Honors Courses

There are three categories of honors classes that every honors student will be enrolled in at some point before they graduate. Those categories are:

1. Honors Seminar
2. Contract Honors Courses
3. Full Honors Courses

Each course category is described below.

Honors Seminar

Honors Seminar is the first honors course that honors students take. It is only offered in the Fall in two hybrid sections on MW 2:10-3:30 pm and on TR from 9:30-10:50 am. Every Honors student needs to take Honors Seminar. Honors Seminar is a 3-hour course. This is the only honors course that a student is required to take during their first semester in the Honors College.

Honors Contract

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 2026 semester, the course for that class should be turned in by the end of the Fall 2025 semester. The process to complete an Honors contract is described here:

• Student asks to determine if the instructor will teach an honors section.
• The student initiates the Honors Contract by clicking the online version and filling out the available information boxes, and clicking submit.
• The instructor listed on the contract then can accept the proposal for an honors contract by completing the Honors Project and Method of Evaluation section of the contract.
  • Simply adding a research paper should be avoided. Projects that are interesting and engaging are best.
• The student will then be sent a copy of the contract that, when signed and submitted, will be sent to the Honors department.

Contracts for upcoming semesters must be finalized by the last day of class in the previous semester.

Contact the director or assistant director for help in creating a contract if needed.

Note, failure to complete the assignment or project designated on the contract by the end of the semester will result in the instructor lowering the grade by one letter.

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. The upcoming Full Honors Courses are announced to the students via email.

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.

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.