USM Honors Program

The Experience

Here's what our students say about USM Honors

"There is something to gain from every opportunity and every experience we participate in. The Thesis workshop is not about grading, but offering new concepts/direction. I was amazed to look back at where my thesis started and where I ended up. Honors is less about superior talent/ intelligence, and more about opening our minds to new opportunities and higher levels of thinking. I've completed the thesis and the program, and for anyone approaching this opportunity, I wish you the best. It's such an amazing journey that will strengthen your academic experience."
—Carissa O'Brien (Class of 2007) Beginning at The University of Maine School of Law fall 2007

"Everyone who enters the Honors classroom, with the discipline and open-mind it takes to undergo the academic tour-de-force, is going to end up somewhere they never expected to be on their own intellectual voyage."
—Frederick Greenhalgh (class of 2006)
To listen to Frederick's Thesis, an original radio drama called "Day of the Dead".

"I see Honors as my academic parent figure, and any success I have reflects directly on the merits of the program."
—Joe Swanson (class of 2004; 2003 National Collegiate Honors Council Portz Scholar; Candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship)

“When people ask me how I feel about being in the Honors Program, I tell them that it’s like going to a restaurant with a bunch of friends; everyone grabs a menu, orders some food, eats it, and then decides whether the chef did a good job or not.” —Raheem Jammeh (class of 2006)

"The experiences we've had here in this developing Islamic desert country have made us think back to our Honors classes often."
—Mary (Anderson) Hansen & Derek Hansen (class of 2003 & 2002 respectively; met in the program, married in 2004 and completed their work in the Peace Corps. in Mauritania, Africa in 2007)

"The Honors House provides students with a community that respects comprehension and grants the opportunity for experiences to take with us on whatever challenge we decide to face."
—Nick Allanach (class of 2003; recent graduate of The New School's Graduate Faculty for Political and Social Science)

Where do Honors students go after graduating?

Fulbright Scholars:

• Michelle Alger in Lithuania
• Julia Edwards in Norway (Teaching)
• Ian A. Ramsey in Japan (Teaching)

Our alumni have also gone on to the following graduate schools (to name just a few):

• Boston College
• Brandeise Pre-Med
• Edinburgh University, Scotland
• Georgetown
• Harvard Education
• Kingston University, U.K.
• The New School
• Northeastern
• Penn State
• Smith
• Syracuse: Newhouse School of Public Communications
• University of Colorado, Chemistry
• University of Maine School of Law
• University of Vermont Law School
• Vanderbilt

Graduates have taken their experiences and knowledge to a variety of leadership and civic roles in the US and abroad including the Peace Corps, internships on Capital Hill, as well as important careers in law, education, counseling, social work, and the creative arts.