Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture NCTA Honors Program

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Objectives

  • To provide an enhanced and challenging learning opportunity for students of high quality.
  • To provide further recognition for students with outstanding academic or leadership skills.

Honors Program Eligibility Requirements

  • Completion of 30 credit hours (2 semesters) with a cumulative GPA above 3.5 at NCTA
  • Completion of 30 credit hours (2 semesters) with a cumulative GPA above 3.0 at NCTA and nominated by an NCTA faculty member.

Program Overview

Eligible students will participate in the Honors Program during their 2nd year at NCTA. The program will consist of a 2 course sequence (each 1 credit hour), one course each semester of their 2nd year.

Fall Semester – HON 1001 HONORS SEMINAR I

Spring Semester – HON 2001 HONORS SEMINAR II

These courses will focus primarily on developing the student’s leadership and critical thinking skills. Course content will include guest speakers, round-table discussions, and various learning activities. Possible topics would include:

  • Networking
  • Enhanced people skills
  • Dealing with media and promotion of agriculture
  • Adding value to your product or business
  • Making a difference in your community, state, nation, world
  • Science and the Scientific Method
  • Food, society, and environmental issues: local to global scale

A key part of the overall program will be the Honors Project. The project will be planned and developed during the first course in the fall and then completed by the end of the second course in the spring. A final presentation of project results will be given to faculty and students. The project must fall into one of two categories:

  1. Research project. Conducting an experiment in the student’s area of interest. Ideally this project will be developed under co-advisors from NCTA and WCREC.
    • Example: compare the amount of spray drift from different nozzles using the wind-tunnel facility at WCREC.
  2. Creative activity. The creative activity will be a project or event that is designed to promote the student’s primary area of interest.
    • Example: create a Youtube video to promote agriculture such as the “I’m Farming and I Grow It” one by the Peterson brothers.