General Information

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Honors College website https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/honors/

Honors College Administrative Staff

Faculty/Staff

Title	Name
Dean	Doug Marshall
Director of Undergraduate & Honors Research	Christy Wheeler West
Honors Academic Advisor	Lauren Williams
Coordinator, Honors & Undergraduate Research	Loretta Wilson
Administrative Assistant	Pamm Chastang-Howard
Whiddon College of Medicine Early Acceptance Program	Aline Allen
Graduate Assistant	Ruby Staten

The University of South Alabama Honors College offers a program designed to cultivate the thinking and communication skills of exceptionally qualified and highly motivated students in any major or course of study. To this end, the Honors College challenges students with enhanced course offerings and scholarly creative activity while offering them expanded opportunities to engage in cultural enrichment, travel, service, leadership, and community. The Honors College is built around three major pillars: Intellectual Curiosity and Courage, Citizenship, and the Creation of Knowledge and Culture.

At the convenience and price point of a midsize regional university, the Honors College at South combines the personal attention and human scale of a small liberal arts college, with the diversity, breadth and depth of expertise, and wide range of opportunities usually associated with a large ‘research-intensive’ university.

Program Description

The Honors College experience includes curricular (course-work), co-curricular (mentorship projects), and extra-curricular (field trips, movie/game nights) dimensions throughout a student’s undergraduate career. Honors students take some, but not all, of their courses as enriched ‘Honors’ courses, which allow them to dive deeper into the subject matter, to study unique and uniquely interesting topics from an interdisciplinary perspective, and to be more than a Jag Number to their instructors (with most Honors sections having around 15 students). Students eventually choose a mentor (usually in their major or minor) who works with the student on a two or more semester project that culminates in their senior mentorship project (for which the students receive course credit towards their graduation requirements).

In addition to a challenging academic curriculum, the Honors College offers a variety of experiences that extend learning beyond the classroom, including social and cultural events and community service projects. Honors students often participate in international programs, such as study abroad or exchange programs, and off-campus internship opportunities.

Students who complete the requirements of both the Honors College and of the selected major with an institutional grade-point average of 3.50 or higher will receive the relevant designation on the transcript and the diploma.

Qualifications for Consideration for the Honors College

Applicants typically have a 27 or higher ACT Composite (or comparable SAT score) and a minimum 3.5 high school grade-point average (4.0 unweighted), as computed by the University of South Alabama. ). But our admissions process is holistic and looks at more than the numbers, so students who are below but close to these benchmarks are encouraged to use our application essays and resume (see below) to make the case for their admission on other grounds.

Procedure to Apply for the Honors College

1. Apply for admission to the University of South Alabama and complete all necessary steps for acceptance.
2. After admission to the university, complete and submit the Honors College Application found on the Honors College website (https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/honors/apply.html). 

3. Based upon these materials, successful applicants will be invited to interview for a spot in the next entering class.

Other Honors Options

For transfer students, or others, who have completed significant credits toward graduation, the specific curriculum requirements for the University Honors College may be impracticable. Additionally, other non-honors students may find certain honors courses desirable while being unable to commit to the entire honors curriculum. Options available in these cases include enrollment in specific honors courses (indicated on the transcript as honors credit) with permission of the instructor and the Honors College Dean when space is available, and/or completing an appropriate Departmental Honors project. Students interested in these options should consult with the Honors College Dean.

USA International Education/Study Abroad

Honors College students are encouraged to participate in an international experience through study, research, internship or work abroad. Honors students should seriously consider applying for one of the many international prestigious scholarship programs such as the Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Program, Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarship, George J. Mitchell Scholarship, Rhodes Scholarship, Fulbright Student Grants, Gates Cambridge, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships and NSEP Boren Scholarship and Gilman Scholarship. For more information contact your Honors advisor and the Office of International Education.

Honors Requirements

Honors College Curriculum Requirements

The following courses, or a substitute approved by the Honors College Dean, must be completed with a grade of "C" or better, in addition to general studies requirements and specific requirements of the major department, to graduate with Honors College recognition. Transfer students may petition to receive credit for honors courses taken elsewhere. High School AP and IBP credits may not substitute for Honors required courses.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
HON 101	First-Year Honors Seminar (Recommended in first semester)	1
HON 201	Second-Year Honors Seminar	1
HON 301	Intro Senior Honors Project (variable content)	1
Five (5) Honors Electives (may count toward major or general ed requirements)		15
Two (2) Honors Senior Thesis/Project Courses (may count toward major) 1		6
Total Hours		24

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Student should determine early in their program the requirements in their major.

Honors Seminars are special topics courses, and a variety are available each fall and spring semester for students to make their selection.

The Honors Electives requirements can be satisfied by taking any courses offered for Honors credit (courses with "Honors" in the title or an "H" suffix).

Departments of Instruction

Honors College Membership Requirements

Honors students must maintain satisfactory progress in the required curriculum to remain in the Honors College. Scholarship recipients must meet any additional requirements of their specific award. To remain in good standing with the Honors College, honors students must maintain satisfactory progress in the required curriculum and must maintain an institutional GPA of 3.50 or higher after their first year. Scholarships that depend on GPA will not be reinstated after probation.

In order to maintain membership in the Honors College, you must satisfactorily complete all Honors College requirements, including maintaining satisfactory academic progress in your classes, making timely progress towards the completion of your mentorship project, remaining active in the Honors community, and being a good citizen of the College and University.

More specifically, “satisfactory academic progress” is defined by:

1. Enrolling full-time each fall and spring semester.
2. Completing 30 credit hours during the academic year. Students are encouraged to take an average of 14-16 hours each term to stay on track. Note that repeating a course for which you already have credit (such as AP, IB, or DE) will not contribute credit hours toward the 30-credit-hour requirement. Summer courses taken at South also count towards the 30-credit-hour/year benchmark.
3. Maintaining a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5 for courses taken at South. At the start of each year after your freshman year, you must have a 3.50 to remain in good standing with the Honors College. If your GPA drops below a 3.50 you may continue to participate in the College, but you will not be eligible for supplemental scholarship and funding opportunities unless and until your cumulative GPA rises to or above a 3.50.  To graduate with Honors, you must have a cumulative institutional GPA of 3.50 at the end of your graduating semester.

Likewise, being a “good citizen of the College and University” is defined as:

1. Adhering to all standards of student conduct as laid out in The Lowdown, and to the adjudication process described therein.
2. Abiding by the Bethel Use Agreement signed upon entering the Honors College.
3. Refraining from criminal and other destructive actions that could reflect badly on the Honors College.

By the junior year, each Honors student will identify a suitable faculty mentor and design an Honors Senior Project. The project represents a scholarly effort appropriate to the student, including a significant component of investigation and written presentation. The Honors Senior Project will total 6 credit hours. Graduating Honors seniors will present their Honors senior project at a defense before their committee in a professional format suitable for the project and discipline (e.g., an exhibition, research presentation or poster, or performance). The senior project will be evaluated and graded by a committee of three faculty members, and chaired by the honors project mentor. The senior project also must be approved by the Dean of the Honors College in order to graduate with an Honors designation.