About Honors Courses

Honors courses are reserved for students with a 3.0 or above and the classes are capped at 24. This gives professors an opportunity to design challenging classes with a focus on discussion and interaction with the students. Topics can be explored in depth; typical assignments emphasize critical thinking, extensive reading and writing, and student presentations and critiques.

The major focus of an honors class is not on increasing the quantity of the workload. Instead, honors courses increase the quality of the learning experience by exploring topics in greater depth and breadth. As a result, honors students encounter a range of historical, technical and cultural points of view that they may not have experienced in a non-honors section of the same course. The emphasis on interactive classroom settings, critical thinking, library research, strong writing skills and, perhaps, group presentations and critiques is extraordinarily valuable to the student because it anticipates the rigor and intensity of the university experience.

A professor designing an honors course syllabus should focus on creating challenging assignments that fit with his or her goals for the class and the learning outcomes set for the class by the department, and that allow students to develop a deeper understanding of the subject and discipline.

For examples of honors course assignments, click HERE.