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Honors

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Four CRC students wearing Honors graduation regalia

Designed specifically for academically accomplished students or those with the potential for high academic achievement, CRC's Honors program provides enhanced General Education study opportunities supporting intellectual growth, scholarly relationships with peers, and faculty-student engagement beyond that generally associated with lower-division undergraduate programs. Honors Program participation supports enhanced transfer and scholarship opportunities at select transfer colleges and universities including UCLA, in whose Transfer Alliance Partnership CRC is a member. Honors Program students receive enhanced access to career and academic advising as well as enhanced opportunities for scholarship, including the opportunity to pursue their own original research.

Program Maps

Certificates

Honors Certificate Map

Program Coordinator Rick Schubert
Phone (916) 691-7494
Email SchubeR@crc.losrios.edu

Certificate of Achievement

Honors Certificate

Honors students who complete 15 units or more in Honors-approved coursework will earn special recognition as an Honors Scholar, a distinction that may entitle students to enhanced transfer and scholarship opportunities at select transfer colleges and universities. Completion of the certificate with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or better offers enhanced prospects for transfer to elite four-year institutions and enables students to participate in CRC’s Transfer Alliance Program partnership with UCLA. A maximum of 6 units of approved Honors coursework completed at other colleges may be applied towards satisfaction of the 15 unit requirement. The units from a maximum of one 400's level STEM course can be applied towards satisfaction of the 15 unit requirement. A minimum of 9 of the 15 required units must be earned by successfully completing honors courses at Cosumnes River College. Interested students should contact their counselor, the Honors Program Coordinator, or the Vice President of Instruction and Student Learning. Honors students should meet regularly with an Honors faculty advisor to ensure completion of Honors Scholar requirements in a timely fashion. Courses that qualify as part of the program are listed below.

Catalog Date: August 1, 2025

Certificate Requirements

Course Code	Course Title	Units
A minimum of 15 units from the following:		15¹
HONOR 340	Honors Seminar: Political Campaign Communication (3)
or COMM 480	Honors Seminar: Political Campaign Communication (3)
COMM 482	Honors Seminar: Persuasion within Social Issues (3)
HONOR 350	Honors Seminar: Introduction to Critical Theory (3)
or FMS 488	Honors Seminar: Introduction to Critical Theory (3)
HONOR 352	Honors Seminar: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock (3)
or FMS 489	Honors Seminar: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock (3)
PHIL 486	Honors Seminar in Critical Thinking and Composition: Philosophy of Happiness (3)
HONOR 364	Honors Seminar: Philosophy of the Martial Arts (3)
or PHIL 485	Honors Seminar: Philosophy of the Martial Arts (3)
HONOR 366	Recent United States History - Honors (3)
or HIST 485	Recent United States History - Honors (3)
HONOR 367	Introduction to Government: United States – Honors (3)
or POLS C1000H	American Government and Politics - Honors (3)
HONOR 368	International Political Economy - Honors (3)
or POLS 482	International Political Economy - Honors (3)
ENGL C1000H	Academic Reading and Writing - Honors (3)
HONOR 378	Honors - Literature Adapted into Film (3)
or ENGLT 488	Honors - Literature Adapted into Film (3)
HONOR 385	Honors Seminar in Genetics (3)
or BIOL 485	Honors Seminar in Genetics (3)
ANTH 480	Honors Biological Anthropology (3)
ANTH 482	Honors Biological Anthropology Laboratory (1)
HONOR 391	Honors Seminar in Mathematics - Introduction to Mathematical Proof (1)
or MATH 483	Honors Seminar in Mathematics - Introduction to Mathematical Proof (1)
HONOR 392	Honors Seminar in Mathematics - Topics in Number Theory (1)
or MATH 484	Honors Seminar in Mathematics - Topics in Number Theory (1)
HONOR 393	Introduction to Probability and Statistics - Honors (4)
or STAT C1000H	Introduction to Statistics - Honors (4)
All 400-level STEM courses: BIOL, CISD, CISP, CISW, CHEM, ENGR, MATH, PHYS.
Total Units:		15

¹A maximum of 6 units of approved Honors coursework completed at other colleges may be applied towards satisfaction of the 15 unit requirement. A minimum of 9 units of CRC honors-designated courses must be applied towards satisfaction of the 15 unit requirement. The units from a maximum of one 400's level STEM course can be applied towards satisfaction of the 15 unit requirement.

Enrollment Eligibility

To be eligible for enrollment in the program, the student must meet the following criteria:

HONORS PATHWAY ONE: Students who have completed at least 12 transfer-level college units are eligible if they have a minimum 3.0 GPA and are eligible for, or have successfully completed, ENGL C1000 (formerly known as ENGWR 300). If you are taking HONORS PATHWAY ONE, please attach a copy of your transcript to the Honors Program General Application available immediately below. (The Honors Program General Application and your attached transcript are your completed application.)
HONORS PATHWAY TWO: Students who have completed less than 12 transfer-level college units are eligible if they have a minimum 3.0 high school GPA and at least one of the following: a grade of B or better in AP-preparatory Honors English or a grade of B or better in AP English or a score of 4 or 5 on the AP English Exam.
HONORS PATHWAY THREE (CHALLENGE PATHWAY): Any student is eligible for the Honors Program if they submit a successful Honors Program Challenge Application, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Honors Admissions Committee their interest, motivation, preparation and potential for Honors Program study.

Enrollment Process

Eligible students are selected for the program according to the following steps:

Students must establish eligibility for the Honors Program by successfully completing the Honors Program Application Process found on the CRC website.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, the student will be able to:

EXPRESS IDEAS CLEARLY IN WELL-ORGANIZED WRITTEN MESSAGES (P-SLO1-Effective Communication)
UTILIZE MODES OF ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL THINKING IN A DISCIPLINE OF STUDY AS APPLIED TO SIGNIFICANT ISSUES AND/OR PROBLEMS (P-SLO2-Critical Habits of Mind)
ACTIVELY ENGAGE IN INTELLECTUAL INQUIRY BEYOND THAT REQUIRED IN ORDER TO PASS A COURSE OF STUDY (P-SLO3-Relevant Knowledge)
RECOGNIZE THE ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF DECISIONS AND ACTIONS (P-SLO4-Social Responsibility).
ARTICULATE AN AWARENESS OF A VARIETY OF PERSPECTIVES WITHIN A DISCIPLINE AND THE RELEVANCE OF THESE PERSPECTIVES TO ONE’S OWN LIFE (P-SLO5-Cultural Understanding, Social Justice, and Equity)

Career Information

This certificate supports enhanced transfer opportunities. Career opportunities are those available to transfer students. Many of the relevant career opportunities will require study beyond this certificate.

Honors (HONOR) Courses

HONOR 387 Biological Anthropology Laboratory-Honors

Units:1
Hours:54 hours LAB
Prerequisite:None.
Corequisite:ANTH 300, ANTH 480, or HONOR 386
Enrollment Limitation:Enrollment is limited to Honors Program students. Details about the Honors Program can be found in the front of the Catalog and on the CRC website.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:Cal-GETC Area 5C
Catalog Date:August 1, 2025

This course is an introductory laboratory course designed to provide students with an opportunity to become familiar with the methods of the science of biological anthropology while investigating topics in laboratory and field situations. Topics covered in the course are: the scientific method, sources of biological variation and forces of evolution, human osteology (bone identification), human variation, taxonomy and comparative osteology of the primates, comparative behavior, and the fossil evidence for human evolution. A field trip to the local zoo may be included. This course is designed as a companion course to Anthropology 300 - Biological Anthropology, Anthropology 480-Honors Biological Anthropology or Honors 386-Honors Biological Anthropology.
This honors course offers rigorous preparation in critical thinking, and analytic reading and writing skills for students intending to transfer to a four-year college or university. It provides an opportunity to engage contemporary biological and anthropological issues through small group discussion, debates and activities, reading analysis requiring higher-level thinking tasks, and collaborative projects. This course will also provide in depth opportunities for students to complete extensive hands-on study of pertinent fossil material. This course is not open to students who have already completed ANTH 301 or ANTH 482. Enrollment is limited to Honors Program students. Details about the Honors Program can be found in the front of the Catalog and on the CRC website. This course is the same as ANTH 482. This course, under either name (ANTH 482 or HONOR 387), may be taken only one time for credit.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

ARTICULATE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY AND GENERAL SCIENCE AS THEY RELATE TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY.(SLO 1)
Identify the steps of scientific inquiry and formulate basic scientific hypotheses.
Demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of Mendelian and population genetics by solving Punnett squares and pedigrees.
Define basic cellular and DNA components and functions.
Explore the mechanisms of evolution.
DEMONSTRATE KNOWLEDGE OF OSTEOLOGY, ANALYZE MEASUREMENTS OF BONES AND APPLY FORENSIC TECHNIQUES. (SLO 2)
Identify bones and significant features of bones of the human skeleton.
Perform measurements to describe age and sex related variability in skeletal remains.
Analyze skeletal remains to determine probable cause of death and life history events.
DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF PRIMATES AND HUMANS IN A TAXONOMIC RELATIONSHIP, THEIR EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS AND SHARED BEHAVIOR.(SLO 3)
Recognize characteristics of living primates that are useful for identification and interpretation of non-human primate and human fossils.
Compare and contrast skeletons of prosimians, monkeys, apes, and humans to elucidate patterns of locomotion and dietary adaptation
Compare and contrast behaviors of living primates as they relate to environmental adaptation
UNDERSTAND A TRAJECTORY OF HUMAN EVOLUTION BASED ON KEY FOSSIL FINDS.(SLO 4)
Identify significant anthropoid, hominoid, and hominid fossils.
Evaluate alternative interpretations of fossil evidence.
Recognize specific characteristics used to differentiate hominid fossil species and how they relate to patterns of adaptation and evolution of the species.
Analyze the material cultural adaptations (artifacts) and the roles they have played in human evolution.
Describe the biological and behavioral adaptations of the genus Homo.
DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE IN UPPER-DIVISION WORK IN THE DISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY.(SLO 5)
ACTIVELY ENGAGE IN INTELLECTUAL INQUIRY AND CRITICAL THINKING BEYOND THAT REQUIRED IN ORDER TO PASS AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE IN BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY.(SLO 6)
Evaluate current scientific data to argue and defend placement of fossil hominins in a taxonomy.

More about the Program

Honors Program