Honors students pursue a rigorous academic program which satisfies all requirements of their academic departments and colleges and goes beyond those requirements to provide the basis for outstanding achievement and appropriate recognition for that achievement. From small enrollment interdisciplinary seminars in the freshman year to independent research activities in preparation for the senior honors thesis, honors students work closely with selected members of the faculty. In the first two years of study in the Honors College, breadth of academic experience is emphasized. Honors work involves the student in a variety of fields. Interdisciplinary courses in humanities and liberal arts form the core of the students' academic program.
Students working toward honors recognition also take honors science or mathematics courses.
Honors students in the junior and senior years usually become more focused in a particular academic discipline. Upper division honors work is characterized by intense intellectual involvement, rigorous standards, and a high level of increasingly independent achievement. Upper division honors work typically culminates in a senior honors thesis or senior honors project under the direction of a faculty member from the student's major department. Participation in the Honors Program supplements, but does not replace, work in a major field. Credits earned in Honors College courses may be used to satisfy general education requirements or specific degree requirements, such as the literature requirement of the College of Arts and Sciences or the College of Basic Sciences.