Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I join the Honors Program?

According to honors students themselves (please see comments from alumni and student profiles), among the most compelling reasons are the chance to make friends and exchange ideas with other students in the program, the value of small, stimulating classes taught in a discussion format by selected faculty, the program's distinctive extracurricular offerings--these include free tickets to a weekly international film series and a weekly independent/alternative film series, free chamber music series tickets, cultural enrichment and other off-campus trips and activities--the use of an Honors Center for study or socializing, priority registration priviliges for selected students (see below), scholarships for selected students (see below), and an exceptional course of study, learning, and research in advance of graduate school or various professional and career paths--well over 500 students are active in the UHP: we encourage you to consider the benefits of joining the program.

Are honors courses more demanding than non-honors courses?

Honors classes offer opportunities to explore subjects and methods in significant depth-- students find that their education and their academic performance are enhanced by strong mentoring relationships with faculty devoted to enabling each student to fulfill his or her potential, and by the lively, participation-based modes of learning in small classes. Honors students generally average higher grades in their honors classes than in their non-honors classes. For example, the average overall GPA of honors seniors in fall 2007 for their honors and non-honors coursework is 3.66, with a 3.93 average in honors courses. Honors classes are graded relative to the abilities of the students. You must earn your grade, but you are not held to unfair standards relative to students in non-honors classes. We think you will thrive by taking advantage of these modes of learning and mentorship.

How will the Honors Program fit with my major?

Honors students are enrolled in nearly every degree program at the University of Idaho. Students in especially demanding majors may find it challenging in some semesters to fit a desired honors course into their class schedule, but experience shows that close consultation between a student's major advisor and the honors advisor can provide the support needed for achieving an honors certificate. In addition, with good planning, nearly every student should be able to earn the honors core award and coordinate honors courses with the university's General Core Studies requirements in general education. A majority of honors students complete on average at least one honors course per semester, and qualify for priority registration privileges.

 What makes the honors curriculum distinctive?

Lower-division honors core courses enable students to learn with their peers in small classes taught by honors faculty. Moreover, each year the program offers innovative upper-division seminars, with each class limited to fifteen students. Recent and forthcoming topics include "Energy Issues: Choices and Consequences," "Nobel Prize Winners," "American Musical Icons," "Microcosms & Nanotechnology," "Law, Literature, and Cinema," "Film and the Theatre of the Holocaust," "Geography of Conflict," "Youth Politics and Mobilization," "Hollywood in the 70s," "Numbers from Here to Infinity," "Intellectual History and the Narrative Quest of Identity," "Reading Food, Reading Culture," "U.N. Peacekeeping," "Africa in Rebellion: The Movements for Independence,""Stranger than (Science) Fiction: Humans and Technology in the Age of the Cyborg," and "Science and Nature in U.S. History ."

Are there residence halls on campus of particular interest to honors students?

UI honors students take advantage of a variety of options among communities and living groups, including the McCoy Scholars' Hall Community (10th and 11th floors of Theophilus Tower, especially for freshmen--see also other communities in the Tower) and Scholars' LLC. See and contact University Residences to learn more about these opportunities.

Does the UHP offer scholarship and tuition waiver support?

Yes--the University Honors Program awards a number of selective scholarships for Idaho residents and also waivers of nonresident tuition. For more information, see the Scholarships page on our website.

Who receives priority registration privileges?

Students in the program in good standing (including a cumulative institutional GPA 3.3 or above) who have completed on average at least one graded honors course each semester prior to the current semester, shall be allowed to register with the first group of seniors. Also, new UHP members who enroll for at least one graded honors course during their first semester in the program shall also qualify for priority registration (note that students who are admitted to the program after the start of a semester (fall semester, for example), and thus not currently enrolled in an honors course in that semester, do not qualify for priority registration--if they enroll in at least one graded honors course for the following semester (spring semester, for example), then they qualify for priority registration during that semester (for example, during that spring semester when registering for the next fall semester's courses).

May honors students participate in study abroad or student exchange programs?

Honors students are frequently interested in and encouraged to apply for exchanges to other American universities or to universities abroad. For example, honors students have participated in semester or year-long international exchange programs during recent academic years to study in Australia, Chile, China, Ecuador, England, France, Ghana, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Scotland, Spain, and Sweden. Many of these students also have benefited from their UHP scholarships and from the university's International Experience Grants to offset part of their travel and study expenses. Students absent from campus for an exchange at either another U.S. or a foreign university may qualify for a reduction of 3 or 4 credits per semester (maximum of 7 credits total over two semesters) in the 27 credit Honors Certificate requirement, with these exchange credits typically used to satisfy upper-division credits within the honors curriculum.

John Sawyer (885-7979, johns@uidaho.edu) coordinates the domestic National Student Exchange program; Robert Neuenschwander (885-437 (bobn@uidaho.edu; ipo@uidaho.edu) is the study abroad advisor. Please contact them for information on exchange opportunities.

Additional Information and Registration Advice for New Honors Students

University Undergraduate Admissions Site

Why Idaho?: Points of Pride