The Honors Tutorial

The Honors Tutorial (Year 3)

Honors tutorials are small enrollment (up to 12), 3-credit classes that offer an in-depth look at a specific topic or theme. These courses are proposed by faculty from across campus, and the tutorials offered change each semester. To get a sense of what that means, check out our current Tutorials below.

You also have the option of completing our Tutorial Alternative in place of taking a traditional Honors Tutorial course. Examples of typically approved Tutorial Alternatives include study abroad, internships, REUs, etc. Learn more about the Tutorial Alternative here.

Fall 2026 Tutorials

Founded at Wellesley College, these seminars are designed to help you connect your studies to the world beyond UMaine through writing for public audiences.  In a Calderwood Seminar, you will learn how to translate complex concepts and academic knowledge into prose that is accessible to a general reader.  Instead of lengthy essays targeted primarily to your professor, you will write fast-paced, short assignments like book and film reviews, interviews and profiles, op-eds, and other forms of public writing.  Seminars involve a weekly rhythm of outside-of-class peer editing, in-class workshopping, and delivery of multiple drafts. Students rotate each week between the roles of editor and writer.

In addition to the Honors Colleges at the University of Arizona and the University of Oregon, Calderwood Seminars are taught at Georgetown University, Smith College, Bard College, Rice University, and Wesleyan University, among others. 

We will offer one Calderwood Seminar in Fall 26:

  • HON 341: Political Empowerment & Policy Change (Dr. Rob Glover, Fall 26)

Click here to learn more about the Calderwood experience.

Image of Capitol Hill at night.

HON 341

Political Empowerment & Policy Change

Fall 2026 | Dr. Robert Glover

Thursdays from 2:00-4:50 pm

Writing can be a powerful tool in shaping the public discourse, influencing decision-makers, and advocating for policy change. But only if we think carefully about our audience, translating complex arguments and jargon into accessible language and actionable proposals. In short, writing can be a tool that inspires and acts as a catalyst for political change!


In this workshop-style course, students will explore the intersection of writing and political empowerment through different types of public writing: opinion columns, research briefs, policy fact sheets, book reviews, legislative testimony, and more. We will follow the Calderwood Seminar format for you to engage in rigorous drafting, revising, and commenting on your own writing as well as that of your peers. By acting as both writer and editor, you will build your own skills while forging connections with your peers. All participants will emerge as more thoughtful, empowered democratic citizens.

A circular, hand-woven indigenous basket featuring a sunburst pattern with alternating coils of natural tan, light blue, and brown fibers.

HON 337

Cultural Wellbeing

Fall 2026 | Dr. Mimi Killinger

Wednesdays from 2:00-4:50 pm

In this Honors tutorial we will trace historical and literary roots of wellness practices that have proven defining and nourishing for cultures out of which they have arisen. For example, we will study Penobscot Nation teachings about everyday steps as a spiritual act, and we will learn about Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, with its physical demands and promise of healthy renewal. We will explore Tai Chi and its Taoist foundations, as well as yoga and its origins as an ancient Hindu practice for achieving mind-body union. Through creative research strategies, active learning, and engaged discussions, we will consider many cultural pathways towards wellbeing over time.

Spring 2027 Tutorials

A person standing on a ladder to arrange a large gallery wall of framed photographs and artwork in a brightly lit studio.

HON 328

Telling Someone Else’s Story: Ethnography and Us

Spring 2027 | Dr. Saul Allen

TIme:TBD

Have you ever participated in a social setting while also noticing (perhaps suddenly!) that you were observing yourself and those around you while you spoke or acted? Our capacity to be both actors and observers is the heart of a practice in anthropology called ethnography. Ethnographic methods were originally intended to understand other people, with an emphasis on the “otherness” of the people studied. Observers wanted to explain how communities operated and what motivated their members. The approach seems simple: join a community and find out, and when needed, ask questions.

In this workshop-style course, we will use intensive writing-and-editing cycles to explore how ethnography has been conducted, what kind of information it can produce, and the sometimes-thorny issues involved in writing about people (even ourselves). Throughout, we will be oriented towards a public audience: explaining what ethnography does, making arguments about methods and ethics, and creating accessible ethnographic products. We will cross genres of public writing from web content to film reviews to short newspaper articles. Participants in this course will join a community of writers and editors who have thought deeply about telling others’ stories – and can communicate effectively across media.

HON 338

Calderwood Seminar for Public Writing: Religion, Culture, and Conflict

Spring 2027 | Dr. Jordan LaBouff

Time:TBD

Gordon Allport famously said, “Religion is a paradox; it both makes and unmakes prejudice.” In this course we will examine the powerful social and cultural force that is Religion by practicing writing about religion and religious issues for the public. We will learn about cutting edge research on religion, prejudice, warfare, and peacemaking, and then share that expertise we develop with public audiences.

In a small-group, focused workshop setting, you will develop your public voice through ~6 iterative cycles of writing and peer-editing different kinds of public writing (e.g., social media posts, podcasts, film reviews, public testimony, op-eds, etc.). By taking turns as writers and editors you will build a community of writers and thinkers, as well as critical skill in writing for the public, editing others’ writing, and responding to feedback. We will follow the Calderwood Seminar expectations for you to engage in rigorous drafting, revising, and commenting on your own writing as well as the writing of your peers.

An overhead view of the MDI Biological Laboratory on the coast of Bar Harbor, ME.

HON 350

Molecular Mechanisms of Human Disease 

Spring 2027 | Dr. Ben King

Time:TBD

The Molecular Mechanisms of Human Disease (HON 350) Honors tutorial course is designed to give students hands-on experience in biomedical research. The course is held annually over an intense week at MDI Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) in Bar Harbor, Maine and continues at the University of Maine over the course of the Spring semester.

Click here to learn more about HON 350!

Return to Academics

The Tutorial Alternative

An Honors student poses in front of a scenic vista while traveling.
An Honors student gives a presentation at their internship.
Honors student shown overlooking a city in Croatia while studying abroad.

Qualifications

In some cases the tutorial requirement may be waived based on a Tutorial Alternative, which is defined as:

An academic or experiential learning opportunity involving small group interaction that is not available at the University of Maine and that is pre-approved by the Dean of the Honors College.

Tutorial Alternative opportunities should include some if not all of the following: 

  • application of academic knowledge,
  • intellectual merit,
  • independent work, 
  • a cultural experience, 
  • and personal initiative. 

Because the alternative is in lieu of a 3-credit course only proposals that indicate the student will spend a comparable amount of time (approximately 80 hours, which can include preparation time for the experience as well as the experience itself) will be approved.

Such opportunities include, but are not limited to, study abroad experiences, engineering cooperatives, congressional internships, participation in Semester By the Sea, cultural/language immersions, recognized summer REUs (Research Experiences for Undergraduates).

For information about Study Abroad opportunities through the University of Maine, click here to visit the website of the Office of International Programs.

Special Course Substitutions: The following UMaine courses for students studying Nursing, Education, Child Development and Family Relations, or Kinesiology and Physical Education can be substituted as Honors Tutorial Alternatives. These course substitutions should help make it much more possible to graduate from the Honors College with these degrees. 

  • NUR 306 – Care of Adults II Clinical
  • NUR 419 – Introduction and Service to Global Health
  • EHD 400 – Field Observation (Activity)
  • CHF 496 – Field Experience in Human Development and Family Studies
  • KPE 427 – Internship

You will still need to submit the application, enroll in HON 349, and complete the requirements* for the course, as described below.

*We understand that there can be legal restrictions on photographs during these courses due to patient or student confidentiality, etc. In these circumstances, we are able to grant an exemption for the requirement of 6 photos. If this applies to you, please simply reach out to the course coordinators when you are enrolled in HON 349 to let them know.

Instructions

Honors College students wishing to substitute an academic or experiential learning opportunity not available at the University of Maine in lieu of the  third-year tutorial must:

  • Apply: Submit an application for a tutorial alternative at least one month before embarking on your experience.  Click here to submit your application for a tutorial alternative.  (Typically you will be notified of whether your proposal is approved within two weeks of submission.)
  • Enroll: If approved, register to take HON 349 after you have returned by emailing sandra.c.tijerina@maine.edu. HON 349 is a 0 credit, P/F course. HON 349 should be taken within two semesters of the end of experience on which the Tutorial Alternative is based. NOTE: HON 349 is a 0 credit course. Taking this course will not add any credits towards a student’s full-time load in consideration of Financial Aid awards that are dependent on this.
  • HON 349 Course: Complete the HON 349 course which requires submission of the following assignments:
  • Evidence of successful completion of any coursework involved in the Tutorial Alternative opportunity, typically a transcript or certificate from the university where you studied abroad. If your tutorial experience did not involve coursework (internships or work experiences, for example), you do not need to submit this evidence.
  • At least six photographs representative of the experience, including pictures of the student, that are suitable for the Honors College website, and
  • Completion of ONE of the following options:
  • ESSAY – A three- to five-page, double-spaced, reflective essay, OR
  • VIDEO – A three to five-minute video reflecting on your experiences.

If you have any questions about the Tutorial Alternative or HON 349, please reach out to melissa.ladenheim@maine.edu.