Teaching Honors | University Honors Program | SIU

• Entering honors freshman have scored in the 90th percentile on the ACT. Students must maintain the minimum GPA of 3.3 to remain in the program.
• Honors students expect active student/instructor interaction and respond well to in-class discussion.
• Honors students are not afraid to take on challenging projects, as long as they do not appear to be busywork.

Why Teach a UHON seminar?

• Do you want to experiment, create, and collaborate in a teaching-research environment geared to asking big questions?
• Are you interested in impacting general education in a changing world?
• Do you enjoy interactive environments where students are prepared and eager to participate?
• Would you welcome a small class of only 15 students?
• All FTE credit goes to the home department of the faculty member.

Creating the Honors Environment

• UHON faculty model lifelong practice of research-practice based learning. 
• UHON courses are not designed as introductory surveys of a particular discipline. Rather, they introduce students to how particular disciplines approach enduring and pressing questions that are embedded in every discipline
• When appropriate, courses may be writing intensive; integrate studies and creative practice.
• Students are expected to fully participate in class, and should be given the opportunity to do so.

Characteristics of an Honors Seminar

• Small enough for close attention to individual student learning. University Honors Program seminars (UHON 351) that satisfy University Core Curriculum requirements are capped at 15.
• Chosen by a panel of their peers, all UHON seminars are taught by faculty who are leaders in their research and practice
• Innovative in teaching and learning. Each UHON seminar is a memorable experience for both students and faculty in an engaged community of learning. Like graduate seminars, UHON courses offer sustained discussion, group projects, multi-media classrooms, Service learning, Problem-based Learning and/or independent research and creative activities.
• Comprised of truly exceptional students. Eager to learn, well prepared, and broadly curious, UHON students generally motivate each other to assume much of the responsibility for the course themselves.
• Original in content and focus. UHON courses push disciplinary boundaries and some are organized in a cluster around a specific theme each year.   Each course can fulfill more than one area in the Core Curriculum.

Propose a UHON Seminar

• The University Honors Program puts out a call for UHON seminars each Fall, in early October. 
• Course Proposals are vetted by the Honors Advisory Council.
• Read previous Call for Proposals here.
• Previously taught honors seminars

• Proposals may be in either one of the following two categories:

  1. General call for proposals: A topic of your choice that would be of interest to undergraduate majors from an array of academic disciplines. Remuneration:  faculty incentive, i.e., $5000 in salary, if taught in addition to regular teaching duties; or signature course, taught on load and on loan from academic unit..   
  2. Call for Themed cluster: You will join a cluster of Honors faculty whose classes coalesce around the year’s theme. Faculty in the cluster make one public presentation on their research-teaching in the semester.  The Honors program also tries to coordinate our distinguished speaker series with the theme.    Remuneration is the same as for the general call for proposals.