Honors Curriculum

Classes in the Honors Program are designed for outstanding, motivated students and are taught in small classes by some of JSU's most innovative and engaging faculty. Honors classes are small and are offered in the College of Arts and Humanities, College of Science and Mathematics, College of Business and Industry, and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. In fact, many Honors classes fulfill freshman and sophomore general education requirements in degree majors.

A wide variety of Honors courses in the general education curriculum along with University Honors Participation courses are offered each semester. Students with AP or dual enrollment credit will have the opportunity to earn the required Honors hours. 

Students must be members of the Honors Program to enroll in Honors classes.

A grade of “A” or “B” in Honors courses is required to earn Honors credit.


College of Arts and Humanities

CRN Course Course Description Meeting Days Time Instructor
Art
22733 ART203 Honors Art Appreciation TR 915-1045 Springer, Mary
English
21672 EH104 Honors English Composition II MWF 845-945 Douglas, Christopher
21796 EH220 Honors Literature II TR 915-1045 Reed, Teresa
21797 EH220 Honors Literature II TR 1100-1230 Reed, Teresa
History
21522 HY104 Honors Western Civilization II MWF 1230-1330 Lemmons, Russel
21559 HY204 Honors American History II TR 1100-1230 Levi, Tamara

School of Business

CRN Course Course Description Meeting Days Time Instructor
Economics
22158 EC225 Honors Prin of Microeconomics TR 915-1045 Bennett, Doris
21683 EC226 Honors Prin of Macroeconomics MWF 730-830 McCarty, Cynthia

College of Science and Mathematics

CRN Course Course Description Meeting Days Time Instructor
Biology
22084 BY106 Honors Introductory Biology II TR 915-1045 Cline, George
22038 BY108 Honors Intro Biology Lab II T 1230-1430 TBA
22039 BY108 Honors Intro Biology Lab II W 1230-1430 TBA

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

CRN Course Course Description Meeting Days Time Instructor
Psychology
21400 PSY498 Honors Thesis I TBA
21401 PSY499 Honors Thesis II TBA

University Honors

CRN Course Course Description Meeting Days Time Instructor
22052 UH101 Honors Lecture T 1615-1715 Sauterer, Roger
22057 UH101 Honors Lecture T 945-1045 Paynter, Kelly
20019 UH202 Book Club R 1100-1200 Hill, Lori
22059 UH202 Book Club M 1500-1600 Johnson, Karlie
22718 UH202 Book Club W 1345-1445 Upchurch, John
22749 UH300 Honors Special Topics W 145-245 Gross, Ben

Honors Program members are required to enroll in one 1-hour UH course the first semester of their freshman year and should complete the second UH course by their junior year, and must complete the third UH course one semester prior to graduation. These UH Participation courses count as part of the required 24 hours of Honors credits. Entering freshmen who have earned 31 or more credit hours may apply for a waiver of two of the three required UH Participation courses. Students should contact the Honors Program if they have questions regarding completing the sequence of UH courses.

University Honors (UH) 101 Honors Lecture 

1-hour course; Pass/Fail. Students may receive credit for a maximum of two of these. The topic of this course would vary each semester (service learning, education reform, poverty, tax reform, etc.). This course would be an open forum for the discussion of ideas and submission of reflective papers and/or service-learning projects.

University Honors (UH) 201 Honors Forum 

1-hour course; Pass/Fail.  Students may receive credit for a maximum of two of these. Students enrolled in these courses will be required to attend a certain number of campus events (pre-approved by Honors) and discuss and submit reflective papers for each event.

University Honors (UH) 202 Honors Book Club

1-hour course; Pass/Fail. Students may receive credit for a maximum of two of these. Students enrolled in this course will perform assigned reading and actively participate in class discussions.

University Honors (UH) 205 Honors Professional Preparation Seminar

1-hour course, Pass/Fail. Students enrolled in this course will be required to participate in discussions and complete work on seminar-style presentations on subjects related to their major or future career goals. They may be asked to attend a minimum number of campus events (pre-approved by Honors) including interactions with representatives from professional programs or prospective employers. Students will submit structured reflection on these experiences. May be repeated for a total of two credit hours with permission from the Honors Program.

University Honors (UH) 300 Honors Special Topics: Interdisciplinary

1-hour course. Prerequisite(s): Members of the Honors Program in good standing and junior or senior status; students must have earned the required 3 hours of UH participation for freshmen and sophomores (UH 101, UH 201 or UH 202); and permission of Honors Program. The topic will vary and appeal to students from various disciplines. This course will provide upper-level Honors students the opportunity to draw on their educational experience and utilize their critical thinking skills in an interdisciplinary manner. May be repeated for a total of two credit hours. Students may not repeat the same course topic or theme.

University Honors (UH) 439 Model Debate Team: Global Issues

Model Arab League (MAL) & Model United Nations (MUN) Information

This course may serve as one of the three required University Honors (UH) Participation classes required of all Honors Program members. We participate in Model UN in Atlanta, GA each Fall and Model Arab League in Spartanburg, SC each Spring.  
Contact Dr. Owens if you are interested in either of these high-impact learning opportunities.  Students who reach out to Dr. Owens before the spring semester ends, will have a voice in the selection of the country we wish to represent.  

 

University Honors Course Instructors

Honors by Contract (HBC) is another way to fulfill the Honors Program curriculum requirements. Most courses numbered 200 or above at JSU are eligible for Honors by Contract. 

Course contracts enable students to earn Honors credit by incorporating an Honors component within a regularly offered class. Honors contract courses ideally require something qualitatively different rather than something quantitatively more. Enhanced substitutions for the normal course requirements are preferable to more of the same. The component should be designed to incorporate a "consolidating experience," a written paper or report (possibly including a class presentation) that serves to bring the experience together.

Where longer papers, additional reports, etc., are called for, the added work should be designed to fulfill a larger learning objective. Teaching one or more classes and doing special research projects (especially in the STEM fields) have been especially beneficial. Wherever possible, Honors students should share the results of their work with the class in the form of an oral presentation, a poster session, or some other means.

If a student completes the contracted course with a grade of "B" or better and satisfactorily completes the terms of the contract during the semester that credit is earned, the student will earn an Honors credit for the course. Students receiving an "Incomplete" in a course that they have contracted will not receive Honors credit for the course. Likewise, students receiving an "A" or "B" in a contracted course who did not complete the terms of their contract will not receive Honors credit. If a student is unable to complete the contracted work, the student can still receive credit for the course but cannot receive an Honors credit.

The Honors by Contract option is available in most majors.

Options for honors activities within these courses may include: additional research experience, presentations at conferences, written assignments, community engagement and/or service learning opportunities.

All Honors by Contracts must be submitted online by the first day of classes in the semester the student is completing the contract.

Verification of completion of Honors by Contracts are due no later than the Monday of the last week of classes. This means your projects/papers/presentations will be due to your instructor prior to this date.

Honors by Contract Instructions (PDF)

Honors by Contract Steps for Students (PDF)