The Honors Program at UW-Parkside
Exceptional Opportunities for Exceptional Students.
Honors Program Goals
The UW-Parkside Honors Program, established in 1995, encourages, rewards and celebrates academic excellence. The program is designed to achieve the following goals.
- To provide intergrated, challenging and satisfying learning opportunities for UW-Parkside's most successful students.
- To challenge students to go beyond normal course requirements and explore topics in greater depth and more detail.
- To provide opportunities for small group discussions and one-on-one interactions with faculty.
- To ensure that UW-Parkside's best students and most active faculty scholars engage in collegial, working relationships on in-depth projects of mutual interest.
- To foster fellowship and community among UW-Parkside Honors students.
If you like to take challenges...
If you want to get the most out of college...
If you thrive on questions and debate....
Then the UW-Parkside Honors Program is for you!
Program Admissions and Requirements
To enroll in Honors courses, you must first be admitted to the program. Applications are accepted at any time. For more information or an application form, contact the Honors Program Director, Dr. Gary Wood, 333 Greenquist Hall, UW-Parkside, Box 2000, Kenosha, WI 53141-2000.
Program admission requirements for new freshmen are standing in the upper 10% of high school graduating class and 90th percentile ACT score or standing in the upper 5% of high school graduating class or 95th percentile ACT score. Continuing or transfer students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better based on 12 or more credits to be considered for admission. All students must complete an application form and submit a letter of recommendation from a faculty member.
To receive official transcript designation and recognition at graduation, students admitted to the Honors program must complete 24 credits of Honors course work including:
- three one credit Honors Seminars,
- two other Honors designated courses, (excluding English 101),
- at least three credits of Honors Thesis. The Honors Thesis is typically completed during the last two or three semesters before graduation.
The remaining credits may be earned through Honors projects attached to regularly scheduled courses or through additional Honors Seminars or Honors designated courses. Students may also earn up to three Honors activity credits for participation in special events. A grade of B+ or higher must be earned for a student to be awarded Honors credit for any one course.
Who We Are
Honors Program Director
Gary Wood
(Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison 1986)
Associate Professor, Chemistry
GRNQ 333, 595-2430, gary.wood@uwp.edu
Honor Program Steering Committee Members
David Bruning
(Ph.D., New Mexico State University, 1981)
Distinguished Lecturer, Physics
GRNQ 358, 595-2473, david.bruning@uwp.edu
Stuart Hansen
(Ph.D., University of Iowa, 1993)
Associate Professor, Computer Science
MOLN 251, 595-3395, stuart.hansen@uwp.edu
Mary Lenard
(Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1996)
Associate Professor, English
CART 224, 595-2644, mary.lenard@uwp.edu
John Longeway
(Ph.D., Cornell University, 1976)
Associate Professor, Philosophy
GRNQ 201, john.longeway@uwp.edu
Robert Sasso
(Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1989)
Associate Professor, Anthropology
MOLN 319, 595-2169, robert.sasso@uwp.edu
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Donald Cress
(Ph.D., Marquette University, 1972)
Professor, Philosophy and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Program Benefits and Opportunities
Honors Students work hard, but it pays off. Privileges for UW-Parkside Honors students include:
- priority registration,
- designations on transcript upon program admission and completion,
- letters of reference from the program director,
- discounted subscription rates for the UW-Parkside Foreign Film Series.
The mst important benefits of the UW-Parkside Honors Program, however, are academic. The academic benefits of the Honors program include:
- enrolling in Honors seminars that address a topic of current interest,
- joining other Honors students in Honors sections of UW-Parkside courses,
- completing Honors projects in other UW-Parkside courses, including those required for your major,
- working with the program director and a faculty mentor on an Honors Thesis.

