College Scholars Program Courses

The College Scholars Program is designed to both challenge participants and give them the opportunity to develop a strong foundation in research theory and practice. Please find a summary of the curriculum below: 

Year 1

Fall Welcome Event: All incoming College Scholars are invited to participate in a welcome event at the beginning of Fall quarter. The event is hosted by the Faculty Honors Director and provides College Scholars the opportunity to learn more about the program, to be introduced to the Provosts of their college and other faculty involved in the program, and to ask questions. It also provides a chance for incoming College Scholars to meet and mingle with their Provosts, faculty and with continuing College Scholars.

Fall Quarter 1st year—Supplementary Activities: Students take part in enrichment activities organized around The Humanities Institute Deep Read at their colleges. These activities focus on reading as a form of humanistic inquiry into society and allow CSP students to build community with one another and with their Provost. More information is provided to College Scholars at the beginning of fall quarter.

Service Learning Course - Winter Quarter 1st year: Students take a two-credit asynchronous online service-learning course offered through Cowell College (COWL 168). Students spend the quarter learning about how a non-profit organization of their choosing creates change in their community. They research an agency, focusing on who is served, how funding works, and how that organization serves the target community.

Faculty Research Colloquium - Spring Quarter 1st year: Students take a two-credit course (COWL 89) in which faculty guest lecturers from a broad array of disciplines share their research motivations, challenges, processes, and successes, and students have the opportunity to ask questions. Following the lectures, students meet informally with the faculty members in smaller groups to learn about their professional trajectories and ask questions related to student career goals. Each student will have the opportunity to attend one of these networking events per term.

Year 2

Research Seminar - Fall (or Winter) Quarter 2nd year: The College Scholars Program culminates with a small, five-unit research seminar. Each seminar focuses on developing significant hands-on skills: whether it is a chance to engage in guided scientific research in the field or to address how literary and historical texts describe, represent, and shape the world, students receive training in research skills transferable to a variety of professions. All of the seminars bear general education (GE) credit and are taught by experienced UC Santa Cruz instructors. Some seminars will be offered in winter quarter; however, priority enrollment eligibility will only continue through Fall of the second year.

2022-2023 Research Seminar Offerings

Fall 2022

Winter 2023