Consciousness, Creativity, & Meaning (MN)

1. Complete at least one year of residence in an Honors living-learning community, preferably the first year with its attached Connections 195 Seminar, "The Liberal Arts, The Mystery of Consciousness, and the Future of Knowledge."

2. Research, write, and publicly present a thesis, normally in the student's major.

3. Complete the five-course interdisciplinary minor in "Consciousness, Creativity, and Meaning":

   1. Gateway course: course (normally taken spring semester, first year)

   2. Capstone course: course (normally taken spring semester, senior year)

   3. Three Elective courses: A minimum of three elective courses usually taken during the sophomore and junior years. Elective courses introduce students to revolutions in human understanding as seen in various world religions, philosophical traditions, and scientific discoveries in disciplines such as cognitive neuroscience, quantum physics, and the emerging field of psychedelic studies. Elective courses also expose students to the distinctive ability of the arts to invoke modes of understanding and experience that defy conceptual definitions and categories. These courses change by semester and are drawn from a range of Puget Sound programs and departments, including but not limited to Art and Art History, English, Humanities, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Physics, Politics and Government, Psychology, and Religion, Spirituality, and Society. 

4. Students must complete a minimum of one course in Honors each Academic Year to remain in the program.

Once admitted to the Honors program, a student continues so long as they maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all university work and a minimum GPA of 2.5 in the Honors minor, or until they resign from the program. The Honors faculty annually reviews the performance of Honors students to determine their continuance in the program. Dismissed students may apply for readmission upon evidence of satisfactory academic improvement.

Honors Elective Courses

course Studies in Western Art I: Ancient through Medieval Art

course Survey of Asian Art

course Japanese Art

course Buddhist Art

course East Asian Calligraphy

course Death and Desire in Pre-modern Japanese Literature

course The Psychedelic Renaissance

course Art-Science: Inquiry into the Intersection of Art, Science, and Technology

course Magic and Religion

course Exploring Animal Minds

course The Science & Practice of Mindfulness

course The Cognitive Foundations of Morality and Religion

course Romanticism, Consciousness, and the Psychedelic Renaissance

course Afrofuturism

course Native American Literature

course Global Eco-Cinema: Aesthetics and Practice

course Introduction to Neuroscience

course Comparative Political Ideologies

course Philosophy of Mind

course Latin American and Latinx Philosophy

course Consciousness and the Bourgeoisie

course Buddhism

course Mystical Islam