Continuing Students:  University of Utah students are admissible to the Honors Program with a cumulative grade point average of 3.4 or higher.

Application Process:  Students should apply for admission to the Honors Program only after they have been admitted to the University of Utah. The application form is available on the Honors web site.

Only students who have been officially admitted to the Honors Program are allowed to register for Honors courses.

Change in Admission Requirements: Starting in January 2007, students graduating from high school will be required to have an Admission Index of 125 or higher and a grade point average of 3.5. New transfer students or continuing University of Utah students will be admissible with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Honors Degree Requirements

The Honors baccalaureate degree has a two-tiered structure – the Honors Certificate and the University Honors degree.

Honors Certificate: The requirements for completing the Honors Certificate are as follows:

Two semesters of the Honors Core in Intellectual Traditions (Honors 2101, Honors 2102, Honors 2103).

One semester of Honors Writing (either Honors 2211 or Honors 3200).

Two additional Honors courses (Honors Core in Social Science, Honors Core in Fine Arts, Honors Core in Physical and Life Science, Construction of Knowledge, Honors Calculus for Non-technical Majors, American Institutions, or any of the Honors seminars)

Students who have been admitted to the Honors Program prior to January 2007 need to maintain a 3.4 cumulative grade point average to earn the Honors Certificate. Students accepted into the Program after January 2007 will need to maintain a 3.5 cumulative grade point average.

Students who complete these requirements will receive the Honors Certificate designation on their transcript.

University Honors Degree: The requirements for the second tier of the Honors baccalaureate degree consist of: Two additional Honors courses. Completion of the Honors thesis.

Students who have been admitted to the Honors Program prior to January 2007 need to maintain a 3.4 cumulative grade point average to earn the Honors Certificate. Students accepted into the Program after January 2007 will need to maintain a 3.5 cumulative grade point average.

Students who complete these requirements - 24 Honors credits including the Honors thesis course - will graduate with the University Honors degree.

Honors Courses and University General Education/University Graduation Requirements

The Honors Program offers many courses that can also be used to fulfill the University's general education and graduation requirements. These courses are so marked on the curriculum page of the Honors Program website (www.honors.utah.edu/curriculum.html).

Special Considerations and Policies
AP: Many Honors students enter the Program with AP credit, concurrent enrollment credit, or an IB experience. These credit hours will help students satisfy General Education requirements and proceed toward graduation. For the other courses students need to fulfill General Education or University graduation requirements, they can choose from the list of Honors courses.

Students can also satisfy some of the Honors course requirements through the Honors Tutorial, the Honors Think Tank or the many Honors Internship or Apprenticeship opportunities. These programs are more fully described below.

Transfer Students: Students who transfer to the University of Utah with 59 or more transfer hours or an Associate Degree will receive credit for two courses in the Honors Program. After admission to the Program, students will take three more Honors courses including one Honors Core in Intellectual Traditions and one Honors Writing course in order to complete the Honors Certificate.

LEAP: LEAP students, who enter the Honors Program after the first year, may receive Honors credit for two LEAP courses. After admission to the program, students will then take three Honors courses including one Honors Core in Intellectual Traditions and one Honors Writing course in order to complete the Honors Certificate.

Departmental Honors Courses and Programs: Students enrolled in University Honors may also take departmental Honors classes if they have met the prerequisites for them. The departmental Honors courses also count as electives toward the Honors Certificate and the Honors degree. 

Several departments have established a departmental Honors degree allowing students to take a combination of University and departmental Honors courses or to follow a curriculum of departmental Honors courses and Honors research activities.

The following departments and colleges currently offer departmental Honors tracks:

-College of Architecture and Planning
-David Eccles School of Business: Finance and the ASAP Freshman Program
-College of Engineering: All departments and the School of Computing
-College of Fine Arts: Art, Art History, Ballet
-College of Humanities: Philosophy
-College of Health: Exercise and Sports Science
-College of Science: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics

Detailed information on departmental Honors tracks including contact information on departmental Honors advisors is available on the Honors Program website at www.honors.utah.edu.

Minimum Grade Point Average Requirement: Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.4 to remain eligible for the Honors Program. Students who fall below this minimum are placed on probation for one semester and may be dropped from the program if they are unable to raise their grades to the required minimum. Students can be reinstated in the program only if they subsequently raise their grade point average to the 3.4 level and reapply to the program.

Students admitted to the Honors Program starting in January of 2007 will need to maintain a 3.5 cumulative grade point average to be in good standing in the Program.

Graduation Policies

Application for Graduation: Students who plan to graduate with an Honors Bachelor's Degree should inform the Graduation Office (250 SSB) of their intent no later than the end of the junior year. Students must specifically state on their graduation application that they are completing an Honors Degree.

There are three ways that students can graduate with an Honors degree - the University Honors degree, the departmental Honors degree, and both (i.e., the University and the departmental Honors degree).

Honors Thesis/Project: The Honors thesis/project is the capstone of students' academic efforts in earning the University Honors degree. In the thesis/project students will demonstrate their intellectual independence and apply research methods of their discipline in preparation for graduate or professional work.

The nature of the thesis/project and its presentation may vary greatly from discipline to discipline, such as a lab project with a final report presented in a seminar or a performance evaluated by a jury. Regardless of the form of the thesis/project, students must submit their capstone project in a form that can be archived in the University’s library (e.g., an audio, video, electronic, film or written product).

A faculty member in the student's major department and the departmental Honors advisor will supervise the student's thesis/project.

Students working on their thesis/project sign up for a 3 credit thesis course in the department of their major (course #4999). For example, a student majoring in Chemistry would sign up for CHEM 4999.

Students must earn at least a “C” grade in the 4999 thesis course in order to graduate with an Honors degree.

Pre-thesis Interview: Before beginning the senior Honors thesis/project, students must arrange for a pre-thesis interview with an advisor in the Honors Program. This should be done at least three semesters before students intend to graduate.

The Honors Community
Being an Honors student means more than just completing the curricular requirements of the Honors degree. The Honors Program has created many opportunities to enhance the educational experience of Honors students and support their pursuit of excellence in undergraduate education.  The Honors website includes a more detailed description of these programs.

Alumni Mentor Program: A group of Honors graduates from all disciplines and professional areas volunteer to mentor junior and senior Honors students. These mentors can provide students with advice on majors and careers and help them explore potential topics for their thesis.

Study Abroad:  The Honors Program offers several opportunities for students to spend the summer in a culture other than their own and take courses for Honors credit. A description of each program, application forms, and scholarship information can be found on our website.

Honors Tutorial:  The Honors Tutorial is an opportunity for students to work on an individual basis with a faculty member for Honors credit, usually in the context of their major. Students can use the Honors Tutorial to begin research on their Honors thesis/project or in conjunction with the experiential programs described below.

Leadership Internships: This program provides Honors students with the experience to work alongside a community leader in a real world situation to bring about change in the community. This internship includes a $1,000 stipend for a 16-week time commitment. Students have the option to enroll for the Honors Tutorial to receive credit for the internship. 

Honors Apprenticeships: This program places students in distinctive professional or work-related environments where they will be mentored by professionals or experts in their field and receive valuable training and work experience that will prepare them for their lives upon graduation. Apprenticeships also include a stipend of $1,000 for a 16-week commitment. Students have the option to enroll for the Honors Tutorial to receive credit for the experience.

The Honors Think Tank: This is a two-semester experiential program that gives a group of Honors students from various majors an opportunity to work collaboratively on a contemporary societal challenge under the guidance of faculty. Students receive a $1,000 stipend for the two-semester long program and sign up for Honors 3700 each semester. The themes for the Think Tank will change from year to year. For example, previous Think Tanks focused on topics such as revitalization of downtown Salt Lake City, bioethics, land issues in Southern Utah, and the religious divide.

Applications are available on the website at the end of each spring semester.

Scholarships For Honors Students
The Honors Program offers a broad range of scholarships for students. A detailed description of these scholarships, deadlines, and the application form are available on the Honors Program website. The application deadline is usually in January for Study Abroad scholarships and in March for all other scholarships. Some scholarships such as the Think Tank scholarship are tied to academic activities. Students should periodically check the Honor’s website for updates in scholarship information.

Academic Advising
Advisors in the Honors Program assist students from the time they enter the program until they graduate. Students should call the Honors office at 581-7383 to schedule an appointment. First year students are encouraged to visit with an academic advisor every semester to ensure they are making progress toward the Honors Certificate and the Honors degree as well as to discuss any academic difficulties they may encounter.  Seniors meet with an Honors advisor who will guide them through the thesis process.

Students pursuing a departmental Honors track should also contact the Honors advisor in the department in which the program is housed. A list of departmental Honors advisors and contact information is available on the Honors website.

Residential Life – A Living and Learning Community for Honors Students
Students can live in special residential housing on Officer’s Circle or in the residence halls with other Honors students who take their education seriously and who represent different backgrounds and interests. Students join together for courses, monthly lectures, social activities, and community service.

The Poulson House is part of the elite row of houses located at the top of the Officers' Circle at Fort Douglas where l2 Honors students live in a beautiful stone Victorian house.

In addition, Honors students live in the Quinney Law School House, also located at Fort Douglas, where law students will mentor them. Honors students can also participate in law school events and meet with faculty and other students at the law school.

Honors students have also the option of living on the Honors floor of the Chapel Glen residence hall. They participate in a cluster of Honors classes taught at the Honors Center at Ft. Douglas and join in a series of community building activities in the Honors Living and Learning experience.

Students interested in participating in this exceptional residential experience should check the Honors website for housing application and deadlines, ongoing lectures, and other events.

The Honors Student Advisory Committee (HSAC)
HSAC is an independent student organization that serves primarily as liaison between students and the Honors Program. The student organization has considerable input in the selection of courses and faculty. HSAC members also mentor incoming freshmen throughout their first year to help new students become familiar with the Honors Program and engage in service activities.

Honors Policy Board
The Honors Policy Board consists of faculty representatives from undergraduate colleges and is chaired by the Academic Affairs Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies. The Board is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Honors Program and for approving the policies and procedures governing the Program.

Departmental and College Honors Advisors
Each undergraduate college and each department within a college designates a faculty member to serve as advisor to Honors students. A current listing of college and departmental Honors advisors is available on the Honors Program website.

Honors Program Curriculum
The Honors curriculum includes individual courses, sequence courses, seminars, and workshops. No Honors course exceeds an enrollment of 30 students, and the average student/faculty ratio is 17 to one. Class instructors are chosen on the basis of their demonstrated teaching excellence and include the regular faculty as well as highly selected adjunct professors and lecturers. Most of these scholars actively publish research in their field, and courses are frequently designed by the professors to coincide with their current research activity. Occasionally, individuals from the community, who have distinguished themselves in their profession and who are proven good teachers, are invited to teach in the Honors Program. Teaching assistants and teaching fellows never teach Honors courses.

Sequence Courses
Honors Core in Intellectual Traditions (Satisfy humanities foundation) Honors 2101 (3) The World of Antiquity
Honors 2102 (3) Medieval Christianity and Renaissance Humanism Honors 2103 (3) Emergence of Modern Times

The purpose of the sequence is to see the development and continuity of the ideological attitudes that have helped to shape our culture. Two courses of the IT sequence are required of all students seeking an Honors Degree (i.e. 2101, 2102, or 2103).

General Honors Courses

Honors 2101 (3), 2102 (3), 2103 (3) Intellectual Traditions sequence

Honors 2201 (4) Calculus for Non-Technical Majors Part I (satisfies quantitative analysis and applied science requirements)

Honors 2202 (4) Calculus for Non-Technical Majors Part II (satisfies quantitative analysis and applied science requirements)

Honors 2211 (3) Writing in Honors (satisfies the lower division writing requirement)

Honors 2212 (3) American Institutions (satisfies the American Institutions requirement)

Honors 2800 (1) Honors Cornerstone Honors students in the Honors Living and Learning Experience will exclusively be members of Cornerstone, a one-hour, first-year student seminar. This pass-fail seminar gives students the chance to meet in a small group setting with a faculty mentor and other honors students living on their dorm floor for a weekly 50 minute time period. Designed to both build community and provide students with academic advising and reflection, this course encourages students to reflect on both their academic and personal goals, providing them with tools to make difficult choices they might confront both in and outside the classroom. In addition, Cornerstone introduces such concepts and tools as how to do a critical reading of a text, how to build a sound argument or to engage in the civil exchange of ideas, and ways to develop a sense of personal responsibility and connection to the community. Cornerstone extends the learning experience beyond the classroom and into the residence hall environment. Students will periodically do short reading relevant to seminar topics and will be expected to engage in discussions, collaborations, and community building activities.

Honors 3100 (3) Utah Educational Experiences (satisfies the Diversity requirement). Through this course students will work together as a research team to examine issues around education, opportunity, power, and standardized testing within the specific context of the Wasatch Front. Students will learn research methodologies as they engage in a community-based research project with specific goals for use beyond the classroom setting.

Honors 3161 (3) American People (satisfies the Diversity requirement)

Honors 3200 (3) Writing in a Research University (satisfies the Upper Division Communication/Writing requirement)

Honors 3214 (3) Foundations in Social Sciences (satisfies Diversity and Social/Behavioral Science Exploration, topics will vary from year to year)

Honors 3215 (3) Foundations in Science

Honors 3354 (3) Civic Engagement Seminar Program. Fulfills Soc/Beh Sci Exploration. Conventional Politics + Community Service = Service Politics? That's the formula for this course. The course will use a constructivist approach to help students construct their own understanding and implement a form of civic engagement to address a community-based need through problem-based service-learning and/or community-based research. Students will create a class mission statement as a foundation to the experience and collectively create a "handbook" for service-politics as a final product. The course will provide reflective discussion coupled with nitty-gritty hands-on experience for students who want to learn leadership skills while making a difference in the community.

Honors 3371 (3) Preparation for Medical Study

Honors 3374 (3) Preparation for Legal Study

Honors 3376 (3) Seminar/Workshop in Social Science

Honors 3377 (3) Seminar/Workshop in Social Science

Honors 3500 (3) Honors Community Leadership or Apprenticeship. The Community Leadership Internship is designed to provide Honors students with the experience to work alongside a community leader in a real world situation to evoke change in the community. Many Honors students become community leaders after graduation but all will have the chance to become engaged in community work and to put their education to good use. The Honors Apprenticeship intends to place the student in distinctive professional or work related environments where they will be mentored by professional or experts in their field and receive valuable training or work experience that will prepare them for their lives upon graduation. Students will receive pass/fail credit for their work.

Honors 3600 (3) Tutorial This course will provide Honors students with an opportunity for one-on-one interaction with distinguished Honors faculty, usually in the context of their major, who will direct an individualized course of study, engage students in major research, or share creative activity with students. The tutorial is a highly individualized and customized experience that ideally will create a powerful platform for the production of the Honors Thesis and go beyond work typically done in a classroom.

Honors 3700 (3) Honors Think Tank The Honors Think Tank seeks to offer an innovative, distinctive experience representing the best in interdisciplinary education and outreach. The program is designed for students who want to work collaboratively with other students to find original solutions to problems our society faces. A faculty member will guide the work of the students participating in the Think Tank. This experience will greatly enhance students' undergraduate education and prepare them to become leaders in the community upon graduation. Scholarship support will also be available to students participating in the program. The Honors Think Tank is also designed to nurture a new generation of community leaders and intellectuals committed to collaborative thinking and to provide students with practical experience in team research and problem solving. As members of a research team, Honors students will examine their project from the perspective of their major disciplines, illuminating what they have learned in more traditional courses. Each student will enroll in a seminar that accompanies the research experience. This coursework will help define and focus the investigation and guide the students' progress throughout this process.

Honors 3800 (3) Construction of Knowledge This course will introduce Honors students, early in their academic career, to the various ways knowledge is produced in the academic disciplines. Each week distinguished scholars from the University's colleges will present lectures on the way knowledge is constructed in their area of study. Lectures will focus on research questions that drive that production and the implications that different kinds of knowledge have on the lives of human beings. In addition to these distinguished lectures, students will meet weekly to discuss readings and join for creative activity. The course objectives include critical thinking about the similarities and differences of knowledge production by the various disciplines in a major research university.  Students will also consider fruitful and creative ways of analyzing the kinds of work they might do in the future in their own majors.

Honors 4300 (3) Natural Disasters (fulfills Comm/Wrtg & Quan BS & Phys/Life Sci Exploration) Physical causes, effects and societal response to natural disasters including floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and tsunami. Actual natural disasters are studied in depth to understand the physical processes responsible for them and their effects. The focus is on laboratory studies of recent natural disasters in order to understand why they occur, what their consequences are, and how we can respond to minimize their impact.

Honors 4471 (3) Seminar/Workshop in Science Honors Core in Social Science (Topics will vary from year to year) Courses in the social sciences help students from all backgrounds think critically about human behavior and society. Courses examine the historical development of human institutions, behavior and culture by reviewing major research findings. Students explore modern analytical approaches to the social sciences, including problem clarification and hypothesis testing by means of scientific observation and/or other methodologies.

Honors 4472 (3) Seminar/Workshop in Humanities Honors Core in Physical and Life Science. (Except for the Calculus sequence, topics will vary from year to year) Courses in the physical and life sciences introduce students from all backgrounds to the ways in which scientists gain knowledge and understanding of the natural world by surveying the conceptual and technical foundations and major findings of a particular field of science. Students are shown how a problem was first recognized, how approaches to its solution were conceived and executed, and how the findings were interpreted to answer or to restructure the original question. Students are exposed to episodes during which a field of science changed substantially in response to new discoveries, techniques and ideas.

Honors 4473 (3) Seminar/Workshop in Fine Arts (Topics will vary from year to year)

Honors 4474 (3) Seminar/Workshop in Social Science 

Honors 4673 (3) Shakespeare at Cedar City Honors Core in Humanities. (Except for the Intellectual Traditions sequence, topics will vary from year to year) Courses in the humanities help students from all backgrounds develop a critical understanding of human thought, cultures and civilizations. Analytic, interpretive, creative and communication skills are taught to expand students' knowledge and ability to communicate their understanding of subject matter confidently and coherently.

Honors 4800 (3) Honors Capstone Seminar Honors Core in Fine Arts.  Fine arts courses help students from all backgrounds gain an understanding of the artistic processes from both theoretical and practical points of view. Students are introduced to ways of experiencing and understanding a variety of artistic concepts, structures, or forms. The courses may involve performance or studio activity to help students recognize the value of participation in the creative processes as alternate forms of intellectual discourse.

HONOR Course Descriptions