Facilities and Opportunities Available to Honors Students

The Honors Program is housed in the historic Maeser Building on the southwest part of campus. This quiet corner is surrounded by beautiful grounds and wooded areas. The building is named after Karl G. Maeser, the first principal of Brigham Young Academy (the school that later became Brigham Young University). A bronze statue of Karl G. Maeser stands at the building's east entrance. Constructed in 1911, the Maeser Building is the oldest building on the current campus. The building was restored in 1985 with modern electrical and ventilation systems but retains its historic architecture and decoration, its marble halls richly appointed with oak and brass trim.

Who Should Participate in Honors?

The characteristics that best define honors students are motivation and a strong desire to obtain the most from the educational experience that BYU has to offer. Honors students seek breadth in their education by taking honors courses outside their majors. They excel in their majors by learning how to conduct research and scholarly work within their chosen fields. They usually tend to work harder and spend more time on their course work than other students, not because their courses are more difficult but because they take courses that interest them. They attend concerts, plays, films, lectures, and art exhibitions, and they participate in informal discussions with their professors and fellow students. Because many of their classes are small and discussion-oriented, they are personally acquainted with their professors. They become well-rounded, literate, and humane scholars whose faith in the restored gospel is strong. Their thirst for knowledge lasts a lifetime. They are not necessarily those with the highest grade-point averages or the highest standardized test scores, nor do all honors students have scholarships.

Overview of Requirements for Graduation with University Honors

This section provides a brief overview of the requirements to graduate with University Honors. Detailed explanations of each requirement follow this section. The staff in the Honors Advisement Center, 102A MSRB, (801) 422-5497, is available to answer questions about honors requirements. To graduate with University Honors, a student must:

1. Commit to graduate with University Honors.
2. Complete the honors curriculum requirement.
3. Complete the honors great works and arts engagement requirement.
4. Complete the honors advanced languages requirement.
5. Complete the honors service requirement.
6. Complete the honors thesis requirement.
7. Graduate with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5.
8. Submit a graduation portfolio that summarizes the student's honors experiences.

The requirements for graduation with University Honors complement both major and university core education. The honors curriculum, great works, and advanced languages requirements enhance the university core components; the honors thesis requirement enhances the major education component.

Detailed Explanations of Requirements for Graduation with University Honors

1. Commitment to Graduate with University Honors

   Students may commit to graduate with University Honors by completing a form available at the Honors Advisement Center. Students who have formally committed to graduate with University Honors have certain privileges, among them the opportunity to preregister for honors courses and to receive reduced-rate admission to certain musical and theatre performances and films. Consultation with the advisement center allows the Honors Program to know students' plans so advisement personnel can help them register for the correct classes and keep them informed of honors activities.

2. Honors Curriculum Requirement

   The honors curriculum requirement enhances the core component of students' undergraduate education. Nearly all honors courses (Honrs) and honors sections of department courses meet the university core requirements that all BYU students must complete. Students should consult the University Core table to be sure which core requirements are met by the courses for which they choose to register.

   To fulfill the honors curriculum requirements, students must complete 22 credit hours selected from honors courses and honors sections of department courses, subject to the following limitations:

   1. Three of the 22 credit hours must be from one of the following writing courses: Honrs 150, Engl 150 (honors section), or Phil 150 (honors section).
   2. No more than 12 credit hours from honors sections of department courses can be used to meet this requirement. Of these, no more than 4 credit hours can be from honors sections of religion courses.
   3. No more than 3 credit hours of non-GE honors classes (Honrs 290R, 292R, 295R, 301R, or 492R) can be used to meet this requirement.

   Honors options are available for nearly all university core requirements. Honrs 499R (honors thesis) does not count as credit for the honors curriculum requirement.

   Great Works and Arts Engagement Requirement

   The honors great works and arts engagement requirement introduces students to the world's treasures of literature, music, theatre, film, and art. It is intended to enhance not just their undergraduate education but their entire life as it encourages them to develop a lifelong pattern of experiencing the great works of humankind. Students can fulfill this requirement entirely on their own, or they may include works of literature, music, theatre, film, and art that they study as part of their course work. BYU provides many opportunities to fulfill this requirement within its course offerings and its rich schedule of musical, theatrical, and artistic productions. Some of the great works are part of many honors courses. The Honors Program provides reduced-rate admission for honors students to attend selected performance events. Most faculty and student recitals and most art exhibitions are open to students and the public with no admission charge.

   This requirement must be met during the time students are undergraduates. They cannot reduce the requirement by counting works studied only during high school. Students will benefit most from this requirement if they spread it out over their undergraduate years. Each area requires students to study or attend sixteen works, performances, or exhibitions—which is four per year in each area if spread out over a period of four years. A great works requirement packet is available in the Honors Advisement Center (102A MSRB) or electronically at http://www.byu.edu/honors. This packet includes the detailed information students will need and a checklist that they can use to ensure that they properly complete this requirement.

   To fulfill this requirement during their four years as an undergraduate, students must:

   1. Read sixteen works of literature from the approved reading list on the honors Web site or in the great works requirement packet (or from approved substitutions to that list). Students must choose at least one work from each of the following categories of literature in the Western tradition: classical, medieval, renaissance and reformation, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, nineteenth century, and twentieth century; and at least one work from the non-Western tradition. The remaining nine works can be from any of the time periods and from Western or non-Western traditions. As students make their selections, they should choose at least one work from each of the following fields: science and mathematics, social science, female author, and persons of color.
      Inclusion of works not on the approved list is permitted but requires completion of a substitution letter (information available in the Honors Advisement Center) that must be preapproved by the Honors Program coordinator or the dean.

      Attend sixteen theatrical performances, including at least one play by Shakespeare.

      Attend sixteen musical performances. The performances must include at least two symphonies, one concerto, one opera, four faculty or student recitals, one jazz performance, and one dance performance.

      Attend sixteen films from the approved list or presented through BYU's L. Tom Perry Special Collections or the International Cinema program. At least eight of the films should be in a language other than English. (Foreign language films shown in International Cinema have English subtitles.)

      Attend sixteen art exhibitions (either traveling exhibitions or permanent collections) at local art museums (BYU Museum of Art, Springville Museum of Art, and Church Museum of History and Art) and/or at renowned national or international art museums. Students who have the opportunity to travel are strongly encouraged to visit museums and architectural sites to meet this requirement.

      As part of their graduation portfolio, students submit 10 response papers that examine two works of literature, two theatrical works, two works of music, two films, and two works of art from the lists included in the great works requirement packet. The packet also contains detailed instructions on writing responses.

   Honors Advanced Languages Requirement

   Honors students must gain proficiency in a foreign language (at least two semesters of foreign language study, or the equivalent) and proficiency in advanced mathematics, statistics, or logic (at least one course from Honrs 250, Math 112/H, 113/H, 119, Phil 305, Psych 301, Stat 221/H, or an acceptable substitute). Fulfillment of this requirement meets and exceeds the core advanced Languages of Learning requirement in requiring both languages and math.

   Honors Service Requirement

   Students who participate in honors are multi-talented and highly motivated. The Honors Program encourages students to share their gifts with others through meaningful service. To complete this requirement students must participate in some form of service that draws upon their unique talents and abilities during their undergraduate years. The requirement is flexible in that it allows students to define the form of service they plan to use to meet it. Their contribution may be in a single project or spread out over several projects. Examples of service projects that students have used to complete this requirement include volunteer tutoring of high school or college students; assistance in programs that benefit people who are handicapped, elderly, ill, or impoverished; service as a volunteer in museums, hospitals, parks, or other public facilities; and participation on restoration or conservation projects. This service can be part of activities sponsored by educational, religious, government, business, or charitable organizations, including BYU and the LDS Church, or students can plan and carry out service on their own. For those students who serve full-time LDS missions, the service that meets this requirement should be carried out while a student and should be in addition to any service performed as a full-time missionary. Missions often provide students with skills and opportunities that they can use to provide significant service after their full-time missions are completed.

   Honors Thesis Requirement

   The honors thesis requirement gives students the opportunity to participate in original research or creative work in the discipline of their major. Honors students typically complete the thesis requirement during their junior and senior years after they have obtained sufficient training in their major to conduct independent work in a specialized academic field. Each student chooses a faculty advisor in the department of his or her major and in consultation with the advisor chooses a thesis topic.

   Students should complete significant course work within the subject area of the thesis (usually at least 30 credit hours, several of which are from 300- or 400-level major courses). The thesis is intended to acquaint students firsthand and in depth with the type of scholarly work that characterizes the field they intend to pursue professionally. For these reasons, only under rare circumstances is an honors thesis topic outside the major area approved. (In most cases students who complete a thesis outside the major do so in fields cognate to their majors.)

   Before students begin work on an honors thesis, they must submit a written thesis proposal and have it approved by the Honors Program Office. Guidelines for writing the proposal are available in the Honors Advisement Center (102A MSRB) or electronically at http://www.byu.edu/honors. Students can request financial support as a part of the thesis proposal. Many honors students obtain competitive undergraduate research grants from BYU’s Office of Research and Creative Activities for honors thesis work. Also, many professors and departments have research funding that can be devoted to research on an honors thesis. Personnel in the Honors Program can help students explore the various opportunities available to support their work on an honors thesis.

   After completing thesis research and writing the thesis, each student must conduct a thesis defense. The defense committee consists of the thesis advisor, a faculty referee, and a representative of the Honors Program administration, who chairs the defense. After the thesis defense is completed and all final changes are incorporated into the thesis, the Honors Program will have the thesis bound and add it to the collection of honors theses housed in the Harold B. Lee Library.

   Graduate with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of at Least 3.5

   Honors students are not necessarily those with the highest GPAs, although most perform very well in their classes. Rather than select easy courses to receive high grades, honors students tend to seek challenging courses taught by excellent professors, and they participate in a variety of activities. Nevertheless, honors students are expected to perform well academically, defined as a minimum GPA of 3.5 at the time of graduation.

   Graduation Portfolio Summarizing the Honors Experiences

   The honors portfolio is a record of a student’s undergraduate experience. It is a file kept by all candidates for University Honors graduation and is submitted for review at the same time as the completed thesis. The portfolio contains samples of a student’s best academic work from the undergraduate program. Although students should place their best work in the portfolio, the file is intended as a record of growth; thus early struggling attempts also have their place. It is always illuminating to students to see where they have been and how far they have come.

   When submitted for examination, the portfolio should contain (but is not limited to):

   1. A one- or two-page summary, semester by semester, of the major highlights and achievements of the student’s undergraduate experience.
   2. A one-page evaluation of the most memorable service the student contributed as an undergraduate.
   3. A current transcript indicating a GPA of at least 3.5.
   4. A list of three faculty members who know the student and can recommend his or her academic record.
   5. A representative collection of the student’s best academic work, reflecting educational progression throughout the undergraduate years.
   6. A great works and arts engagement experience log.
   7. Ten great works and arts engagement response papers.

Note: The general Web site for the BYU Honors Program is http://www..byu.edu/honors.