Honors Program
Siena Hall, S-108
516.323.3340
Howard Ponzer
Director of the Honors Program
Chair, Philosophy Department
The Modern World: Global Perspectives, Finding Solutions, Service at Home.
The Molloy University Honors Program traverses all majors and provides students with an academic opportunity that thematically integrates diverse disciplines. This program attempts to challenge students by identifying common interests and goals that address the many issues of global concern. Although the journey begins in the freshman year as participants in the Honors Freshman Learning Community, it is at the conclusion of the freshman year where the synthesizing begins as students participate in International Seminars on Global Citizenship which include lectures and discussions with international faculty as well as formal and informal work in small groups.
Topics addressed in lectures and group discussions include globalization and global responsibility; the social, economic and political aspects of migration; the historical legacy of the Holocaust, human rights and humanitarian intervention; sustainable development; as well as the implications of the United States’ presence around the world. The program aims to engage participating students as global citizens offering an opportunity to interact with different groups of people to address common concerns. These seminars have included trips to Austria, France, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Limerick, Ireland.
During the final semester of the program, all Honor students must complete a capstone project in order to graduate with the Honors Program distinction. Students who have completed the Honors coursework will be paired with a faculty mentor who will assist in helping students design a project that synthesizes knowledge gained from academic and scholarly coursework and that of their travel and experiences relative to the program and their major. The Honors students will have the privilege to share their insights with the Molloy Community and the option to submit their work to the National Collegiate Honors Council as well as the Northeast Regional Honors Council.
Program Mission
The Mission of the Honors program is to successfully educate and graduate students who are informed global citizens. The Honors program prepares students to become competent and ethical global citizens by investigating the world beyond the immediate, understanding, affirming and articulating other perspectives in order to shape the future, resulting in taking action to improve the world globally and locally.