Advising of undergraduates in Benjamin Franklin Scholars is the component of the Program most universally acclaimed by students. Our approach is to designate one of our two official advisors for each student for four years. Intellectually oriented advising can also help a student to anticipate promising relations among courses or to reflect on such links retrospectively, perhaps in preparation for an independent investigation that might use these connections as its foundation. Even our alumni turn to us for advice, but we also turn to them to advise our current students, particularly in the area of graduate study. For many years, the Program has served as a major center of student research on campus, both for Franklin Scholars and as an organizing source of information about opportunities for Penn undergraduates in general, setting a tested precedent for the current broader interest in connecting teaching and research for Penn's undergraduate education overall.
Research is encouraged as early as in the freshman year.
Through our newsletters and advising sessions, students learn that independent inquiry is an integral part of their university education. Some students follow up General Honors courses with scholarly projects under the faculty members who taught their seminars. The new 1996-97 edition has entries by 228 faculty members, and is both online and available in hard copy on request. This series was developed by the Lindback Society and the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Harris is associate professor of political science and director of Benjamin Franklin Scholars and General Honors.