*Seminars will be added throughout the year so check back often.
Winter 2025
HNRS 299-01 T: 11:10am–12:00pm
A Beginner’s Guide to Doing Your Own Research in Psychological Science
Department of Psychology & Child Development
What questions do you have about human behavior? Doing your own research project can help you answer them. During this seminar, we will be designing our own research studies and collecting data on topics YOU choose. We can work as individuals, small groups, or as a whole group, depending on your preferences. Past HNRS 299 groups have looked at depression among pre-med students, cross-cultural time perspectives and anxiety, vaping attitudes and behaviors at Cal Poly, and the effects of COVID-19 on relationships. Our studies have been presented at professional conferences and undergraduate research conferences and have even been published in scholarly journals. If you’ve always wanted to explore your ideas scientifically, this seminar will get you started. You don’t have to be expert in psychology or in research methods. We’ll walk through all the necessary steps together.
HNRS 299-02: W 8:10am -9:00am
Vetus Libro Renasciture: Bringing Life Into An Old Book
Graphic Communication Department
What’s the oldest printed book you have ever held? How did it come in to being? What significance did it bring to humanity? What of it now? In this seminar, we will study the history of letterpress printing and the creation of the printed book. We will learn about the industriousness of printers who brought life to books and we will explore books of old in physical form for purposes of awareness, fascination, and enlightenment. Additionally, we will spend time in the Shakespeare Printing Press Museum in a hands-on practicum involving the setting of type and letterpress printing.
HNRS 299-03 M 1:10pm-2:00pm
Puzzles and the Mathematical Process
Department of Mathematics
Above all else, mathematics is a creative and collaborative endeavor (despite the impression we might get from our grade school experiences). In this seminar we will experience the joy of mathematics in the form of solving puzzles. The only prerequisites are an intellectual curiosity and a willingness to share ideas.
HNRS 299-04 T 4:10pm-5:00pm
Ikigai: Sustaining a Life of Beauty, Purpose and Happiness
Department of Theatre & Dance
Have you ever wondered about your future self? Not about what that future person will DO, their JOB, but how that future self will sustain joy and lead a meaningful existence.
This seminar draws inspiration from Ikigai, the Japanese meditation upon happiness and a purpose-driven life. Our aim is to cultivate a diverse community of support, kinship, and innovation. Please note friends: this is not a lecture! Consider this a Greek lyceum for ideas or a gymnasium for the soul—a place to cultivate mental and spiritual fitness. You will be tasked with weekly deep dives into your hidden selves, journaling for inspiration, seeking beauty, and firing up your imagination. The task of every person on this great earth is to discover your passion. And then to share that passion with others. Be ready.
HNRS 299-05 W 2:10pm-3:00pm
Leadership and Group Dynamics (This seminar can be used to substitute for HNRS 261)
Department of Experience Industry Management
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. This interactive, learn by doing course is focused on leadership and group dynamics. Students will gain understanding of leadership, followership, group dynamics, communication, human development, values and ethics, decision-making, and much more. Students will examine their own leadership philosophy and perspectives while applying information they learn from class into papers and projects. Come join this thought provoking examination of leadership and group dynamics. The class will include a community service component focused on leadership and teamwork.
HNRS 299-06: M 11:10am-12:00pm
A Collision Course on Birds: Researching Bird Strikes Into Buildings on Cal Poly’s Campus
Department of Biological Sciences
In the time that it takes for you to read this course description, it is estimated that more than 1,000 birds will have died as a result of collisions with human-made structures, in the United States alone. The vast majority of these, as many as 1 billion bird fatalities, are due to collisions with glass windows. In this research-based seminar, students will have the opportunity to partner with Morro Coast Audubon (an environmental nonprofit on the Central Coast and local chapter of National Audubon Society) and Bird Friendly Campus (a research group at the University of Washington focused on making campuses safer spaces for birds) to generate data on how birds are affected by buildings at Cal Poly. The data we collect in this course will contribute to the local and global understanding of how birds are affected by human made structures, and what steps we can take at Cal Poly to help mitigate collisions. You will be required to put in approximately 1 hour of time outside of the class meeting time to receive credit.
HNRS 299-07: M 2:10-3:00pm
Global Citizens
Department of Psychology & Child Development
This seminar is designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed to navigate and thrive in diverse cultural environments. Through group discussions and activities, students will explore the principles of cultural competence, global awareness, and effective inter-cultural communication. If you are planning to study abroad while at Cal Poly this is the seminar for you!!!
Fall 2024
HNRS 299-01 M 1:10-2:00pm
The Science and Technology of Timekeeping
Physics Department
The playful question of "what is time?" occasionally comes up. The answer usually involves philosophy, religion, and even Einstein’s theories, and generally leaves us even more confused. Let’s instead ask a simpler question about time, which is "How is it measured?" whose answer is simply "with a clock." In this seminar, we'll take a whirlwind tour of the past 700 years of humankind’s quest to build clocks. We'll see how human ingenuity in both science and technology has progressed from clocks that used large rocks to tell time, to “atomic clocks” that use atoms to tell time. We'll see evidence of humankind's strange and persistent need to keep ever more accurate time, and how desperately our daily lives depend on it.
HNRS 299-02; T 11:10am-12:00pm
Relationships 101
Cheri Love LMFT & Amber Clemmons-Trigueros LMFT
Cal Poly Counseling and Psychological Services
Whether they are serious or casual, romantic or platonic, with colleagues or family or roommates, relationships can be defined in many ways. In the Relationships 101 seminar we will focus on the many aspects of nurturing healthy relationships. We will explore effective communication, relational self-awareness, identification of needs and boundaries, consideration of various cultural experiences and intersecting identities, and how to navigate conflict; all while building community.
HNRS 299-03; T 12:10-1:00pm
Creativity 101
Assistant Professor
Communication Studies Department
Do you consider yourself to be a creative? A non-creative with creative tendencies? A non-creative through and through? If you identify as any of these, this seminar is for you! Creative thinking is a set of skills which can be used to illuminate and expand any problem, in any subject area and in any discipline. Together we will explore what creative thinking is and how to harness, nurture, and act upon your own creativity for both personal and professional endeavors, with the goal of achieving a more creative mindset through experiencing, imagining, critiquing, journaling, creating, observing, communicating, and sensing. Learn how to think, not what to think. All majors are welcome. Artistic ability not required. Will you join us?
Disclaimer: This class takes a hands-on approach to teaching and learning. A willingness to embrace the creative process is required. Students will not be graded beyond participation, effort, and completion of assignments; no exams or quizzes will be given.
HNRS 299-04; M 10:10-11:00am
A Tour of Organic Chemistry Around Us
Chemistry Department
Organic molecules are all around us. From pharmaceuticals to pheromones to polymers to petroleum products, we encounter them daily. We will take a broad look at the diverse functions of organic compounds. In this seminar we will explore a variety of questions that organic chemistry can answer, such as: How does soap work? What clever ways do flowers attract bees for pollination? How many components give Skittles their color? How are polymers made? How do we identify substances at the scene of a crime? No prior knowledge of chemistry is required. Occasional laboratory activities (such as making nylon or isolating plant components, etc.) and/or demos will be included.
HNRS 299-05 R 2:10-3:00pm
Create Your Career Journey Roadmap (This seminar can be used to substitute for HNRS 261)
Evie Kriegbaum (she/her), Career Counselor
Cal Poly Career Services
Prepare yourself for an exciting journey in career development, brimming with opportunities for learning and decision-making, all aimed at helping you discover a meaningful career and lifestyle. This course is designed to make that journey enjoyable and less daunting! We will delve into how your values, interests, identities, personality, and strengths align with and support your career exploration. From mastering communication to building networks, developing leadership skills, crafting standout resumes, and excelling in interviews, we've got you covered. By the end, you will have a personalized roadmap for your career journey at Cal Poly and beyond. So, buckle up and let's embark on this exciting ride together!
HNRS 299-06; W 2:10-3:00pm
Touring America’s Tropics
Ethnic Studies Department
This honors seminar explores select literary and cultural works from “America’s tropics”—island territories in the Pacific and Asia that have been, or continue to be, colonial possessions of the United States. Drawing from the fields of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander studies scholarship, this course will examine how seemingly unrelated places such as Hawai‘i, Guam, the Philippines, and others can be connected through the shared circumstances of U.S. empire. Some of the central questions that we will ask in this seminar include the following: How does the analytic of U.S. empire challenge ideas of American exceptionalism? How can the examination of literary and cultural texts offer new ways of “seeing” American culture and politics? While this course pays special attention to cultural productions—which include works of art, literature, film, and music—we will also read scholarly sources to inform our reading practices.
HNRS 299-07: R 10:10-11:00am
A Collision Course on Birds: Researching Bird Strikes Into Buildings on Cal Poly’s Campus
Department of Biological Sciences
In the time that it takes for you to read this course description, it is estimated that more than 1,000 birds will have died as a result of collisions with human-made structures, in the United States alone. The vast majority of these, as many as 1 billion bird fatalities, are due to collisions with glass windows. In this research-based seminar, students will have the opportunity to partner with Morro Coast Audubon (an environmental nonprofit on the Central Coast and local chapter of National Audubon Society) and Bird Friendly Campus (a research group at the University of Washington focused on making campuses safer spaces for birds) to generate data on how birds are affected by buildings at Cal Poly. The data we collect in this course will contribute to the local and global understanding of how birds are affected by human made structures, and what steps we can take at Cal Poly to help mitigate collisions. You will be required to put in 1-2 hours of time outside of our class meeting time to receive credit for this class.
Honors Seminars in Previous Years
Honors Seminars 2023-2024
Honors Seminars 2022-2023
