Honors College

Other Information About the College

Office of the Dean: 16 Library

713-743-9010

Dean: Ted L. Estess, Ph.D., Syracuse University

Associate Dean: William Monroe, Ph.D., University of Chicago

Honors College Faculty: David Bao, John Bernard, Susan Collins, Ted L. Estess (dean), Cynthia Freeland, Andrew Hass, Ross Lence, William Monroe, Michael Moore, Herbert Rothschild, Christine La Veaux Sharpe, Helen Sheumaker, Robert Zaretsky

Originally created in 1959, the University Honors Program became The Honors College at the University of Houston in 1993. Created to serve the intellectual needs of gifted students in over 100 fields of study, the Honors College provides the careful guidance, flexibility, and personal instruction that nurture individual excellence.

Benefits of Honors College membership include priority registration for courses, competitive scholarships, special academic advising by faculty, opportunities for individual study, and the chance to live in Honors residence halls.

The curriculum of the Honors College is both flexible and varied. The College draws on the talents of the finest faculty members across the university to teach smaller honors sections of courses in various disciplines. These courses take the place of regular required courses and fulfill the university's baccalaureate degree requirements. One key sequence of courses, "The Human Situation," is team-taught by the core Honors faculty and designed to ensure that Honors students are introduced to the philosophical, literary, and historical foundations of Western civilization, from classical Greece to modern America.

Students make significant contributions to the life of the Honors College. The Student Governing Board conducts evaluations of all honors courses each semester and maintains the results in the Honors Center for students to consult when selecting courses and instructors. Members of the Student Governing Board also sit on the Honors Council, where they interview prospective instructors and help formulate college policy.

In addition to their participation in the College's academic affairs, students help plan and attend special events throughout the school year. Designed especially for beginning students, the fall Honors Retreat is the first event of each academic year. Students new to the College join upper-level advisors and Honors faculty at a wooded retreat center for two days of recreation and interaction. Other extracurricular activities supported by the College during the year include productions by the Houston Grand Opera, performances by the Houston Symphony, plays at the renowned Alley Theatre and Stages Repertory Theatre, parties in the Honors Center and at the university swimming pool, recitals, dramatic readings, and lectures by resident and visiting scholars.