Hi -- I was just accepted into the HUX program for Spring 2002, and I was looking for information about what it's like to be in the program. The www.tomhead.net/hux.html page referred to elsewhere in this forum generates a 404 error, and just about every online discussion group I've found that focused on HUX was gone or at least dead. Even the huxhelp site seems to be stale. Can anyone direct me to recent info, ideally an active mailing list? (If there isn't one active now, I'm rather tempted to start one myself.) I'm probably going to start with 501 and 504 in my first trimester. After that I'm not sure. I'm actually feeling a little overwhelmed, now that it looks like I'm really going to be starting on the MA. Incidentally, my BA is from a TESC -- but it's a different TESC than the one posted about frequently here. My TESC is The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. (Don't ask me why, but the school is always referred to as "The Evergreen State College", and hence TESC, rather than just "Evergreen State College" or ESC.) So the references to TESC in here keep causing me to double-take! Evergreen's interdisciplinary approach seems to have a lot in common with the HUX program, so I might feel right at home. Thanks in advance for any advice or help.
Sorry to follow up to my own message, but I did find a way to view Tom Head's HUX guide page after all. It is archived at: http://web.archive.org/web/20010419130957/http://www.tomhead.net/hux.html This is a site that archives a ton of older web pages, so it's a good source to find pages that have since been deleted. I'd still love any feedback from current/former HUX students, though. I've learned a lot from reading archived net posts, but it's never enough!
I did the Cal State Humanities External Degree Program for a year or so. I believe that someone related to Dr. John Bear also pursued and completed that program. You might want to ask him about it. I discontinued the program because I had a change in career direction. My emphasis was on Literature. I found the professors to be very responsive. But at the time I was doing it, it was more or less a traditional correspondence program. By that I mean that it did not utilize online technology and the like. You would know if it's still the same. It is a good program from my perspective and I recall talking with someone at a Community College about teaching after I completed the program. They had no objection to the fact that it was an external program. Good luck in your efforts. ------------------ David
A number of board regulars have graduated from this excellent program. I am currently enrolled and expect to complete my thesis in the fall of 2002 or spring of '03. Keeping your load to two courses at a time is a smart idea, if you are doing this part time as I am. This will give you enough time to get the most out of each course. If you have specific questions feel free to write me at [email protected]. - Phillip M. Perry
I graduated from the CSU HUX program this spring. The program itself really appealed to me, and the majority of the professors were responsive to questions about assignments and grades. It was a good experience. The thesis experience, however, was rather nightmarish (sic?). I sent my original thesis in to the HUX office in late 1999, when Dr. Harshman, the former head of the program was being replaced. It was apperently either never received or lost at that time. When I found that this had happened several months later, I re-sent the thesis. There were several months of no activity and no responses to my e-mails. Finally I was told that although I had already been assigned a thesis committee, somehow this had been overlooked by the HUX office, and that was the reason everything was delayed. I was assigned a second thesis committee for some reason, and then got the thesis back with various comments for revision. After the revisions, it was approved, but the graduation paperwork was quite messed up. I had anticipated a spring or summer 2000 graduation but the goofs by HUX pushed my graduation back to spring 2001. I was fortunate to have contacted a number of people outside of the HUX office and determined that this paperwork needed to be done, and had I not done this, the graduation date would have been pushed back even further. Quite stressful. Dr. Zitelli, the current program head, and Nicole Ballard were nice and tried to be helpful, but that didn't prevent the delays, miscommunication and general stuff that made me want to pull my hair out. I would recommend the program but also say that my experience should serve as a cautionary tale for all people to watch what goes on in their thesis process very carefully and to stay in close, constant contact with the office staff regarding these matters. The courses themselves were great. I kind of miss participating in them. Mike Mc
Thanks for all the comments so far. Can you tell me something about the courses themselves? I've read the info on the HUX website, but how was the process of completing a course, from the student's perspective? What made them great? What should I watch out for? I'm trying to get a feel for what it's like to be in the program. To some extent, I'm also curious about being in any program at this level, since I've never done any graduate-level studies before. So general advice is also welcome. Thanks!
Although I haven't taken a course since 1999, here's what I remember: Once you choose and pay for the course, you're expected to purchase textbooks. This is very easy to do through the school's bookstore if you have a credit card and a phone. They had lists of books required for each course and were really efficient in sending out orders (even to me here in South Korea). The course professor's syllabus should arrive at your house soon. These are highly individual, I guess because of the individual professor's personalities. They range in size from 20 pages to over 100, and in them the professor spells out some of his/her philosophy and what you are expected to do during the course. As I recall, courses had 4-5 written assignments. You had several options from which to choose from when doing an assignment (this is all contained in the professor's syllabus). Each assignment had a deadline, and a week or so after the assignment was sent in, it was graded and returned to you. The sum of your assignment grades make up your final grade. What I liked about this program was that often I was forced to read or consider something that I usually wouldn't have time for. I learned in spite of myself. Maybe that's what education is all about.
Here are some miscellaneous comments: - The courses involve much reading, interpretation, embellishment and writing. I found reading Mortimer Adler's _How to Read a Book_ very helpful prior to taking my first class. I outlined the book carefully. - Start thinking about your thesis early. But don't settle on an area until you have completed the five core Phase I courses. They will epand your horizons. - After completing the core courses, consider designing a couple of independent studies that are geared in some way to the topic of your forthcoming thesis. I designed two. - I found all of the core courses valuable. Comments on your first two: HUX 501, History: Fascinating insights into history as one of the humanities rather than a science. I thought the Gustavson text was excellent and hope the school continues to use it, even though it is out of print. HUX 504: Art. You will likely find this course more valuable if you visit a nearby museum of art and analyze the works in their natural habitat as you write your papers. - In general, at this level of education one is expected to embellish on what one reads rather than regurgitate what is one the page. - Phillip M. Perry [email protected]
I graduated from CSUDH-HUX in May 2000. All in all, I liked the experience and found it very worthwhile. I'm pleased with my choice. Here's a longer reply I made to somebody else who asked about it: http://www.degreeinfo.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001380.html (Scroll to the bottom.)
Congratulations and welcome to the program. There are two very important pieces of advice I can offer: it's probably going to take longer than you expect it to, and when in doubt, contact the HUX office. A corollary to the first: if you live in a country outside the United States, allow more than sufficient time for the international mailing process. If you spend time traveling among different countries, let us know ASAP where materials should be sent. (We're good, but we're not omniscient. Most students are very prompt about filing COA's, which helps a great deal.) Also, be aware of program and university deadlines as they may have a significant impact on your proposed graduation date. A corollary to the second: the courses you'll be taking are dependent on the curriculum you'll be following. It may or may not be possible to map everything out in advance (we've just had four new courses approved for the coming year, which no one would have had any way to anticipate), but you should know the general framework your classes will fit into, which is outlined in your HUX brochure. Call or email if you have any questions. I'll be happy to help. ------------------ Nicole Ballard HUX Phase III Advisor Thesis/Graduation requirements California State University, Dominguez Hills
Hi there, I was just accepted in the HUX program as well and plan on starting in Jan. My emphasis will be on History. litlnemo - have you started a mailing list?
Hi, Franco -- No, I haven't started one yet, but I probably will soon. i prefer mailing lists to web-based discussion groups, because I tend to forget to go look at web sites, but if the discussion comes to my mailbox, I am happy. I just got my course guides in yesterday's mail. The courses look interesting, but I am trying to postpone the reading until after the Christmas stress, even though I kind of want to jump in now.
To come back to this thread, I did start a mailing list just now. You can find out more at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/huxstudents/ Although I have the capability of hosting the list in-house with our own listserver software, I decided to go with Yahoo Groups because its software is more flexible -- people can read on the web or get the messages to their mailbox, and there is a chat area available for those who like that sort of thing. All HUX students are welcome. Especially those who have been around a while and can provide some insight to newbies like me.
