Program History

Honors Program

The Honors Program was developed in 1980-81 in response to a Board of Trustees mandate that all colleges and universities governed by the Board create honors programs. The first students enrolled in honors in 1981-82. Lower-division students enrolled in five advanced classes that substituted for the usual General Education Requirements (GERs) (e.g., a student might enroll in General Zoology instead of Biological Science). Because of the small number of honors students, honors GER courses were not feasible. Two Departmental Honors courses were developed; they were Interdisciplinary Honors Seminar and Honors Field Practicum I and II. No scholarships were available for students. Gradually, additional GER and upper-division honors courses were added, and Four-Year, Opportunity and Upper- Division Scholarships became available to students.