Apply to the Honors Program

consider these prompts before you fill out your application

Choose one of the three prompts below, and write an essay of roughly 500 words — you can exceed this if you need to, but we’re looking for ideas rather than extended length. We want enough to have insight into how you frame an argument about the topic. In your response, explain your reasoning clearly — why do you think as you do? You are not expected to do outside research. The essay will form the basis of your on-campus interview, with at least two faculty members and an honors student. We’ll take your ideas seriously; are you the kind of curious, ambitious, and engaging student who would make a good fit? Think carefully about which prompt you find engaging, and that you feel will lead to a stimulating conversation.

Prompt 1. 
In 2022, the economist J. Bradford Delong in Slouching Toward Utopia argued that the twentieth century was the century in which “history became economic” — that “economic changes were the driving force behind other changes.”  He argues:

The market economy recognizes property rights. It sets itself the problem of giving those who own property — or, rather, the pieces of property that it decides are valuable — what they think they want. If you have no property, you have no rights. And if the property you have is not valuable, the rights you have are very thin. 

But humanity objected. The market economy solved the problems that it set itself, but then society did not want those solutions—it wanted solutions to other problems, problems that the market economy did not set itself, and for which the … solutions it offered were inadequate.

Is it possible for a market economy to address questions of individual and civil rights beyond property?

Prompt 2.
Philosophers, psychologists, and computer scientists have been trying to provide a characterization of what consciousness is in order to aid research in artificial intelligence. The better the conception of consciousness we have, the more likely we are able to construct machines that perform ‘smart’ roles that make human life better. At the same time, there has been a rising movement warning of the dangers of using artificial intelligence. The New York Times (10 June 2023) even ran a headline: “How Could A.I. Destroy Humanity?” 

Is research into artificial intelligence worth the risk posed by such programs — and what is the alleged risk, exactly?

Prompt 3.
The US federal government in April 2023 announced a goal: by 2030, 50 percent of all new vehicle sales would be electric vehicles. This is intended to alleviate global climate change by reducing carbon emissions from cars and trucks (which account for almost 30 percent of US emissions). 

Some critics argue that electric vehicles are not an appropriate solution because of limited ranges on a single charge, insufficient and slow public chargers, and because the US generates 60 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels (20 percent from coal.). Supporters argue that these are technical issues that are being addressed over time by improved design, investment, and the “greening” of electrical generation.

Is adopting electric vehicle technology the right approach to address carbon emissions?

Honors Application Essay Submission