An Honors Designation means that a student will pursue Honors-level work within a general-level course. This doesn't necessarily mean they will read or write more pages; instead, the student should be engaging with the course material in greater depth and with more sophistication. This might mean using primary texts instead of secondary texts, presenting material to the class, etc. For the best outcomes, students and professors should discuss what projects and expectations will best suit the students' academic path. Faculty may always use their discretion when deciding whether or not to sponsor an Honors Designation. Please see our Honors Designation page for more information about the designation process.
Designating a course as Honors creates a separate section in the eyes of the registration system. This means that the student is dropped from the non-Honors course. The instructor needs to link the courses together. The UNH IT Knowledge Base has instructions.
We always welcome new Honors courses. If you would like to teach one, you should begin by consulting with your department chair. If they approve, contact the Honors College with your proposal.
For the most part, Honors courses are part of the Discovery Program, and require approval by the Discovery Committee. They usually have lower caps than general-level courses (usually 20-30 students). They hold students to higher expectation than ordinary courses, and should be conducted in a highly participatory way (e.g. discussions rather than lectures). For more information about forms of Honors Discovery courses, visit our Discovery Honors Courses page.
Honors Symposia are groups of classes that share a common theme. They are not team-taught, and each course runs independently, but the faculty in the Symposium collaborate to design shared experiences, including regular Plenary Sessions in which all of the courses meet together. The purpose is to demonstrate how different disciplines approach common topics in different and related ways, and how new knowledge and understanding can come from sharing and comparing these approaches.
Please contact us if you would like to propose an Honors Symposium.
At present, we are not offering course development funds, and Honors teaching is typically done as part of established workload, with no extra pay. However, the Honors College offers course enrichment funds of up to $500 per course, which can be used for field trips, speakers, meals, or other expenses. The Honors College does not require a formal proposal for use of these funds. The procedure is to email Kate Gaudet (kate.gaudet@unh.edu), Associate Director of the Hamel Honors and Scholars College, with plans for using the funds, so that the Honors College can be informed in advance. Faculty should then send itemized receipts to Kate for reimbursement.
Please contact us with any questions.
The Culminating Experience is required for all Honors students to complete their Honors journey. Capstones may take different forms, like internships or designated courses, and the Culminating Experience is no different. Honors students choose between an Honors Thesis, a final Honors Project, or an Honors Synthesis. All must involve sustained independent research under the supervision of a faculty advisor and requires a public presentation (usually a poster or oral presentation at the Undergraduate Research Conference). Read more on our Culminating Experience page.
There are multiple ways to participate in Honors. The first is to be a member of the Hamel Honors and Scholars College, which is invitation-only. To see how students are invited, and for information about nominating a student, visit our Honors Admission page. Generally, students begin the Honors College in their first year.
