Honors Courses
The Honors curriculum offers interdisciplinary courses that fulfill university core curriculum requirements as well as upper level electives. This flexibility allows us to welcome majors from all academic disciplines. In addition, we offer Honors courses every even-numbered year at UIW's European Study Center in Heidelberg. Instructors tailor the courses to take advantage of the historic location.
Honors courses do not entail more assignments than a regular course, but do include a deeper level of thinking and analysis in classroom discussion and assessment. Our Honors students do well in this environment because they find themselves supporting each other and working together in and out of the classroom. It's wonderful to watch the community of Honors students develop and evolve each year.
Students are required to take at least five Honors courses (10 Honors points) toward their 20 point Honors Program requirement. These are the required courses:
- Introduction to the Honors Program, which orients new students to the program in their first fall semester and provides support to professional and personal development.
- A choice of either our introductory philosophy (The Intellectual Quest) or religious studies course (Theological Anthropology). An upper level course in philosophy/religious studies is available to transfer students bringing in lower level philosophy or religious studies credits.
- Composition II, which trains students in research writing techniques. However, this will be waived if students already have college credit for Composition II.
Otherwise, students may choose from several additional courses to earn Honors points, or they may contract with a professor to do an honors project in an upper level course in their major or minor.
This overview of the Honors point system (PDF) provides more detail as to the activities that earn Honors points.
"The honors coursework challenged me. I found myself reflecting deeper on my surroundings because of these classes, and I believe I have become a better person because of it."