Keystone Project
Students design and create an individual Keystone Project as the capstone of their Honors Humanities experience. With this project, students actively engage the Arts & Humanities to explore their personal interests and/or to engage with pressing social issues. Students work with mentors and peers to articulate their own goals for the project and to bring those goals to fruition. This project is an opportunity to:
- Explore a passion.
- Develop advanced skills in creative expression, research, collaboration, and communication.
- Collaborate with faculty across the university.
- Connect with the rich resources of the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore Metro Area.
Keystone Project Timeline
| Fall | |
|---|---|
| Year 1: Spring | In HHUM106: Arts & Humanities in Practice, students begin to conceptualize their keystone projects. |
| Year 1: Summer | If students so choose, they can work on their project during these months, particularly if the project requires more time than a semester can afford. |
| Year 2: Fall | If students so choose, they can work on their project during this semester, particularly if the project requires more time than a semester can afford. |
Year 2: Spring |
In HHUM206: Keystone Project Seminar, students learn processes required to design and complete a successful project from planning and prototyping, to creating, critiquing, and revising. Students create and revise their projects and offer feedback on their peers’ projects in a workshop setting. Students also present their projects at the Keystone Symposium in April. |
Students can complete their Keystone Project at any time during their time at the University, but we encourage students to finish their projects at the end of year 2 with their cohort.
Featured Keystone Project
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The African Languages Association Founded in 2017, their mission is to provide students at the University of Maryland, College Park, with free African language classes. Because UMD does not offer an official African language courses taught on campus, Rahila's organization organizes classes each semester taught by native or near-fluent speaking UMD students and alumni. |
Keystone Awards
Awards are given to exemplary keystone projects. Each award honors a student at both the first and honorable mention levels. Each awardee receives a plaque in their honor, as well as a monetary prize.
The Seidel Keystone Prize for Achievement in the Humanities honors a student majoring in the humanities who has demonstrated a consistent commitment to their keystone project and who has exceeded expectations, showing passion for their work and taking initiative in gaining new knowledge and experience.
The Lowell Ensel Keystone Prize honors a member of Honors Humanities whose project takes the form of a creative work of art, music, literature or film. The prize is presented in memory of Lowell Ensel, a former Honors Humanities student who demonstrated an incredible talent for filmmaking in his Keystone Project, entitled In the Midterm. Watch In the Midterm here.
The Honors Humanities Keystone Prize is given to a worthy project by any student in any form. This prize awards excellence in project design, creation, revision, and completion.
Below are the 2020 Keystone Prize awardees along with samples of their outstanding projects.
| 2020 Winner | 2020 Honorable Mention | |
|---|---|---|
| The Seidel Keystone Prize for Achievement in the Humanities | Erin Namovicz: Teaching Middle Schoolers Film: Lessons Learned (Service Project) | Eunice Braimoh: The Survivor’s Guide to Feeling (Short Stories) |
The Lowell Ensel Keystone Prize |
Marissa Choy: Through Our Eyes (Graphic Novel) | Lane Williamson: Unboxing a Life: Growth Through Grief (Reflection Essays) |
| The Honors Humanities Keystone Prize | Beth Ann Zinkievich: Chant for Change (Anglicant Chant) | Kelsie Oshinsky: The Wilds (Novel) |
Below are the 2019 Keystone Prize awardees along with samples of each of their outstanding projects.
| 2019 Winner | 2019 Honorable Mention | |
|---|---|---|
| The Seidel Keystone Prize for Achievement in the Humanities | Siri Neerchal: Different-Different: Short Stories (Short Stories) |
Miejo Dambita Encountering Vulnerability (Performance) |
The Lowell Ensel Keystone Prize |
Ryan O'Connor: Transforming Music: Valerie, For Orchestra (Symphony) | Dylan Orr: The Phantom of the Urethra and Other Stories (Short Stories) |
| The Honors Humanities Keystone Prize | Susannah Outhier: Those Who Glow (Documentary Film) | Thomas Hughes: Quieter than Silence (Novel) |
Symposium
Symposium is an annual event hosted by the Honors Humanities program, during which students present their work to colleagues, family, and friends. The format is similar to an academic conference, giving students the experience of presenting their work in a formal but friendly setting.
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