Maureen Thum, Ph.D. • Honors Program Director
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Imagine doing biological research on coral reefs in the Caribbean, or making discoveries about a fascinating seventeenth century woman at the National Library in Edinburgh, Scotland. Imagine doing research into neuro-transmitters with a leading scientist in Australia, or helping to design a robot at Carnegie Mellon University. These are just a few of the projects undertaken by students in the University of Michigan-Flint’s Honors Scholar Program.
Honors Scholar Director Maureen Thum emphasizes the growing number of students whose learning experience is enhanced through special projects that deepen and enrich their experience. “Now, at any given time, over 50 Honors students are engaged in some aspect of research in almost every department and professional school at UM-Flint,” said Thum. The Honors Program challenges students to open new doors through an off-campus study semester. Students develop a project working both with an on-campus advisor and an off-campus mentor at another university in the United States or abroad. “Students feel a sense of discovery,” said Thum. “Many have never left Michigan before. This experience broadens their perspective in significant and lasting ways.”
Through undergraduate research, students are fulfilling their dreams as they compete in the wider arena after graduation. They have been accepted into some of the most prestigious graduate and professional schools in the United States, and have won national awards including the National Science Foundation Award and the Fulbright Award. In 2004, a psychology senior was offered fellowships in nine graduate schools. “My research project in the U.K. really made all the difference,” she states. A student in History and Communication who did research in Australia was accepted into the Mayo Clinic Medical School in Minnesota. These are just a few of the student success stories professors and the entire UM-Flint campus take pride in.
A Political Science major who worked with a professor at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, describes the life-altering affect of undertaking her project. “I feel that this experience will forever guide how I spend my time. I feel that this aspect of my past is one of the most important parts of who I am.”
From studying women’s suffrage in Japan to rethinking autism in Africa, the possibilities available to Honors students are rich and varied. "The experience was amazing,” said Nick Webster, a business student who conducted research in Amsterdam on Zero Stage Funding for entrepreneurial industries. “There were times when I would wake up in the morning and just pause to reflect on the impact the trip was having on my life.”
Honors Scholar Director Maureen Thum emphasizes the growing number of students whose learning experience is enhanced through special projects that deepen and enrich their experience. “Now, at any given time, over 50 Honors students are engaged in some aspect of research in almost every department and professional school at UM-Flint,” said Thum. The Honors Program challenges students to open new doors through an off-campus study semester. Students develop a project working both with an on-campus advisor and an off-campus mentor at another university in the United States or abroad. “Students feel a sense of discovery,” said Thum. “Many have never left Michigan before. This experience broadens their perspective in significant and lasting ways.”
Through undergraduate research, students are fulfilling their dreams as they compete in the wider arena after graduation. They have been accepted into some of the most prestigious graduate and professional schools in the United States, and have won national awards including the National Science Foundation Award and the Fulbright Award. In 2004, a psychology senior was offered fellowships in nine graduate schools. “My research project in the U.K. really made all the difference,” she states. A student in History and Communication who did research in Australia was accepted into the Mayo Clinic Medical School in Minnesota. These are just a few of the student success stories professors and the entire UM-Flint campus take pride in.
A Political Science major who worked with a professor at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, describes the life-altering affect of undertaking her project. “I feel that this experience will forever guide how I spend my time. I feel that this aspect of my past is one of the most important parts of who I am.”
From studying women’s suffrage in Japan to rethinking autism in Africa, the possibilities available to Honors students are rich and varied. "The experience was amazing,” said Nick Webster, a business student who conducted research in Amsterdam on Zero Stage Funding for entrepreneurial industries. “There were times when I would wake up in the morning and just pause to reflect on the impact the trip was having on my life.”