Science Honors

Investigate the most important aspect of our world’s ecosystem with Houghton’s Science Honors program.

Begin your college career with a hands-on research experience where you actually DO science. Houghton's Science Honors program is constantly changing—like contemporary science. For the next few years, our focus is on the fascinating interdisciplinary field of environmental monitoring. You and a team of peers will engineer, construct, and evaluate a sensor package and create a Drone for Remote Environmental Assessment and Monitoring (DREAM). In May, you will travel to Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park and deploy your DREAM in the shadow of the mountains, gathering and assessing data and answering your research question.

two students handling drone outdoors

...the Science Honors program was so memorable for me because of the significant time and effort that I put into it and the great reward in the end with our research and an unforgettable trip.

Caleb Loew '21

During Science Honors, I had the unique experience of getting to know my professors on a personal level. By sharing meals and stories I had the amazing opportunity to really get to know these intelligent individuals.

Ronald “Ronnie” Lott ‘21

The Environment is Your Classroom

Becoming a scientist requires more than learning facts from a textbook. Spend your semester studying the environment around you while being in the environment around you, unlocking the key elements that affect our ecosystem.

Cutting-Edge Technology in Your Core Research

Work in teams to engineer, construct, and evaluate their own environmental sensor package, securing it to a drone, piloting it to the country’s Pacific coastal region, accurately quantifying the impact on the environment through the gathered data.

To generate the core knowledge about the world around us to solve complex issues facing society, scientists must devise novel experiments, solve unfamiliar problems, and disseminate original ideas.

Integrated Learning

Solutions to complex real-world problems and the cutting edge of scientific and technological innovation are increasingly found in the presence of traditional academics. You will work closely with biology, chemistry, physics, and math professors as you develop your research project. Enhance your skills in public speaking as you present and translate your research to both general and professional audiences. Additional coursework in the humanities will prepare you with the confidence to understand the ethical and social impacts of science and technology.