The Honors College at SAU
Those of us involved with the Honors College are delighted you want to learn more about us by visiting this website. We hope the information provided here will allow you to understand the scope and depth of SAU’s Honors College and our commitment to academic achievement.
Students in the Honors College take up to eighteen hours of General Education classes together. The Honors College General Education classes allow Honors College students to learn and achieve together in small classes designed to enhance their academic preparation for whatever career goals they may have. Some of the classes available in the General Education curriculum are world history, literature, art appreciation, film appreciation, psychology, U.S. history, philosophy, and Honors Seminar, the first class taken by all Honors College students. Honors College students must complete a minimum of 24 total hours of honors courses in order to receive an honors degree.
The Honors College student population is quite diverse. While most come from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and other states, some come from around the world. Honors students have traveled from Canada, Bulgaria, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Yugoslavia, Nigeria, Vietnam, China,Venezuela, Cameroon, Malaysia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Korea, Tunisia, Togo, Bahamas, and India to participate in our program.
Students in the Honors College have an opportunity to take trips together. In the past students have visited historic and educational places, including Vicksburg and Natchez, Mississippi, and Arkansas’ own Eureka Springs. More recently, honors students visited three museums in Ft. Worth, the Clinton Presidential Library, and the Heifer buidling. Honors students also receive full financial support to attend professional meetings in order to present their academic work or research. In 2010, four students traveled by train to Greenville, SC in order to present papers at the Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC). In 2011, eight students traveled to Little Rock to present papers at the SRHC meeting. Students have presented posters at the last three meetings of the National Collegiate Honors Council held in New Orleans, Denver, and Chicago. Six students will present posters in Seattle in 2016.
Students in the Honors College have an opportunity to live together in Honors Hall, a residence hall for Honors College students. This residence hall offers them a quiet environment in which to live and learn. Honors Hall also has a computer lab and a classroom, where some Honors College classes are taught.
Students who qualify and participate in the honors program will also receive a $600 a year stipend in addition to their academic scholarships.
Students who complete the course requirements of the Honors College will receive special recognition at graduation and will receive the distinction as “Southern Arkansas University Honors College Graduate” on their transcripts and diplomas.
Recent Blog Posts
- Honors College Recognition Ceremony Speech
David WingfieldAs many of you know, our former Assistant Director, David Wingfield, passed away in August of last year.David was present at the founding of the SAU Honors College in 2003 and served it loyally until his end.In many ways he inspired students, faculty, and staff during his long tenure at SAU. Soon, a memorial bench will be installed and unveiled on campus to remember him.He is the […]
- Poem: Monet Coppersmith
Monet Coppersmith recently won second place in the 2023 Southern Arkansas University for her poem:Encephalon EmpyreanThe ether of the sky and mind are one and thesame,Toying with the firmament and capriciousbrain,The stygian sky rises when the clock hits 1,2,And the ardor of the soul fills with colors ofevery hue.At zero hours the encephalon fills withblossoming flowers.Then when a chronograph […]
- 6th Floor Museum Visit
I told several students on the trip that I was in the ninth grade in Kensington Junior High School in Maryland on November 22, 1963. I was in Civics class when the announcement came to each class, "President Kennedy has been shot in Dallas."When his body lay in state at the Capitol days later my parents drove the 15 miles into Washington DC to briefly pass by his casket.Since then, memory of […]
- Dallas Trip: Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
The Honors College took its first trip since 2020 with 11 students, 3 staffers, and one guest. We traveled nearly 500 miles (round trip) in an SAU bus. Our first stop was the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. It hosts a positive exhibit spanning the worst to the best of human nature.Above is the door latch on a cattle car used to transports victims to Nazi concentration camps These are […]
