional journalists to help them produce long-term investigative stories. https://www.marquette.edu/obrien-fellowship/student-fellow-pair-2023-24.php


Isabela Holmes (class of 2026) won First place with her group in the Kohler/Marquette Inaugural M-Prize Competition. The competition focused on innovating for a better world. Specifically, groups were asked to design a kitchen/bath design with the goal of enhancing and promoting inclusive products. https://today.marquette.edu/2022/12/first-m-prize-challenge-sparks-innovation-with-marquette-students/. She was also awarded an internship with Benson's Restaurant Group for summer 2023. The internship is a management-level position in which I will be alternating between supervisor and serving roles at AJ Bombers in Milwaukee!


Kai Rowlands (class of 2025) was awarded a competitive NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of West Virginia. He will be working with Dr. Kevin Bandura on a telescope called the CHIME Outrigger throughout summer 2023. 


Bianey Calixto-Dominguez (class of 2025) was awarded an Emerging Leader Award and her work Other Words for Longing was published Poetry on Marquette Literary Review.


Caroline Palaski (class of 2023) received an Outstanding Senior in Psychology Award. She has worked as a research assistant in Dr. Holly’s Child and Family Interventions lab and interned at Dr. Hood’s Social Skills, Assessment, Intervention, and Learning Center.


Clare Lindstrom (class of 2024) served as an Arts & Entertainment audio producer on Marquette Radio during the 2022-2023 academic year and will be the Programming Director next year. A podcast she edited and produced with President Lovell and Sam Baughn was recognized by the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association for a first place award


Congratulations to the Honors Study Abroad Awards Winners for Spring 2023 programs!

      • Elle Engelke, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy
        Katie Darragh, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
        Catherine Lehmkuhl, Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), Chile
         
        Ashley Castaneda, SLU Madrid, Spain

Archived Student News