Honors Curriculum

View the Fall 2020 Honors Course Listing

Fall 2020 UH Course Descriptions

College of Arts and Humanities

School of Business

College of Science and Mathematics

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

University Honors

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 the first semester of 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

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)