The Honors Option enables an Honors Student to convert a regular course into an Honors course when the instructor and the Honors Student agree on an additional enriching academic experience. The Honors Option may be selected to fulfill the requirements of the University Honors Scholar Curriculum (two courses in the major) or the Discipline Honors Scholar requirements (up to six credits of the twelve credits in the major). An Honors Option may also be used for elective Honors credit.

Enriched Academic Experience:

The enriched academic experience is equivalent to approximately one credit of academic work. The enrichment should allow Honors students to pursue their intellectual interests and gain more knowledge about topics related to the course while fostering one-to-one interactions among faculty and Honors students. Some examples of course enrichment for Honors Options are listed below. In addition to these, there are many other possibilities.

• A research paper
• Additional experiments in a laboratory
• Written reviews of books or professional journal articles
• An oral presentation to the class or another appropriate audience
• Additional creative artistry
• A service-learning activity that is connected to the course's academic content
• A design project

Please Note: If you are registered in an Honors Section (220 Section), you do NOT need to complete an Honors Option for that class.

The Process:

1. Ask the professor if he or she will allow you to Honors Option the class
2. Fill out the Online Intent to Honors Option by the end of the second week of the term.
3. The student and professor agree on the scope of the enriching educational experience and determine a plan for completion;
4. The specific requirements and due dates for completing the enriching educational experience must be clearly stated on the Honors Option form (available for download below);
5. The student and instructor must sign the Honors Option form (available for download below);
6. The student will deliver the completed and signed form to the University Honors Program in Building B, Academic Village for approval by the Honors Program Director by the third week of the term.

Grading:

The grade for the Honors Option will be the combined grade for both the regular portion and the Honors Option portion of the course. The course instructor is responsible for assigning the grade.

Please Remember: Once an Honors Option has been agreed upon, the student is expected to fulfill the specific requirements of the Honors Option agreement as well as the course requirements to receive honors credit for the course. Your professor's approval is required if you do not indend to complete an honors option you have registered for.

The file below, available for download in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, contains the above information and the Honors Option Student Registration form.

Click here to download Option Form: pdf | doc