SPECIALIZED CURRICULA

University Honors Program
English as a Second Language Courses
Applied Science Program
Pre-Professional Careers

UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAM
 The University Honors Program, open to students in all undergraduate divisions of the university, is administered by the Honors Council and the director of university honors.  Minimum requirement for acceptance into the program is a composite score of 26 on the ACT.  The student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 or higher to be inducted into the program in the spring of the freshman or sophomore year and must maintain a 3.3 to graduate as a University Honors Scholar.

The purpose of the University Honors Program is to offer the academically superior student a specially designed program, within a supportive community, that fosters critical thinking, intellectual development and social responsibility.  This enhanced program is designed to provide a balance of common experience and flexibility addressed to individual achievement as well as a comprehensive framework on which to build disciplinary studies.

The Honors Program also has an honors house on campus which houses both male and female students.  Students should consult with the director of the University Honors Program and the director of University Housing for availabilities and stipulations.  The house serves as a residence and a focal point for meetings and activities with the Honors Alliance, faculty and staff in the Honors Program.

The official student voice within the program is the University Honors Alliance.  Membership to the University Honors Alliance is offered to any student with a 3.3 grade point average or higher.  There is an annual membership fee of $5.

University Honors Program Requirements

  1. Honors Versions of General Studies.
    Within the regular general studies requirements, the University Honors Scholar takes a minimum of seven honors versions of general studies courses distributed over at least four departments.  These courses are not taken in addition to the general studies courses; rather, they are taken in place of regular general studies courses.  When the minimum number of honors versions of general studies courses is difficult to attain, the student, with the permission of the honors director, may take upper level courses in the general studies sequence to replace and count toward the credit of the honors version of general studies course(s).

  2. Foreign Language Courses.
     The University Honors Scholar must take six hours of one foreign language (classical or modern) depending upon demonstration of proficiency accepted by the Department of Classical and Modern Languages.  The student may take an additional language course, in addition to the six-hour requirement, to suffice as one of the seven courses and one of the general studies requirement mentioned above in Section I.

  3. University Honors Courses.
     The program of interdisciplinary studies with the PEAK Program (Promoting Excellence and Knowledge) begins in the fall semester of the freshman or sophomore year, continues throughout the sophomore and junior years, and culminates in the fourth year with the University Honors Capstone Seminar. The student takes four interdisciplinary seminars. HON 1101 is taken in the freshman year, HON 2200 and 3300 may be taken in the sophomore and/or junior year, and HON 4400 may be taken in the junior or senior year. Transfer students may enter the program with permission of the honors director.

First Year, PEAK Program (one semester):
 University Honors candidates can be notified of acceptance into the University Honors Program in the spring semester while enrolled in an honors version of a general studies course in the spring semester.  Candidates must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.3 complete HON 1101, and take one honors version of general studies courses each semester, including the spring semester.  All honors students must meet with the director of the University Honors Program each semester for advising.

 

Subsequent years:

 

HON 2200 (3) University Honors Special Topics: Interdisciplinary I
HON 3300 (3) University Honors Special Topics: Interdisciplinary II
HON 4400 (3) University Honors Capstone Seminar

Honors Versions of General Studies courses

ART 1134 (3) Honors Visual Arts
ENG 1103 (3) Honors English Composition I
ENG 1104 (3) Honors English Composition II
ENG 2207 (3) Honors World Literature before 1660
ENG 2208 (3) Honors World Literature after 1660
HIS 1103 (3) Honors History of Western Civilization I
HIS 1104 (3) Honors History of Western Civilization II
HIS 1113 (3) Honors U.S. History to 1877
HIS 1114 (3) Honors U.S. History since 1877
MUS 1132 (2) Honors Music Appreciation
PSY 2201 (3) Honors General Psychology
POL 2240 (3) Honors American National Government
SPH 2243 (3) Honors Fundamentals of Speech or Fundamentals of Speech

Honors placement in math will be made on an individual basis by the Chair of the Department of Mathematics.

Honors Thesis
The University Honors Scholar is encouraged to complete an honors thesis or honors project in his/her major in accordance with departmental requirements. Please see the course descriptions section of this catalog for ENG 4498-4499 and HIS 4498.

University Honors Program Courses (HON)

Please see the course descriptions section of this catalog for descriptions of University Honors Program Courses (HON).

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE COURSES
The American English Group (AEG) offers intensive English language instruction for non-native speakers. This program addresses the needs of students who plan to pursue further university study in the United States or who wish to sharpen their language skills for personal or professional reasons. In addition to improving listening, speaking, reading, and writing ability, ESL classes also increase students' understanding of American culture and university life. Level I - IV courses are offered for institutional credit; up to six credits of level V - VI courses can be used to fulfill the free elective course requirement towards an undergraduate degree. For more information, see the Academic Regulations section of this bulletin. For information about the AEG terms of instruction, contact the Center for International Programs at 334-670-3335.

American English Group Courses (AEG)

GRAMMAR COURSES

0082 Grammar I (5) For beginners and near beginners.
  Covers the verb be, simple present tense, present progressive, wh-questions, possessives, prepositions of time, simple past, past progressive, and parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, prepositions). Independent CD-based exercises on topics covered in 0083 – two hours per week.
0083 Grammar II (5) For high beginners.
  Covers imperatives, suggestions, there is/there are, negative questions, future, nouns, articles, and quantifiers, modals, comparatives, superlatives, and basic sentence structure (simple and compound sentences). Independent CD-based exercises on topics covered in 0084 – two hours per week.
0092 Grammar III (5) For low-intermediate students.
  Review, expansion, and practice of basic verb tenses, imperative forms, phrasal verbs, modals, comparatives and superlatives. Introduces negative questions and tag questions, additions and responses, gerunds and infinitives, phrasal verbs (separable and inseparable), and adjective clauses (with subject relative pronouns and object relative pronouns). Independent CD-based exercises on topics covered in 0094 – two hours per week.
0093 Grammar IV (5) For intermediate students.
  Review, expansion, and practice of modals and modal-like verbs, expression of advisability and obligation, speculations and conclusions about the past, and the passive. Introduces the passive with modals and the passive causative, conditionals, direct and indirect speech, indirect instructions, commands, requests, and invitations, indirect questions, and embedded questions. Independent CD-based exercises on topics covered in 0095 – two hours per week.
1105 Grammar V (5) For high-intermediate students.
  Review, expansion, and practice of all simple and progressive verb tenses and passive voice. Introduces modals expressing necessity and certainty, countable and uncountable nouns, quantifiers, and adjective clauses. Includes in-depth analysis of sentence structure: parts of speech, phrases, dependent and independent clauses, subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, sentence types, and sentence fragments. Independent CD-based exercises on topics covered in 1105 – two hours per week.
1106 Grammar VI (5) For advanced students.
  Review, expansion, and practice of auxiliaries and phrasal verbs, gerunds and infinitives,  Introduces adverbs and adverb clauses, noun clauses (subjects and objects), unreal conditionals and other ways to express unreality, and the subjunctive, inverted and implied conditionals. Includes in-depth analysis of sentence structure: sentence types, sentence fragments, parallelism of gerunds and infinitives, sentence and fragments, writing direct and indirect speech, and avoiding run-ons and comma splices. Independent CD-based exercises on topics covered in 1106 – two hours per week.
0072 Guided Independent Grammar (1 to 5) For any level.
  Supervised independent study of selected topics at an appropriate level, using textbooks and/or software.

LISTENING COURSES

0070 Guided Independent Listening (1 to 5) For any level.
  Supervised independent skill-building practice at an appropriate level, using TV, radio, sound recordings, video, and software.
0090 Listening III (5) For low-intermediate students.
  This course teaches English necessary for the comprehension of natural, conversational speech. Begins with detailed examination of grammatical and phonological features of spoken English that may challenge listeners; builds to intensive academic listening practice and development of note-taking skills. Linguistic analysis:  increased comprehension through familiarity with reductions, linking, contractions, silent letters, unstressed words, syllable stress, affixes, sentence intonation, and contrastive word stress. Listening Lab requirements:  one hour per week
0091 Listening IV (5) For intermediate students.
  The purpose of this course is to prepare students for academic lecture comprehension and note-taking; students will learn to simultaneously listen to, analyze, organize, and write down new information. Academic focus:  Understanding lecture organization, constructing outlines, recognizing cues and main ideas, predicting content and lecture direction, making generalizations, and listening for details. Listening Lab requirements:  one hour per week
1101 Listening V (5) For high-intermediate students.
  Prepares students for the demands of academic lecture comprehension and note taking. Many organizational plans such as definition, description, cause and effect, process, examples, classification, comparison and contrast, and generalization will be studied. The course will emphasize how to evaluate, organize, and predict information in lectures. Exercises in vocabulary acquisition and language cue recognition are included. Listening Lab requirements:  one hour per week.
1102 Listening VI (5) For advanced students.
  Academic focus:  Introduces listening strategies for academic lectures, such as anticipating and organizing information; understanding humor, connecting words, and pronoun referents; recognizing analogy, quotations, and paraphrasing. Skill-building exercises include listening for main ideas, making inferences, listening for specific information, summarizing, and recognizing vocabulary in context. Listening Lab requirements:  one hour per week.

  READING COURSES

0080 Reading I (5) For beginners and near beginners.
  Focuses on building vocabulary and developing reading skills such as finding main ideas, locating pronoun referents, and using context clues. Includes introduction to use of a monolingual dictionary for second language learners. Reading Lab requirement: one hour per week.
0081 Reading II (5) For high beginners.
  Focuses on vocabulary expansion and skills building. Students will practice scanning, skimming, predicting, and separating main ideas from supporting ideas. Reading Lab requirement: one hour per week.
0094 Reading III (5) For low- intermediate students.
  Develops reading skills by studying scanning, previewing and predicting, vocabulary, main ideas, skimming, making inferences, summarizing, paragraph topics and their patterns of organization.  Reading Lab requirement: one hour per week.
0095 Reading IV (5) For intermediate students.
  Builds up vocabulary and practices reading strategies. Exercises develop skills in recognizing affixes, using context clues, finding main ideas, scanning for details, drawing inferences, and forming conclusions. Reading Lab requirement: one hour per week.
1103 Reading V (5) For high-intermediate students.
  Focus on increasing reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension through detailed analysis of word parts, complex sentence structure, and paragraph construction. Vocabulary building activities include study of stems and affixes, practice in guessing meaning from context, exposure to figurative language, and using a monolingual dictionary. Exercises on a wide variety of material provide practice in reading strategies such as skimming, scanning, prediction, restatement, and inference. Reading Lab requirement: one hour per week.
1104 Reading VI (5) For advanced students.
  Helps the students be ready for academic reading. Vocabulary building through brainstorming, vocabulary lists, and close exercises that help learners guess the meaning from context and see regularity in the language. Introduces students to the lifestyles, attitudes, customs, and traditions of Americans. Reading Lab requirement: one hour per week.
0071 Guided Independent Reading (1 to 5) For any level.
  Supervised independent study at an appropriate level, designed to develop specific reading skills and increase vocabulary. Materials may include books, newspapers, magazines, CDs, and the Internet.

 SPEAKING COURSES

0060 Pronunciation I (3) For beginners or near beginners.
  Intensive practice in sound production and differentiation (English vowels, consonants, diphthongs, and consonant clusters) as well as syllable stress, word stress, and intonation patterns. Uses word games, textbook activities, recordings, and software.
0061 Pronunciation II (3) For intermediate students.
  Remedial work for students with speech irregularities. Includes sound production and differentiation, syllable stress, word stress, intonation patterns, contractions, reductions, linking, assimilation, and fast speech phenomena. Uses word games, textbook activities, recordings, and software.
0086 Oral Skills I (10) For beginners or near beginners.
  Offers integrated language acquisition approach in listening, speaking, and pronunciation. Emphasis on language functions and meaningful exchanges in realistic and relevant situations. Intensive practice in sound production and differentiation, syllable stress, word stress, and intonation patterns. Uses language games, textbook activities, recordings, and software. Lab requirement: two hours per week.
0087 Oral Skills II (10) For high- beginners.
  An integrated class in listening, speaking, and pronunciation. Increases listening and speaking fluency and confidence by building vocabulary and providing controlled listening and speaking practices in a safe environment. Uses language games, textbook activities, recordings, and software. Work on pronunciation. Lab requirement: two hours per week
0098 Speaking III (5) For low-intermediate students.
  Increases fluency, comprehensibility, and confidence through both controlled and free speaking practice. Classroom activities, including role-plays, drama, pair dictation, and small group discussion promote fluency and provide a context for the practice of functional language. CD-based assignments provide a comprehensive review of the English sound system as well as useful practice in functional language. Lab requirement: one hour per week.
0099 Speaking IV (5) For intermediate students.
  Develops oral presentation skills while examining both formal and informal speaking, including idioms and relaxed speech. Class presentations allow students to share aspects of their own culture such as proverbs, games, folktales, forms of address, standards of conduct, ceremonies, and holidays. Pronunciation is closely monitored to detect irregularities, with individual remedial lab work assigned on sound production and differentiation. Lab requirement: one hour per week.
1109 Speaking V (5) For high-intermediate students.
  Increases vocabulary and fluency through discussions, debates, and presentations. A comprehensive pronunciation program on CD and cassette leads students through a review of the English sound system as well as a detailed study of the finer points of pronunciation, such as rhythm, pitch, and phrasing. Class presentations are more formal and more academic and require research and other preparation. Lab requirement: one hour per week.
1110 Speaking VI (5) For advanced students.
  Centered on the oral presentation, this course moves through the entire process of giving an oral presentation from choosing a topic to organizing and delivering a speech. Speech is closely monitored for lingering irregularities, with individual remedial lab work assigned as needed. Lab requirement: one hour per week.

 TOEFL COURSES

0088 TOEFL Preparation I (5) Intermediate level.
  Covers strategies and skills necessary for the TOEFL exam. Provides listening, structure, reading, and writing skills practice at an intermediate level. Students learn test-taking strategies, take and analyze practice exams, and work to increase vocabulary in order to prepare for the TOEFL test. Independent CD-based TOEFL exercises on topics covered in 0088: one hour per week.
0089 TOEFL Preparation II (5) Advanced level.
  Covers strategies and skills necessary for the TOEFL exam. Provides listening, structure, reading, and writing skills practice at an advanced level. Students learn test-taking strategies, take and analyze practice exams, and work to increase vocabulary in order to prepare for TOEFL test. Independent CD-based TOEFL exercises on topics covered in 0089: one hour per week. Course requirement: 475 on the paper-based TOEFL; 153 on the computer-based TOEFL.
0073 Guided Independent TOEFL Preparation (1 to 5) Advanced level.
  Supervised independent study using textbooks, tapes, and software. Includes intensive practice in listening, grammar, and reading as well as coaching in test-taking strategies.

WRITING COURSES

0084 Writing I (5) For beginners or near beginners.
  Focus on sentence-level writing: clause types, sentence types, sentence combining, conjunctions, and mechanics (punctuation and capitalization). Provides a basic introduction to writing in English that helps students apply what they are learning in other English classes to develop their writing proficiency.  Writing Lab requirement:  one hour per week.
0085 Writing II (5) For high-beginners.
  Continues with sentence-level writing; introduces students to several methods of organizing paragraphs: writing introductions, describing, listing characteristics, stating reasons and examples, and expressing opinion. Appropriate grammar and mechanics is practiced for each method. Writing Lab requirement:  onr hour per week.
0096 Writing III (5) For low- intermediate students.
  Focus on paragraph-level writing: review of mechanics, sentence structure, and sentence combining, followed by analysis of model paragraphs and practice in locating and formulating main ideas and topic sentences. Study of organizational patterns and outlines for various types of paragraphs. Includes work on unity, transitions, and support.  Writing Lab requirement:  one hour per week.
0097 Writing IV (5) For intermediate students.
  Focuses on paragraph organization using time-order, listing, description, narration, using reasons and examples, comparison and contrast, and facts and opinions. Mechanics and appropriate complex sentence structure for each method will be practiced. Writing Lab requirement:  one hour per week.
1107 Writing V (5) For high-intermediate students.
  Provides competence in academic writing focusing on paragraph writing, elements of style, and patterns of writing. Practice using support/evidence, in-text citations, and paraphrase. Includes work on mechanics and detail (such as subject-verb / pronoun-antecedent agreement) as well as on overall organization, support, and coherence. Practice appropriate grammar (especially run-on, comma splice, fragment, subject-verb agreement errors). Writing Lab requirement:  one hour per week
1108 Writing VI (5) For advanced students.
  Focus on essay construction. Emphasis is placed on coherence, unity, and writing well-developed and well-organized essays. Explores different rhetorical patterns (chronological order, logical division of ideas, cause-effect, comparison/contrast, etc) as means to the end in fulfilling academic writing assignments. Study of different ways to organize and present ideas for different groups of readers. Emphasis on writing as a process, with frequent group work to generate ideas and practice peer editing. Writing Lab requirement: one hour per week.

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APPLIED SCIENCE PROGRAM
Through these programs the university offers associate and baccalaureate degrees especially designed for individuals with skills and understanding obtained from accredited post secondary technical schools, community colleges, military schools and non-traditional sources.  These programs require residence study (main campus or branch locations).  Selected courses are offered through distance learning.

The applied science degrees were initiated after several years of study that involved faculty members, outside consultants and conferences with staff members of the Commission on Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.  The unique feature of these degree programs is that credit may be awarded for completion of technical courses and/or learning acquired through experience.  In assessment and recognition of experiential and other non-traditional education, the university follows the “Principles of Good Practice in Assessing Experiential Learning” recommended by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).  All applied science degree programs are not offered at all locations.

Eligibility
 Eligibility for enrollment in one of the applied science degree programs is dependent upon prior education and/or experience.  Before enrollment in one of the programs, official documentation of prior learning must be submitted to determine eligibility.  All post-secondary technical school transfer students must complete all courses required in the institution’s curriculum and earn (if appropriate) a diploma or certificate before being granted admission into the resources management degree program.  No additional credit will be awarded for the possession of a license.  All credit from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), accredited post secondary technical schools, and/or American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations will be considered junior college credit except where specifically recommended by ACE for upper-division credit.  No credit will be awarded until six semester hours of academic credit has been earned at Troy University.  At least 50 percent of the degree program must be traditional academic credit at the 3300/4400 level. Curriculum: The academic curricula taught by the university have been developed to supplement, not duplicate, the vocational/technical training or other experiential learning the individual may possess in a manner designed to provide these individuals greater career opportunities.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CREDIT

CROSS DISCIPLINE COURSES (CDC)

3301 Portfolio Development (2)
  This is a course in the preparation of an educational portfolio, a formal file or folder of information complied by students on learning acquired through specific past experiences and accomplishments.  Students are required to prepare a portfolio under the guidance of the instructor.  The course is required of all students prior to submission of a portfolio to the university for evaluation for experiential credit.

Experiential Learning Assessment (ELA) Credit
Experiential learning assessment (ELA) is a process used by Troy University to evaluate prior college-equivalent  learning attained by students outside the classroom and not transferable through any of the standard methods of accepting non-traditional credit.  Each student prepares a portfolio that is a carefully organized folder documenting learning outcomes (not learning activities) for the purpose of earning credit for a specific college course or courses.  The procedure for students interested in requesting assessment of prior experiential learning is as follows:

  1. The student enrolls in CDC 3301 Portfolio Development for 2 semester hours of credit.  The instructor for this course (1) provides an overview of the experiential learning assessment program, (2) assists in determining whether or not prior learning is appropriate or adequate to request academic credit, (3) provides the guidance necessary to prepare an educational portfolio, and (4) evaluates the portfolio to determine if the content is sufficient to approve submission for faculty assessment.  NOTE: No more than 25 percent of the degree may be earned by using experiential learning assessment credit or portfolio-based credit.

  2. The student prepares the portfolio, which includes

    1. A statement of the student’s educational goals;

    2. A chronological record of the student’s education and work experiences;

    3. A clear statement of the knowledge and skills not learned in college for which the student desires to receive academic credit;

    4. Information that links the knowledge and skills to the student’s goals and educational degree program; and

    5. Documented evidence that substantiates the student’s claim to learning.

  3. Faculty assessment.
    Once the portfolio is submitted to the faculty for evaluation, the faculty member uses several methods of assessment, which include product assessment such as an original computer program, interviews, oral or written examinations, simulations, performance tests, and/or essays.  The faculty member makes a recommendation to award or not award the hours of credit.

  4. Fee Payment
    The student pays the appropriate fees for the credit awarded.

  5. Credit is then posted to the student’s transcript.

MILITARY ELECTIVES
Military electives may be taken from credit earned through the American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations, Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), or military credit from regionally accredited institutions.
For additional information regarding the military science minor, please consult the index of this catalog. 

PRE-PROFESSIONAL CAREERS
 Students who are interested in preparing for careers in the professions will find many such opportunities at Troy University.  Considered among the best available, Troy’s pre-professional programs feature small classes, special academic advisers, free tutors, exceptional laboratory facilities and an outstanding and well qualified faculty.

Pre-law
Admission to accredited professional schools of law requires from three to four years of college preparatory work with preference given to applicants with the bachelor’s degree.  Law schools generally do not prescribe a particular major or course of undergraduate study as a prerequisite for admission.  All such schools emphasize the important of excellence in whichever course of study is pursued. For students planning to enter the profession of law, it is recommended that a student pursue a bachelor’s degree giving emphasis to such fields as English, history, political science, criminal justice, social science, speech communication or business.  For individualized advice about courses appropriate for law school, students may consult with the advisers for the Pre-Law Society.

Pre-engineering
 Program requirements among the professional schools of engineering vary, although certain courses are common to most such schools, particularly during the first two years’ work.  Students may complete from one to two years of pre-engineering and basic engineering course work at Troy University before transferring to a professional school.  The choice of the professional school and the particular field of engineering will determine the appropriate time for transfer.  Consequently, students are assigned pre-engineering academic advisers to assist them prior to registration each term.

Pre-health Professions
 Courses required for admission to these professional schools are available at Troy University.  Admission to these schools is highly competitive.  Troy University recommends that students who plan a career in medicine, dentistry, optometry or osteopathic medicine follow a program which leads to the bachelor of science or bachelor of arts degree.  Because certain specific courses are required by medical, dental, optometry or osteopathic medicine schools, Troy provides pre-medicine and pre-dentistry advisers and the pre-professional student has the opportunity to consult with the major adviser throughout his/her undergraduate studies.

Pre-veterinary Medicine
 Programs leading to the doctor of veterinary medicine degree normally require four years of preparatory college work and four years in the professional school.  Four years of the preparatory work may be taken at Troy University.

Pre-agriculture and Forestry
 Students who plan to follow courses of study leading to degrees in agricultural engineering, animal or poultry husbandry, dairying, farm management, horticulture, wildlife, agriculture education, or forestry may complete as much as the first year’s work at Troy.  Certain courses required during the second year also are offered, but before continuing into the second year, the student should carefully examine the requirements of the professional school selected.

Other Pre-professional Career Paths
 Troy University also provides appropriate courses of study for a number of other professional and vocational fields, including pharmacy, home economics, land surveying, physical therapy, public administration, seminary training, etc.  These programs require general preparation (as required for the bachelor’s degree) as a prerequisite for admission to the professional or graduate school.

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