Admissions
We automatically admit all students awarded SAU Presidential or Hallman scholarships once they have applied. All other first-year and transfer students are admitted based upon a global assessment of academic potential. We examine their ACT or SAT scores, high school GPAs, required submitted essays, letters of recommendation and other relevant information. Current SAU students who have earned at least a 3.5 GPA may petition the Honors College for admission.
Program Overview
Students in the Honors College find honors-credit courses challenging and rewarding. Enrollment in honors classes does not simply earn students extra written assignments. Unlike how high school AP classes are often seen as a necessary grind, honors classes are interesting and intellectually stimulating. Honors College courses differ from the standard college classes in many ways; they are usually smaller and not lecture-based. Honors College classes do not necessarily involve a greater amount of work than other classes at the university, but they require students to apply critical thinking skills and to function at a higher cognitive level. Specifically, they feature greater depth of coverage, more class participation, more contact time with instructors, and more use of state-of-the-art technology.
To earn the distinction as an Honors College graduate, students must complete a total of 24 hours of Honors College credit. Classes offered include seminars, general education courses, upper-level courses in the student’s major field, colloquiums, theses, and independent studies.
Housing
All honors students have the option to live in the Honors Halls. Opened in Fall 2004, the Honors Hall North houses 76 students in suites connected by a bathroom. Honors Hall South houses 92 students in traditional rooms with a community bathroom. The Honors Halls share a recreation room, computer lab, classroom, laundry room, ADA rooms, and an elevator. Honors students may choose to live in any SAU residence hall. Juniors and seniors may also opt to live in apartment-style living in SAU’s University Village apartments.
The Honors College Student Advisor is also housed in the Honors Hall to answer questions and provide the students with 24-hour assistance and advice.
Stipend
Currently, the stipend for honors students is $300 each semester.
Facilities
In addition to the Honors Hall, the Honors College has offices and a lounge on the second floor of Nelson Hall (Nelson 200). The honors lounge offers comfortable furniture, cable TV, networked PCs, snacks, and water (all at no cost). Also, there is a wireless printer available.
Benefits
The Honors College offers its students a number of benefits in addition to the stipend. Those include: early registration, free trips, and honors graduate designation on the transcript and diploma.
Travel
Extramural education is a part of the honors mission
SAU Foundation provides funds for ALL student travel (50% typically)
EF STUDENT travel to Italy (2019) took 20 students
Previous EF travel to Cuba (2016), Paris (2017), China (2018)
HC fully funds travel to national honors meeting for students on the program and partial funding to other academic meetings (if student is on the program)
Honors Seminar
Honors Seminar is the first honors course honors students take. It is only offered in the Fall in three face-to-face sections on MWF 9 and 10 and on TR at 12:40. Honors Seminar is a 3-hour course. Its Web page can be viewed at: https://edkardas.com/Courses/HonSem/default.html
The course was revised in 2015 to allow for more student participation via presentations. The presentations for that year (and subsequent years) are and will be accessible on the Web page above.
Honors Courses
Except under rare circumstances, freshman honors students should NOT enroll in any other honors courses while taking Honors Seminar because the course prepares them for their future work in the Honors College. Non-freshman MAY take other honors courses simultaneously with permission from the honors director or assistant director.
Full Honors Courses
Full honors courses only enroll honors students, are smaller, and are taught differently. Most such courses are General Education courses and will substitute in the General Education curriculum for non-honors equivalents. From time to time, upper-division full honors courses will be offered as well. Examples: World Lit, General Psychology, US History, Philosophy, and others on occasion.
Contract Honors Courses
The majority of honors courses are called contract honors courses because honors students will register for a regular course and then contract with the instructor to elevate the course to honors. All Honors contracts are expected to be completed by the end of the previous semester for which they plan to be taken. So, if you plan to take an Honors contract course in the Spring 2025 semester, the course for that class should be turned in by the end of the Fall 2024 semester. The process to complete an Honors contract is described here:
- Student asks to determine if instructor will teach an honors section.
- Student obtains contract from Honors College office (either hard or electronic copy).
- Student and instructor discuss how to elevate the course to honors level.
- Simply adding a research paper should be avoided. Projects that are interesting and engaging are best.
- Contracts for upcoming semesters must be finalized by the last day of class the previous semester.
The contract is turned into the Honors Office (either physically or through email).
Contact director or assistant director for help in creating a contract if needed
Note, failure to complete the contract will result in the instructor lowering the grade by one letter.
Progress in the Honors Curriculum
Advisors should check honor students’ transcripts to determine that satisfactory progress towards an Honors College degree is being made.
We require the following benchmarks:
- Students with four semesters should have already completed 9 to 12 honors hours
- Students with six semesters should have already completed 15 to 18 honors hours
Please advise the director or assistant director if you discover honors students with fewer hours than those above.
Remember, the minimum number of honors hours required to graduate is 24. Honors students must take at least 3 hours of honors courses each semester until they obtain their 24 Honors credits. If a student is struggling to meet this expectation, it is recommended that they contact the Honors College department. The Honors College will allow exceptions to this rule based on honors course availability or other circumstances. Students must appeal to the director or assistant director in such cases.
The Honors College makes NO exceptions to the 24 hour requirement.
Probation
Honors students must maintain a 3.25 GPA in order to remain in the Honors College. Students whose GPAs fall below that level will be placed on probation for one semester. If they raise their GPAs above that minimum, they will be removed from probation. During probation, they still hold all the privileges of honors students and may register for honors classes. Students who fail to raise their GPA above the minimum will be dismissed (see below). However, at the discretion of honors director or assistant director, students who make significant progress toward reaching the 3.25 minimum GPA may have their probation extended for another semester.
Dismissal
Honors students who fail to maintain or who fail to regain a 3.25 GPA after probation are dismissed from the Honors College. Students whose GPAs fall so low as to make it mathematically impossible for them to reach a 3.25 GPA within two semesters may be dismissed immediately.
Honors Thesis
The Honors College offers two courses: Honors Thesis I and Honors Thesis II. Those courses may be taken for 1 to 3 credits each. See the Catalog for more information.
Questions? Write Ed Kardas at epkardas@saumag.edu.
Advanced Topics in Honors
The Honors College offers two courses Advanced Topics in Honors I and II. SAU faculty may use those classes to cover specialized topics. In addition, those classes may also be used by honors students to take online courses from Honors Arkansas. Students may only take 6 hours total using these courses. For additional details, contact Ed Kardas at epkardas@saumag.edu.
Blog
Read the Honors College Blog online at https://sauhc.blogspot.com/.
