Review this information before submitting your contract
Contract Due Date
- Fall and spring semesters - Monday of the fourth week of the semester
- Summer sessions - Fifth day of class
Extensions must be approved by the Honors Director.
Basic Requirements
- Honors components must be 15-30 hours of work in addition to normal course work.
- Honors component must be approved by the professor.
- Professors must be able to evaluate the Honors component.
- Students must earn an A or B in both the course and on the Honors component to earn Honors credit.
Additional Requirements for Capstone Course
The Honors Capstone must be completed in a 300 or 400 level course in your major or minor. Learn more about the Honors Capstone requirement on the Program Information page.
Courses
A student may add an Honors component to any course, with the approval of the professor.
(Exceptions: no contracts for 100 level language classes unless you have permission from the department chair and no contracts for one credit classes.)
All USI students may add an Honors component to courses for Honors credit. Those students not currently enrolled in the Honors Program may take these courses for Honors credit, but only with professor permission. Non-Honors student registration is allowed so that students interested in the Program may have the opportunity to experiment with an Honors course.
Grading
Students will receive two separate grades for contract Honors courses: one grade is based only on the work assigned on the course syllabus to all students and an additional grade will be given solely for the Honors component.
The grade for the Honors component will not be factored into the student's overall course grade or GPA.
Extensions/Withdrawals
The Honors component can be extended past the end of the semester, provided the professor approves.
Students may drop the Honors component without withdrawing from the course itself. The only consequence for dropping the Honors component is that no Honors credit is earned for the course. The Honors component can be cancelled or extended by the last day of regularly scheduled classes in a semester or summer term. You must inform the Honors Program office.
Honors Component
All students who take a course for Honors credit will complete an Honors component in addition to all other requirements on the course syllabus.
The Honors component should be designed to promote enhanced study for the course and varies by course topic. Generally, students are encouraged to work with their professors to develop Honors components that will be interesting and stimulating for both the students and the professors. The Honors Faculty Council encourages directed but student-initiated learning.
The Honors component can take a variety of forms depending on the class content and the preference of the student and professor. Examples might include: extension or added dimension to class paper, additional paper, class presentation, field work, series of interviews culminating in a report, researching case studies, review of current literature, speech, conference paper, leading a class discussion after researching a class topic, reading plays and books in a foreign language, etc. Depending on the course content, an Honors component might be of interest to the entire class and the student could present his/her work to the class as part of the Honors component.
A description of the Honors component approved by the professor must be attached to the contract form. If a description is not approved at the time of the contract submission, the Honors component can be submitted separately from the contract. Final approval of all Honors components rests with the Honors Director.