 rotate(10)'/%3E%3Cpath d='M.038.113v.15l.15.088.15-.088v-.15L.188.025l-.15.088Z' stroke='%23c44900' stroke-width='.0375' transform='rotate(10)'/%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Faculty play a vital role in shaping the Honors College experience. There are many meaningful ways to get involved, whether through teaching, mentoring, or supporting student initiatives. Below are several opportunities for engagement:
- Teach an Honors course and inspire future leaders
- Mentor a student on research or creative projects
- Support Honors-by-Contract with innovative ideas
- Supervise an Honors thesis/project
- Nominate Students – Encourage high-achieving students to apply or get involved.
- Serve as a Faculty Partner – Join committees, lead workshops, or present to Honors cohorts.
- Collaborate in building a culture of academic excellence, leadership, and engagement.
Interested in partnering? Get in touch.
Teaching in the Honors College
Teaching an Honors College course is both stimulating and rewarding. Our students are bold thinkers, engaged learners, and compassionate leaders—ready to make a lasting impact locally and globally. Faculty who teach Honors courses are encouraged to bring their research into the classroom, explore innovative pedagogy, and design engaging, hands-on experiences that extend beyond lecture.
- Honors courses should offer students opportunities to learn deeply, think critically, and connect ideas across disciplines. Each course is expected to include:
- Experiential learning – such as lab or fieldwork, service-learning, or other hands-on components.
- Engagement with primary sources and/or disciplinary methods.
- Synthesis of knowledge across the course, and where possible, across other areas of study.
Students may approach faculty to complete a course for Honors credit through an Honors-by-Contract (HBC). In these cases, the student and faculty member agree on an honors component—an enriched academic experience that goes beyond the standard syllabus.
Examples of possible Honors components include:
- Following the graduate syllabus in a cross-listed undergraduate/graduate class.
- Conducting additional or advanced lab work.
- Developing supplemental teaching materials to be shared with the class.
- Collaborating with the professor to design and present a learning module.
- Presenting a research project to the class and leading small tutorial discussions.
- Preparing and presenting a research project at the annual Engaged Scholar Symposium.
Faculty are encouraged to be creative and flexible in designing honors components that challenge students while also supporting their own teaching and research.
Honors-by-Contract Process for Faculty
While students initiate the Honors-by-Contract (HBC) process, faculty play a critical role throughout—from collaborating on proposals to evaluating final outcomes. Their guidance and feedback are essential to ensuring a meaningful academic experience.
Proposal
Students are responsible for managing the proposal process, which includes contacting potential instructors, collaborating to develop an agreement, and obtaining the instructor’s final signature.
Detailed instructions for proposals are available on the student resources page.
Evaluation
The supervising faculty member is responsible for evaluating the student's performance at the end of the term. Credit is only awarded if the evaluation form is completed and submitted.
Documents:
- Evaluation Form
The supervising faculty member will submit the evaluation form directly to the Honors College.
Deadline:
- Day that grades are due for the current semester.