The University Honors Program curriculum is the core of an honors education. It is designed to meet the needs of all our students, regardless of their major. Honors courses feature:
- Broad and interdisciplinary focuses
- Activities that delve deeply into intellectual traditions
- Small class sizes
- Distinguished instructors
Honors Seminars
Honors Seminars are unique, discussion-based courses on a topic of the faculty member's academic interest and expertise. Most Honors Seminar instructors are faculty from departments across the University of Minnesota, as well as a few community experts with exceptional knowledge and experiences to share with our students.
Seminars are capped at 19 or fewer students to provide for a small class experience and direct interaction with the instructor. Seminars are open to all majors and have no prerequisites unless otherwise stated in the course description. Each year, our seminar series contains a mix of long-running returning courses and one-off courses that may not be taught again.
Fall 2024 Honors Seminars
- HSEM 2009H: Contemporary Art and Politics: From Marcel Duchamp to Ai Weiwei
- HSEM 2043H: Finding the Corporate Soul: Corporate advocacy, social responsibility, and community engagement
- HSEM 2053H: The Psychology of Paranormal Phenomena
- HSEM 2064H: Sex, Gender, and the Digital Body
- HSEM 2241H: Climate Change and Diseases
- HSEM 2243H: Oppenheimer
- HSEM 2244H: Brain Medicine for Everyone
- HSEM 2413H: Insights, Ideas, and Innovation
- HSEM 2515H: Experiencing Local Environmental Solutions
- HSEM 2707H: Battling the Bugs: Anthrax, Ebola, and Everyday Life - PubH Strategies for Prevention and Control
- HSEM 2801H: Think Like a Lawyer: The Art and Adventure of Torts
- HSEM 3025H: Food, Clothing, Shelter: The Culture and Politics of Simple Living
- HSEM 3027H: What is a Tragedy?
- HSEM 3054H: Minds, Brains, and Innovation
- HSEM 3078H: The Search: Life, Death, and Meaning
- HSEM 3089H: Worlds of Conflict and the Arts
- HSEM 3241H: Human Impacts on Earth's Natural Resources
- HSEM 3242H: Food As A Cultural Good
- HSEM 3247H: Philosophy on the Rocks
- HSEM 3248H: Conspiracy Theories
- HSEM 3801H: Modern China: Law, History, and Culture
- HSEM 3804H: Women who Rock (the Boat): Leadership and the Nobel Peace Prize
- HSEM 3807H: Understanding Police Use of Force
- HSEM 3809H: Starting Up A Startup
Detailed course descriptions, meeting times, and availability can be found in Schedule Builder.
Departmental Honors Courses
Departmental Honors Courses are offered by departments and colleges from across campus and take many forms.
NB: All Honors courses must be taken A–F. A grade of C- or better is required in order for the course to fulfill an Honors course requirement.
Honors Course Add-Ons
UHP students can work with faculty to arrange one course "add-on" per academic year. Course add-ons substantially change a student's work in a non-Honors course and allow the course to to fulfill one Honors course requirement. Course add-ons can take several forms, including but not limited to:
- Course-related, faculty-directed research
- A course-related project
- An augmented syllabus with greater engagement in course materials
- Completing graduate level expectations
Graduate Level Courses
Any class taken at the 6xxx, 7xxx or 8xxx level will fulfill honors course requirements, as long as it is 2 credits or more and taken A-F. Students seeking access to a graduate-level course will need permission from the faculty member teaching the course. Students should be prepared to demonstrate their preparation when requesting permission from the instructor; they should not assume that access will be granted. Courses offered at the 5xxx level (or at a 3xxx or 4xxx level but cross-listed with a graduate level course) may also fulfill an honors course requirement through the Honors Add-On process. Students must be able to demonstrate that their participation is beyond what is normally expected of undergraduates in their major.