Honor’s College

About
Programs
Additional Requirements and Information

Dean: Peter Parolin

Guthrie House
Phone: (307) 766-4110
Website: uwyo.edu/honors

About

The Honors College provides academically ambitious students with a series of curricular and co-curricular opportunities. Through these opportunities, students gain the breadth of knowledge needed by citizens, professionals, and family members to be effective in a lifetime of stimulating and enriching pursuits. Honors students learn to communicate effectively for a variety of audiences in their academic disciplines and beyond. They learn to locate and use reliable information and trustworthy opinion. Through their coursework, they learn how to become engaged citizens and to understand global perspectives. They learn the purposes and values of the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences. The Capstone Project is a sustained research or creative activity through which students demonstrate what they have learned: they formulate a project independently, develop the intellectual and creative means to complete it, and write and speak effectively about their work. The Capstone Project is frequently used as evidence of critical thinking, creative problem solving, and persistence in graduate and career applications.

Honors College Learning Outcomes

Students graduating from the Honors College will be able to: (1) demonstrate interdisciplinary perspectives by comparing, contrasting, and interpreting the relationships between multiple disciplines, (2) apply knowledge and skills, both collaboratively and individually, by utilizing experiential learning, (3) demonstrate effective communication skills using a multitude of platforms for a variety of audiences, (4) cultivate an understanding of diversity and the importance of global cultural competence, (5) undertake a coherent research or creative project to contribute to the creation of new knowledge, and (6) employ critical thinking to work towards solving problems of the future.

Additional Requirements and Information

Honors College Admissions

The Honors College seeks well-rounded, ambitious, and curious learners and leaders. Students are invited to apply to the college prior to their first year. First year applicants should apply to the Honors College when submitting their general application to UW. The Honors College admissions committee considers academic performance and test scores holistically alongside an application essay and high school transcript.

Students admitted into the Honors College who are College of Engineering majors will automatically be accepted as Honors College Engineering students, which includes separate requirements set by the College of Engineering.

The Honors College reviews applications on a rolling basis. Students are admitted to the Honors College only after they have been accepted to UW. Incoming, continuing, and transfer students who are interested in applying to Honors should consult our Admissions page: https://www.uwyo.edu/honors/applications/

The Honors College also welcomes applications from new transfer students and current UW students with at least three semesters remaining prior to graduation. Transfer students and current students entering the Honors College typically have an overall college GPA of 3.25 or higher.

Interested students at any level are encouraged to come by the Honors College or to write to the Dean, The Honors College, Dept. 3413, 1000 University Ave, Laramie, WY 82071. The email address is honors@uwyo.edu.

Scholarships

The Honors College supports UW in financial aid packages for students. In keeping with the vision of Honors to facilitate an international experience, Honors provides scholarships to assist with study abroad. Students may also apply for grants to support research or creative projects related to the capstone requirement, as well as for educational experiences beyond the classroom.

Program Requirements

To earn a minor in Honors, Honors students must complete a total of five courses in Honors, a Capstone Project, and complete the First-Year and Advanced Honors SOAR badge requirements. They must also graduate with a 3.25 GPA. Students who transfer to UW or join Honors as continuing UW students may have some of their required Honors courses and SOAR requirements waived

The multidisciplinary curricular and co-curricular requirements of the Honors College are as follows:

First-Year Colloquium

Students begin by taking the First Year Colloquium, a two-semester course sequence that takes a complex topic - for example, “Dreams and Reality” or “What Does it Mean to be a Human” - and explores it with readings based in the humanities, arts, sciences, and social sciences

Honors Colloquium I

Honors Colloquium I explores the topic “dreams and reality.” We ask: how do we know what reality is? Is it an objective truth we all share? A set of constraints that guides our lives? An arbitrary construct we could change? And what are our dreams? Do they shape reality, oppose reality, or something else? In this class, students use big questions like these to explore the intriguing intersections of a wide range of academic fields, including physics, philosophy, neuroscience, film studies, psychology, and more. Along the way, students learn to become effective communicators, nuanced researchers, and college-level critical thinkers.

These courses includes visits to UW’s Theatre and Dance department, the Art Museum, the Geology Museum, and other places on campus. Expert faculty from various departments give specialized lectures on relevant topics.

Honors Upper Divsion Courses

Thereafter, students enroll in three additional courses: an Honors Global Perspectives course and six hours of upper-division coursework in Honors that expand students’ abilities to think and work across disciplines and challenge students to analyze complex topics. At the upper division, it is strongly recommended that students take at least one Honors course per year.

Honors College SOAR Requirements

Students are required to complete both badges in the Honors SOAR Badge program. Through the First-Year and Advanced Honors SOAR badges, students complete a required number of co-curricular experiences spanning the arts, sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Honors SOAR invites students to learn, connect, and grow beyond the classroom while developing leadership, strengthening teamwork, and engaging meaningfully in global and civic communities.

Capstone Project Requirement

Honors students are required to complete an Honors Capstone, which is an independent or collaborative project-research, creative, or entrepreneurial endeavor-that marks the culmination of undergraduate study. These projects are done under faculty mentorship and presented publicly. The capstone requirement ensures that students gain valuable experience in an area of their interest. Honors capstone projects often lead to graduate studies or a special career path.
Students in the Honors Minor are not required to register for a specific course to complete the Capstone Project, although students in the concurrent major in Honors Interdisciplinary Inquiry are required to register for HP 4250 Producing Knowledge: Capstone Seminar. Students in the minor can complete the capstone project independently in coordination with a faculty mentor without coursework as long as capstone requirements are met.
Honors does offer an optional independent study course that can be used as part of the capstone project. Up to 6 hours of credit in HP 4976 Independent Study may be used toward the capstone.
HP 4976 and HP 4990 do not count toward required Honors coursework or USP requirements.
Students may be pursuing a major outside the Honors College that requires a senior or capstone project. In this case, the major-specific project may also meet the requirement for the Honors College Capstone Project. Please contact the Capstone Project Coordinator for details. Email: honorscapstone@uwyo.edu

Honors College Additional Requirements

Students must graduate with a 3.25 cumulative UW GPA.
Successful completion of the program is indicated on transcripts and diplomas, and seniors are recognized at graduation ceremonies.

Priority registration for enrollment in Honors courses is given to Honors College students, although non-Honors students with a 3.25 GPA or with permission of the instructor are eligible and encouraged to enroll in Honors courses once the general registration period begins, if space is available.

Honors College Advising

The Honors College offers supplemental advising that supports students’ work with their primary major advisors. Honors Advising instructs students on Honors curriculum requirements and helps students select their Honors courses and take advantage of special Honors College opportunities. Students cannot register for Fall or Spring classes without meeting with their primary major advisor.