Honors College to Launch Programs in Global Affairs, Business

The University of Maryland Honors College will debut two programs in Fall 2022 focused on global affairs and business, expanding the breadth of campus living-learning offerings and empowering a new generation of students to address society’s greatest challenges.

The additions are Honors Global Communities, in partnership with the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Business Honors, in partnership with the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

“If we’ve learned one thing these past few years from the global pandemic, the protests against racism or the struggles for political and international security, it’s that you can’t solve these problems in a silo,” said Peter Mallios, executive director of the Honors College. “The timeliness and interdisciplinary nature of these programs will give our students the best education to think globally and adopt a big-picture view of business.”

The additions will increase the variety of the Honors College’s current slate of six programs—University Honors, Honors Humanities, Design, Cultures and Creativity, Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students, Gemstone, and Integrated Life Sciences—which enroll about 1,000 exceptional students each fall. The two additions combined will add approximately 135 students per year.

Students in Honors Global Communities will gain a global framework to address international challenges through social science and data science. The program is an adaptation of the existing Global Communities program, which is moving to the Honors College. It will address timely issues such as misinformation and political uses of media, racism and bias, and women’s rights, as well as national and international governance, coordination and security risks.

Interdisciplinary Business Honors will challenge students to imagine the future of work and business as they gain professional and technical business skills. The curriculum will address critical issues such as health care affordability, climate risk and equitable markets, as well as socially responsible business practices relating to employee rights, ethical conduct, and diversity and equity. Students will also delve into new technologies and their implications, including artificial intelligence and its impacts on work.

“These two programs add important areas of range and focus to the Honors College,” Provost Jennifer King Rice and Associate Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Studies William Cohen wrote in an email to faculty and staff yesterday announcing the programs. “They also join other undergraduate programs inside and outside Honors in marshalling premier university strengths, unique area resources and a campus commitment to living-learning programming that distinguishes our university nationally.”

Both programs will welcome first-year undergraduates of all majors, and will expand the opportunities for experiential learning with government agencies, international corporations and other organizations in and around the nation’s capital.

“The University of Maryland Honors College offers an absolutely unique, singular, premier experience unlike any other Honors program across the country,” Mallios said. “Our programs draw on the star faculty at the university and challenge our students to think creatively and critically, in a way that’s plugged in to the unique internship and research opportunities in the D.C. metro area.”