Curriculum
At the heart of the program is a general studies curriculum designed to fulfill many of the general education requirements at MC and prepare you for transfer to a four-year school. Montgomery Scholars have successfully transferred as anthropology, art, biological sciences, business, computer science, economics, engineering, history, mathematics, political science, pre-med, psychology and world language majors, to name a few.
The curriculum includes thematically linked courses, specially designed for the Scholars Program, as well as limited enrollment honors sections of existing courses. As a student in the Scholars program, you will learn from honors faculty who are active scholar-practitioners in their fields. And you will be part of a community of honors students sharing common intellectual experiences. A core curriculum, cultural excursions to museums and galleries, on-campus guest lectures, informal gatherings at the Philo-Cafe—and a summer study travel experience—all create a sense of community often missing in the first two years of higher education.
For questions about the Montgomery Scholars Curriculum, please contact John Wang, at john.wang@montgomerycollege.edu.
Interdisciplinary Humanities Core: Perspectives on World Cultures: History, Thought, and Culture from Early Modern to Postmodern
- ENGL202 HA & HB - Introduction to World Literature II (3)
- HIST117 HA & HB - World History: A comparative survey from A.D. 1500 to the Present (3)
- MUSC117 HA & HB - World Music (3)
- ENGL102 HC - Critical Reading, Writing and Research (3)
- ANTH201 HC - Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology (3)
- PLUS COURSES FOR YOUR MAJOR
At the heart of your first-year experience is a year-long, interdisciplinary study of world cultures team-taught by professors from the departments of history, philosophy, music, and literature. In its first year, this innovative course was awarded a National Endowment of the Humanities Focus Grant, which supported faculty research.
This special writing-intensive course folds together three honors Humanities courses: World History II (HIST 117 HA & HB), World Music (MUSC 117HA & HB), and World Literature II (ENGL 202HA & HB). Meeting for six hours every week, Perspectives on World Cultures bridges the gaps that traditionally separate disciplines. We study cultures "in the round" to understand how the world's peoples have forged their different destinies and expressed their visions of reality. Our aim is to give students an appreciation of the rich diversity of the world's peoples.
Today, nobody's education should end at the classroom door. As a Scholar, you'll join excursions to theatres, galleries, and other sites of interest in the Washington metro area. On campus, you’ll attend a series of Scholars Roundtables, which may feature a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter playing music from the Great Depression, an esteemed scholar discussing the Salvadoran migration in the DMV area, or a culinary instructor cooking a dish from another part of the world!
Pending sufficient funding, Montgomery Scholars will participate in a study travel experience as an integral part of the Montgomery Scholars Program. The study travel program is an extension of the first-year Montgomery Scholars curriculum and a bridge to the second-year curriculum. This experience currently involves a ten-day program in Asheville, NC. It emphasizes scholarship, independence, interdisciplinary links, cultural awareness, service learning and a dorm experience.
The Summer Study Program in 2023 is dependent on the college’s operating status.
Honors Colloquium: Capstone Research Project: From Idea to Expression
- HONR280 - Capstone: Research in Disciplines (3)
- POLI 203 - HC International Relations (3)
- PLUS COURSES FOR YOUR MAJOR
In your second year as a Montgomery Scholar, you will produce your major honors research in the interdisciplinary Capstone Project. Your project may take the form of a traditional research paper, or it may take a nontraditional form, such as the production of a video or a work of art.
To produce results in the world, effective research also requires effective communication skills, both in writing and public speaking. That is why we offer the opportunity to work with a dedicated speech coach as part of your curriculum. While you are creating your research project, you also learn to develop your communication and listening skills, to practice the dynamics of small group discussion, and to master the fundamentals of public speaking.
In the spring of your sophomore year, you will present the results of your research at a public forum, the Montgomery Scholars Capstone Colloquium. You are also encouraged to submit papers to academic publications and to the Beacon Conference, a research consortium for two-year colleges that includes colleges from seven northeastern states. Over the past few years, 153 Montgomery Scholars have been finalists at the Beacon Conference; 57 have won in their category.