Spring 2021 from the Bentley Newsroom: two stories featuring Honors Program Capstone research!

All That Jazz, Music is more than a pastime - Juan Cristo Diaz ’21

Hidden Costs, Gender barriers facing women in finance - Mengyao Lu ’21

Honors Program Mission

The Bentley University Honors Program offers a distinctive learning experience to a diverse community of Bentley’s highest academically achieving students who are passionate about exploring the world, are invigorated by inquiry, and driven to expand their horizons while giving back to their community both within and beyond Bentley.

Vision

The Honors Program provides participating students with an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to foster advanced intellectual growth and lays a foundation for lifelong learning. In a unique business school that values a strong liberal arts education, Honors students are enriched by their exposure to interdisciplinary approaches, experiential learning, and academic research. Honors students are expected to demonstrate leadership and initiative in their curricular and extra-curricular endeavors. Honors students have opportunities to integrate their academic life with an array of experiences that enhance their broader individualized learning experience.

Student Learning Goals

The Bentley University Honors Program empowers students to develop a lifelong commitment to intellectual curiosity and civic engagement while fostering an inclusive and supportive community to promote students’ success and well-being.

Intellectual Curiosity

• Honors students engage in a challenging curriculum that prepares them to excel in their chosen field of study while utilizing a cross-disciplinary framework to develop creative solutions to complex problems.
• Honors students continually seek opportunities to expand their breadth and depth of knowledge by participating in experiential learning, academic research, interdisciplinary study, global experience learning, and professional development.
• Honors students produce an original Capstone project that allows for deeper exploration of a topic that they are especially passionate about. Honors students develop and deliver a presentation at the annual Honors Research Conference to educate the Bentley University community about their Capstone work.

Social and Ethical Responsibility and Civic Engagement

• Honors students make a positive impact in their communities, both within and beyond Bentley, by completing a required service-learning experience and practicing the Core Values of Bentley University.
• Honors students demonstrate integrity both inside and outside of the classroom by acting respectfully and honestly – Honors students follow the Honors Program Academic Integrity Guidelines and are expected to voluntarily report academic integrity charges to the Honors Program Director.
• Honors students expand their cultural knowledge by completing a global experience.
• Honors students may serve on the Honors Student Council and take on a leadership role by collaborating with the Honors Leadership Administration team, planning social and service events, and administrating student committees.

Fostering an Inclusive and Supportive Community to Promote Student Success and Well-being

• Honors students value the opportunity to engage with a diverse group of students, faculty, and staff – the Honors Program provides numerous academic, social, and service events to promote students success, learning, and well-being.
• Honors students create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all to participate fully.
• Honors students demonstrate a commitment to their holistic wellness by prioritizing their physical health, mental health, and personal well-being.
• The Honors Program creates a community of care by providing a dedicated staff member to help students navigate and engage with appropriate campus and community resources to promote success both inside and outside of the classroom.

Students in the Honors Program must meet the overall GPA requirements detailed below. Additionally, they must adhere to honors defined academic integrity standards. Honors students are required to take at least nine courses (27 credits) within the Honors Program. They are also required to complete a service learning experience during their second year in the form of either a 4th credit Service Learning class or an embedded Service Learning course, as defined by Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center. Honors coursework is typically comprised of six general education or elective courses, two courses within a student’s major, and the senior Honors capstone project. However, the exact composition of the course requirements can vary by major. For more information, see the Honors handbook.

Overall GPA Requirements

End of the first full semester at Bentley University: 3.3
End of the second full semester at Bentley University 3.3
End of the third full semester at Bentley University 3.4
End of the fourth full semester at Bentley University 3.4
End of the fifth full semester at Bentley University to graduation: 3.5*

* All Honors students must graduate with at least a 3.50 overall GPA, regardless of circumstances.

For further policy information, please see the Honors Handbook available here.

Essential benefits to all Bentley University Honors Program students include:

• Smaller classes and the opportunity to work closely with faculty on research projects
• Participation in undergraduate research through a required Capstone project that involves presenting at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Please see below for more information about the Capstone project and research opportunities
• Access to events and activities to promote community engagement, including a Welcome BBQ, first-year mentoring program, off-campus trips to sporting and cultural events, and on-campus lectures
• Opportunity to gain leadership experience by serving on the Honors Student Council
• Honors student research funding
• Dedicated Honors Program lounges and living communities in two Residence Halls, featuring specialized advising sessions, weekly game nights, and pizza with the Honors Team
• Early class registration
• Opportunities to travel to regional honors conferences
• Honors specific career service counseling
• Honors students have an opportunity to meet and hear campus speakers from various disciplines from the private sector, government, and academia

Senior Capstone Project

During the fall semester of their junior year, Honors students are required to select from one of three capstone tracks: (1) the Scholarly Project Track; (2) the Creative Project Track; or (3) the Community-Based Research Track. The Scholarly Project track allows students to work one-on-one with a faculty advisor to complete a scholarly research project. Scholarly Projects should aim to make an original contribution to the academic literature. The Creative Project track also allows students to work with a faculty advisor. In this case, students are tasked with producing a creative project, such as an art installation, a musical score, poetry anthology, or any other form of artistic expression. Finally, the Community-Based Research Track brings together a team of students and tasks them with completing an applied research project on behalf of a community partner, such a non-profit or governmental organization. A faculty advisor guides student teams.

All Honors Program students are required to complete a three-credit capstone experience. Students are expected to present their research at the Honors Conference, which is typically held during the end of the spring semester of their senior year.

Requirements by Track

The Scholarly and Creative Track

HNR 450 (H) Honors Capstone Proposal (1 credit)
HNR 460 (H) Honors Capstone Project (2 credits)

The Community-Based Research Track

HNR 445 (H) Honors Capstone Course (3 credits)

For more information on the Capstone Research Project, contact the Associate Director of the Honors Program Ryan Bouldin, who manages the process. For specific information on dates, deadlines and procedures for current students, see Blackboard.

Conferences

Many of our honors students present their Capstone and other research projects in conferences outside Bentley. Every year, the Honors Leadership team grants a small stipend to a few selected students working on their honors capstone projects. Students have also received travel funds to conduct research as well as to present their projects in local, national, and even international conferences.

Honors students at Bentley are smart, motivated and dynamic. Because of this, many of our students attain position on campus, from student government, resident assistants, club and academic groups, Greek life, student ambassadors, or athletics, leadership opportunities are plentiful for students within the Program.

Leadership opportunities exist within the Honors Program as well. The Program has a Student Honors Council (SHC) composed of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Class Representatives. The Council is selected during the fall and is part of the decision-making process of the program. As such, the SHC acts as a liaison between honors students and the administration. In addition, the Council administers various student committees, such as the Event Planning Committee, The Mentorship Committee, the Newsletter Committee, and the Recruitment Committee.

To further encourage and enhance academic excellence in the Capstone process, awards were created to recognize the most outstanding Capstone research projects. Each year at the Honors Conference held in April, a student is presented with a Capstone of the Year Award for Excellence in Arts and Sciences, and one student is presented with a Capstone of the Year Award for Excellence in Business. To recognize the unique nature of Bentley’s business education, and encourage the exploration of challenging multidisciplinary problems that society faces, a third category of award was created in 2015 – Excellence at the intersection of Arts and Sciences and Business.

Nominations for exceptional student projects are encouraged from faculty advisers, but self-nominations from the student are also accepted, with faculty adviser support. Nominations are solicited near the end of the semester in both December and in April. Typically, nominated student projects exhibit a strong level of original, independent thinking and/or creativity, provides new knowledge or understanding of a subject area, or may employ a significant level of rigor in the research process achieved through extraordinary effort, desire and motivation by the student. For more information on the nomination process, see Blackboard, or contact the associate director of the Honors Program.

The Honors Conference takes place near the end of April each year, and provides an opportunity for all graduating seniors to present the findings of their Capstone research projects in a formal setting in front of family, friends, faculty and peers. It is an enriching opportunity to take stock of the hard work throughout their four years at Bentley, and in particular celebrates the challenging yet rewarding conclusion to the Capstone research project.

To encourage the collaborative nature of the research process, all senior honors students are expected to participate in the conference, by both presenting and attending sessions. Family, friends, faculty and the broader Bentley community are encouraged to attend as well. Following the concurrent sessions which run during the day is a reception, in which students display summaries of their projects and have the opportunity to mingle with family, friends and faculty. The day is capped off with a celebratory dinner, highlighted by students receiving their honors medallions, as well as the presentation of student research and Capstone adviser awards (see Awards section).

Honors Leadership
Christian Rubio, Director
Zoë Wagner, Associate Director
Michelle Yestrepsky, Honors Program Manager

Honors Faculty Council
Sung Choi, History
Jeff Gulati, Global Studies, Chair of the Honors Faculty Council
Aaron Nurick, Management
Zoë Wagner, Natural and Applied Sciences
Mike Page, Finance
Poh-Lin Yeoh, Marketing

Student Honors Council

President Alyssa Gaeta
Vice President Cem Ozsumer
VP of External Relation Elizabeth Veilleux
Recruitment Chair Emily Foltan
Mentorship Chair Kerisse Seepersad
Event Chair Keely Frazier
Diversity Chair Eduardo Franco
Columnas Chief Editor Jesse Brewer
IT Chair Emily Danielian

Aidan McBride (Mentorship Committee member)
Ajit Mehrotra (IT Committee member)
Anna dos Santos-Becker (Recruitment Committee member)
Hannah Shahrooz (Honors Ambassador)
Katsiaryna Labkovich (Events Committee member)
Liliana Panufnik (Honors Ambassador)
Samson Shen (Diversity Committee member)
Sandhya Sangappa (Honors Ambassador)
Sommy Sarkeshik (Honors Ambassador)