First Honours degree certificate ceremony

The first cohort of University of Groningen students who have followed the three-year Honours College programme will be awarded their degree certificates on Tuesday 3 July 2012. The ceremony will be held in the Academy Building, starting at 6 p.m. This will be preceded by the Petrus Camper Finale starting at 1 p.m., in which groups of Honours students will present the research projects they conducted within the Petrus Camper Track. This will also take place in the Academy Building.

The University of Groningen Honours College started in 2009 with a select group of first-year students, led by the former Dean Prof. Jenneke Bosch-Boesjes. The Honours programme enabled these students to deepen and broaden the scope of their Bachelor’s degree programmes. In addition to the 180 ECTS credit points they must earn in the regular Bachelor’s programme, Honours students earn an extra 45 ECTS in broadening and deepening course units.

Excelling

The Honours College selects its students from the top ten percent of each faculty – it is intended for students who enjoy a challenge, show initiative, want to excel and look beyond the borders of their own discipline. The Honours College offers these students deepening and broadening course units, a focus on personal development, summer schools and a platform where they can meet fellow students who are just as motivated as they are.

Petrus Camper Track

The Petrus Camper Finale is the final step in the Petrus Camper Track – one of the broadening components of the Honours programme – before students graduate from the Honours College. It aims to teach students to approach current academic and social issues from different perspectives and translate this into a vision for the future. The Track comprises a knowledge component, a skills component (including academic writing and debating skills), and a component that focuses on personal development (self-knowledge, self-reflection, collaborating).

Workshop

For the Petrus Camper Finale, students have prepared workshops to present their research projects to a wide audience. Their presentations may take the shape of a poster, film, book or other medium.

Note for the press

-      More information: Prof. Hanny Elzinga, Dean of the Honours College. H.K.Elzinga rug.nl. tel. 050-363 5187.
-      The programme of the Petrus Camper Finale and the degree certificate ceremony can also be found on the Honours College website: www.rug.nl/honours.
-      The 13 June issue of Unifocus, the University of Groningen’s online video magazine, incudes an item about Tanja Schasfoort, one of the Honours students who will be awarded a degree certificate.