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. The University Honors Program offers an intense, individualized and experiential education by which students learn to become leaders — at Marquette and in their careers.
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 only to incoming first-year students who are eligible to apply after being accepted to Marquette; students apply to Disciplinary Honors programs in their sophomore year. Core Honors offers an Honors Living-Learning Community in Straz Tower for first-years and sophomores. For more information on both programs, please browse our website or contact us!
News and Events
Honors Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship, Applications Open
Due: March 22, 2021, 5pm
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 2021. Full details on the fellowships and application process can be found here. Honors will hold a virtual information and advising session for the fellowship on Friday, Feb. 26 at 12:30pm and Monday, March 1 at 12:00pm. Sign up to attend.
Honors Study Abroad Awards, Applications Open
Due: March 15, 2021, 11:59pm
Marquette’s Office of International Education and the University Honors Program offer scholarships awards for study abroad programs of at least 4 weeks’ duration for summer and fall 2021. Additional funding is available for Honors-preferred programs in South Africa, Chile, Greece, Australia, and Thailand. Find out more and information on applying here.
Conversations on Race & Honors Education
February 18, 2021 | 6:00 – 7:30pm CST
Save the date for a virtual conversation between the Marquette University and Creighton University Honors Programs about addressing race in honors education.
Spreading Positivity through Authentic Art
December 9, 2020
Inspired by the short documentary film "The Guerilla Bunny" which showcases a public art project in Massachusetts, Dr. Melissa Shew's HOPR 3957 class created painted rocks to spread positivity around campus. Read more about the project here.
2020 Virtual Undergraduate Research Fair
November 5, 2020UHP celebrated research from the 2020 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship awardees and MU4Gold Research Scholars in a virtual setting. Browse the student’s research posters and watch videos introducing their research on the Research Fair webpage.
Honors Research on Covid-19
September 3, 2020
Honors student Gretchen Zirgaitis delves into research with COVID-19 Student Commentaries, an outlet for Marquette undergraduate students to perform research stemming from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and gain experience writing research pieces. See Gretchen's commentary.
Prestigious Fellowships
Competitive fellowships and scholarships offer unique opportunities, both nationally and internationally, to expand your horizons and deepen your understanding.
Upcoming Fellowship Deadlines:
Udall Undergraduate Scholarship - Due March 2, 2021
Apply for up to $7000 in eligible academic expenses for pursuing leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to Native American nations or to the environment.
Honors Digest
Published Bi-Monthly
Read through the Honors Digest, a bi-monthly roundup for current students of various upcoming campus events, career and internship opportunities, fellowships, research announcements and more!
Student News & Accomplishments
Honors Senior Noelle Douglass (Double major in Communication Studies and Philosophy) is working towards a senior thesis, the first communication studies department undergraduate thesis in over a decade. Her project researches the terms used for female attractiveness, how these terms are valued, and how social media platforms mediate these valuations. Noelle is seeking individuals of all ages, genders, races, sexualities, and backgrounds to participate in her research by taking an online, 15-minutes-or-less survey. You can find out more about Noelle’s project here and follow the results of her research on the project's instagram page, @whatkindofpretty.
Kaitlyn Hill, an Honors Junior double majoring in Political Science and Spanish, has accepted an internship to work with Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin in Washington DC during the 2021 summer. As an intern, Kaitlyn will work on a wide range of projects and assist staff in an administrative capacity to address constituent requests and concerns.
Through her work with the MU Center for Peacemaking, Honors Junior Katherine Walsh (Economics & International Affairs Major) has collaborated on creating the Relational Learning Project. In conjunction with the Afghan Peace Volunteers and other international nonviolence organizations, the project aims to connect people from around the world to learn more about one another’s views on nonviolence. Find out more on the Relational Learning Project webpage.
Honors Freshman Macnessa Fidlin (Double major in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Philosophy) has joined Dr. Chelsea Cook’s research lab to study the social behaviors of bees and how social environments influence group behavior. This summer, the lab will continue research studying the thermodynamic behavior of social fanning, among other experiments. Find out more about the Cook Lab at MU.
Tess Murphy, an Honors Junior double majoring in Political Science and Writing-Intensive English, is the Spring 2021 intern at the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington D.C. this summer. As an intern, Tess works on various research and writing projects, specifically in areas of social policy, congressional outreach, education, and women in economics/technology.
Honors Freshman Victor Zarate (Mechanical Engineering major) won the Midshipman of the Semester in the Marquette University Navy ROTC program for the Fall 2020 semester. NROTC focuses on academics, leadership, physical fitness and community involvement in order to provide students with the necessary skills to become future leaders of this great country.
Honors Senior Zoë Comerford (Double major in Journalism and Digital Media) is the 2020 Pete & Bonnie Axthelm Memorial Scholarship recipient, a merit-based award for outstanding MU journalism students with an expressed interest in sports journalism.
