Honors Curriculum

• View the Spring 2024 Honors Courses
• View the Fall 2023 Honors Courses
• View the Spring 2023 Honors Courses
• View the Fall 2022 Honors Courses
• View the Spring 2022 Honors Courses
• View the Fall 2021 Honors Course Listing
• View the Spring 2021 Honors Course Listing
• View the Fall 2020 Honors Course Listing
• View the Spring 2020 Honors Course Listing

Honors Program members are required to enroll in one 1-hour UH course the first semester of their freshman year and should complete the second UH course by their junior year, and must complete the third UH course one semester prior to graduation. These UH Participation courses count as part of the required 24 hours of Honors credits. Entering freshmen who have earned 31 or more credit hours may apply for a waiver of two of the three required UH Participation courses. Students should contact the Honors Program if they have questions regarding completing the sequence of UH courses.

Student should consult their academic advisor to determine the completion of their UH courses as some programs, such as nursing or respiratory therapy, require that students complete all of their non-major course work before beginning the program of their major. In other words, your program might require that all UH courses be completed earlier than our deadline of one semester prior to graduation.

University Honors (UH) 101 Honors Lecture 

1-hour course; Pass/Fail. Students may receive credit for a maximum of two of these. The topic of this course would vary each semester (service learning, education reform, poverty, tax reform, etc.). This course would be an open forum for the discussion of ideas and submission of reflective papers and/or service-learning projects.

University Honors (UH) 201 Honors Forum 

1-hour course; Pass/Fail.  Students may receive credit for a maximum of two of these. Students enrolled in these courses will be required to attend a certain number of campus events (pre-approved by Honors) and discuss and submit reflective papers for each event.

University Honors (UH) 202 Honors Book Club

1-hour course; Pass/Fail. Students may receive credit for a maximum of two of these. Students enrolled in this course will perform assigned reading and actively participate in class discussions.

University Honors (UH) 205 Honors Professional Preparation Seminar

1-hour course, Pass/Fail. Students enrolled in this course will be required to participate in discussions and complete work on seminar-style presentations on subjects related to their major or future career goals. They may be asked to attend a minimum number of campus events (pre-approved by Honors) including interactions with representatives from professional programs or prospective employers. Students will submit structured reflection on these experiences. May be repeated for a total of two credit hours with permission from the Honors Program.

University Honors (UH) 300 Honors Special Topics: Interdisciplinary

1-hour course. Letter Grade. Prerequisite(s): Members of the Honors Program in good standing and junior or senior status; students must have earned the required 3 hours of UH participation for freshmen and sophomores (UH 101, UH 201 or UH 202); and permission of Honors Program. The topic will vary and appeal to students from various disciplines. This course will provide upper-level Honors students the opportunity to draw on their educational experience and utilize their critical thinking skills in an interdisciplinary manner. May be repeated for a total of two credit hours. Students may not repeat the same course topic or theme.

University Honors (UH) 439 Model Debate Team: Global Issues

Model Arab League (MAL) & Model United Nations (MUN) Information

University Honors Course Instructors

Honors by Contract (HBC) is another way to fulfill the Honors Program curriculum requirements. Most courses numbered 200 or above at JSU are eligible for Honors by Contract. 

Course contracts enable students to earn Honors credit by incorporating an Honors component within a regularly offered class. Honors contract courses ideally require something qualitatively different rather than something quantitatively more. Enhanced substitutions for the normal course requirements are preferable to more of the same. The component should be designed to incorporate a "consolidating experience," a written paper or report (possibly including a class presentation) that serves to bring the experience together.

Where longer papers, additional reports, etc., are called for, the added work should be designed to fulfill a larger learning objective. Teaching one or more classes and doing special research projects (especially in the STEM fields) have been especially beneficial. Wherever possible, Honors students should share the results of their work with the class in the form of an oral presentation, a poster session, or some other means.

If a student completes the contracted course with a grade of "B" or better and satisfactorily completes the terms of the contract during the semester that credit is earned, the student will earn an Honors credit for the course. Students receiving an "Incomplete" in a course that they have contracted will not receive Honors credit for the course. Likewise, students receiving an "A" or "B" in a contracted course who did not complete the terms of their contract will not receive Honors credit. If a student is unable to complete the contracted work, the student can still receive credit for the course but cannot receive an Honors credit.

The Honors by Contract option is available in most majors.

Options for honors activities within these courses may include: additional research experience, presentations at conferences, written assignments, community engagement and/or service learning opportunities.

All Honors by Contracts must be submitted online by the first day of classes in the semester the student is completing the contract.

Verification of completion of Honors by Contracts are due no later than the Monday of the last week of classes. This means your projects/papers/presentations will be due to your instructor prior to this date.

Instructions for Honors by Contracts (HBCs)

1. Honors Students should enroll in Honors versions of courses to acquire their Honors credits. HBCs should only be utilized when other options have been exhausted.  For example, if a student has earned all general education credits or core curriculum via AP or Dual Enrollment, they will need to complete HBCs to earn their Honors hours.
2. Students must email the Honors Program at honors@jsu.edu to determine if they are eligible to complete an honors by contract in any of their classes for the next semester.
3. Students must submit an Honors Program Worksheet that lists their proposed HBC or HBCs.
4. Students must submit a plan of study as to how they plan to earn the required 24 hours of Honors credit. This plan of study is available in the Honors office and on the Honors web page.  Honors Scholars must earn 30 hours of Honors credit.  Honors Program Wide Members must earn 24 hours of Honors credit.  Select the correct plan of study for yourself.
5. Except in rare circumstances, we do not approve HBCs in online classes. An example of an exception is Emergency Management as that is purely an online degree.  HBCs will only be approved for traditional, in-person, or hybrid, mostly in-person classes.
6. As instructors receive no additional compensation for overseeing HBCs, students should not ask an adjunct to oversee an HBC, unless the adjunct is a long-term adjunct. An adjunct is defined as a part-time employee.
7. The instructor rank/level may be found on the academic department’s website. The various options include: adjunct, instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor, and working retiree.  If you are uncertain as to the rank, then contact the Honors Program before reaching out to the instructor. 
8. Students must email their instructor to discuss the possibility of an HBC before the end of the current semester. For example, email the instructor prior to May 1 for a fall HBC, and email the instructor prior to November 15 for a spring HBC.  The HBC Dynamic Form does not have to be initiated at this time, but the student should converse with the instructor by this time.  
9. If you are not participating in Honors Priority Registration, Honors Program Registration Worksheets and Plans of Study are due by May 1 for the Fall semester, and by November 15 for the Spring semester. Deadlines for worksheets and plans of study are earlier for students participating in Priority Registration.
10. An Honors Program Staff member will review worksheets and plans of study, which are available under the Current Student tab on the Honors web page or in the Honors office.
11. If the instructor agrees to oversee an HBC, then the student may generate the HBC in Dynamic Forms. Students are required to upload their plan of study in the HBC Dynamic Form.
12. All HBCs must be initiated by the student by the first day of classes for the semester.
13. Students who complete two semesters and who do not take an Honors class or an HBC, are not allowed to request permission to submit an HBC.
14. Only students who have adequate time to earn the required Honors credits by graduation should be requesting permission to complete HBCs.
15. HBCs are more ideal in upper-level classes in a student’s major or minor so the student obtains a more individualized learning experience in their field or fields of study.

For 300 and 400-level HBC classes, the following guidelines apply.  If these details do not apply to your discipline or the instructor has other ideas, please contact the Dean of Honors to discuss the HBC before proceeding.

HBCs may include a combination of a written component, high-impact or hands-on learning, and a presentation.  Details of HBCs which include two or three of these components, may be discussed with the Dean of Honors prior to the submission of the online HBC form.    

• Where the course calls for a research paper, an Honors paper might use primary sources, incorporate a substantial literature review that connects the topic to the broader issues in the field, include primary data derived from student research (oral histories or other interviews, statistical analysis, laboratory experimentation), etc. Honors research papers are typically 8-10 double-spaced pages. Citations are required.
• Where additional readings or reports are indicated, it is best that these readings or reports be synthesized as part of a larger Honors component. For example, an essay involving a comparison/contrast of regularly assigned readings with the specially selected seminal readings would be appropriate.
• The Honors component might include a substantial programming project or extended fieldwork or laboratory experience, concluding with a final report of at least 8-10 double-spaced pages, including a narrative part of at least 5-7 pages, by the student outlining the experience with the conclusions reached or experience gained. Citations are required.
• Where teaching one or more classes by the student is indicated, it is best for the professor to provide guidance in organization and content to ensure that the material enhances and supports the intention of the class. In this case, the written component would typically consist of a report of 5-7 pages on the topics covered in the lectures.
• Where the course is a cross-listed undergraduate/graduate-level course (where the undergraduate and graduate courses are taught by a single instructor at a common time), the student may complete the graduate-level syllabus to meet the qualitative, culminating Honors experience that is expected when contracting a course. Note: The Honors Program student will be enrolled in the undergraduate section of the course and will receive undergraduate credit.
• Presentations of the work/research to the class or at a conference or symposium are highly encouraged to be part of the Honors requirement.

For 100 and 200-level HBC classes, the following guidelines apply.  If these details do not apply to your discipline or the instructor has other ideas, please contact the Dean of Honors to discuss the HBC before proceeding.

HBCs may include a combination of a written component, high-impact or hands-on learning, and a presentation.  Details of HBCs which include two or three of these components, may be discussed with the Dean of Honors prior to the submission of the online HBC form.    

• Where the course calls for a research paper, an Honors paper might use primary sources, incorporate a substantial literature review that connects the topic to the broader issues in the field, include primary data derived from student research (oral histories or other interviews, statistical analysis, laboratory experimentation), etc. Honors research papers are typically 4-5 double-spaced pages. Citations are required.
• Where additional readings or reports are indicated, it is best that these readings or reports be synthesized as part of a larger Honors component. For example, an essay involving a comparison/contrast of regularly assigned readings with the specially selected seminal readings would be appropriate.
• The Honors component might include a substantial programming project or extended fieldwork or laboratory experience, concluding with a final report of at least 4-5 double-spaced pages, including a narrative part of at least 3-5 pages, by the student outlining the experience with the conclusions reached or experience gained. Citations are required.
• Presentations of the work/research to the class or at a conference or symposium are highly encouraged to be part of the Honors requirement. 

Revised 8-13-24