General Information
(251) 461-1637
Honors College website https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/honors/
Honors College Administrative Staff
Faculty/Staff
| Title |
Name |
| Dean |
Doug Marshall |
| Honors Academic Advisor |
Lauren Williams |
| Administrative Assistant |
Pamm Chastang-Howard |
| Coordinator |
Ruby Staten |
| Development Officer |
Evans Wilks |
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, Leadership, and the Creation of Knowledge and Culture.
At the convenience and price 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
- Apply for admission to the University of South Alabama and complete all necessary steps for acceptance.
- 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).
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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 |
| 3 |
| 9 |
| 3 |
| 1 | 6 |
| Total Hours | 24 |
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).
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, students must also be a good citizen of the College and University. This is defined as:
- Adhering to all standards of student conduct as laid out in The Lowdown student handbook, and to the adjudication process described therein.
- Abiding by the Bethel Use Agreement signed upon entering the Honors College.
- 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.
