The heart of the Honors College is the Honors classroom where faculty members offer opportunities for students to engage in learning that challenges the intellect and advances academic achievement. Students are encouraged to think critically, assess issues, make and defend arguments, and synthesize ideas.

Small enrollment in Honors classes allows students to take an active role in the learning process and grow intellectually. Honors membership is compatible with every major, so Honors College members from across the university come together in an academic community.

A list of Honors classes is posted on the Registrar’s website each semester, and the Honors College also posts a list on the web page each semester. Honors students can participate in priority registration, which allows them to register for classes before other undergraduate students. 

Undergraduate Research

Many Honors students elect to participate in the undergraduate research track offered by the Honors College. Students may take courses to learn about research, develop their research projects, and write an Honors thesis, all under the guidance of a faculty mentor in their major. Students in the research track have opportunities to present their research at regional and national conferences, and may have their work published in the Honors College online journal of undergraduate research, The Eagle Feather, or other scholarly journals. The Honors academic counselor can help students get started in research as early as the freshman year.

1. Honors courses emphasize development of analytical and evaluative skills through readings from primary sources, journal articles and other supplementary materials.
2. Honors courses encourage students to engage in high-level thinking and learning through activities such as intensive discussion; writing in small, collaborative learning settings; and intensive research papers and projects.
3. Honors courses promote independent thinking by making students accountable for important aspects of their learning.
4. Honors courses place material in a conceptual context that illustrates its importance and relationship to other knowledge.
5. Honors courses provide enhanced opportunities for students to develop research skills and produce independent, original research or creative products as part of the course requirements.
6. Honors courses include innovative approaches to course content and teaching so that honors courses can serve as campus-wide prototypes.

Fall 2016 Honors Course Schedule

*Please note: 3996: Mentored Research and 4951: Honors Thesis are course sections set up for specific students and their research mentors. If you are interested in mentored research and/or writing a thesis, please contact Sean Ryan (sean.ryan@unt.edu) for more information.