The Donaghey Scholars Honors Program has a core curriculum that virtually replaces UA Little Rock’s general education core. Class enrollment is limited to Scholars, ensuring small class sizes and faculty engagement.
Most core classes are intimate, seminar-style classes that emphasize close reading of primary texts, vigorous discussion, and extensive writing. Most often, these courses are team-taught, ensuring a comprehensive view of the subjects from outstanding faculty across disciplines.
Core Courses
Scholars Colloquium I and II
An orientation to the program and to UA Little Rock, this course features discussion of themes arising in other courses, projects to increase students’ awareness of themselves and the educational process, and presentations by campus officials and guest lecturers. Service and shadowing are also among the requirements.
Rhetoric and Communication I and II
This course seeks to improve the students’ ability to examine ideas and facts critically and communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Science and Society I and II
The focus of this course is the impact of scientific thought and technology on human culture, examining science as a mode of thought and inquiry.
History of Ideas I, II, and III
This three-semester course studies the development of civilization and the progress of human ideas from the earliest times to the present. The general approach is critical and historical with particular attention to literature, philosophy, and religion. The course emphasizes close reading of classic texts, shifting focus each semester from early Western thought, to later Western thought, then to Non-Western thought.
The Individual and Society I and II
This course emphasizes cultural comparisons through an overview of the relationship between individuals and their societies.
The Individual and the Creative Arts I and II
Through art, architecture, music, dance, theatre, and literature, students will examine how the arts enrich human life. Students are required to attend and discuss a number of concerts, plays, and exhibitions.
