FAQs for Current Students

We hold mandatory advising meetings for all grade levels in the Fall and Spring semesters. Be sure to read the Honors Monday Mail e-newsletter to find the dates and times. (All Honors students automatically receive the Monday Mail in their @sandiego.edu email inbox. If you are not receiving this weekly email, please let us know.)

Students can also drop by the Honors Office to meet with the Honors Program administrators. You can find their office hours in the Honors Monday Mail, or you can email honors@sandiego.edu to schedule an advising appointment.

Lastly, you can find information about the Honors curriculum on our website.

Students can browse upcoming Honors team-taught courses on our website. Honors courses taught by single instructors are posted as they become available, frequently not until the semester before they will be offered. As registration approaches, the Honors Program publishes a comprehensive list of single instructor and team-taught courses in the Monday Mail e-newsletter. (All Honors students automatically receive the Monday Mail in their @sandiego.edu email inbox. If you are not receiving this weekly email, please let us know.)

When searching for Honors courses on the Portal, students should remember to filter by ‘attribute’ and not by ‘department.’ If one searches by department (Honors), only team-taught courses and the Honors thesis seminar (e.g., HNRS 324/325, HNRS 495) will show up. When students search by attribute (Honors), they will find all Honors courses including single instructor classes (e.g., PHIL 111H, ENGL 230H).

A team-taught Honors course is one in which two individual faculty members from different disciplines co-instruct a single Honors course, offering students an interdisciplinary understanding of a common topic or problem. These classes provide a multi-faceted perspective on life, as issues and problems in the real world are seldom addressed by a single subject. Due to the creative and experiential nature of these courses, many students list team-taught courses as one of their favorite features of the Honors Program.

The Honors Program typically offers 4 team-taught courses each semester, all of which fulfill the Core requirement for Integration (CINT). Some team-taught courses also fulfill other Core or major requirements. You may review the list of upcoming Team-Taught courses, including information about the Core or major requirements they may fill.

All Honors team-taught courses are upper-division, so students must have earned at least 45 units to enroll. Every team-taught course is 4 units. Students must enroll in the department section for which they wish to earn credit. For instance, if a student is taking Women in Islam and Confucianism (HNRS 364/365) and wants to satisfy Core THRS, he/she should enroll in HNRS 365, the Theology and Religion Studies (THRS) section. Credit distributions are posted on the Honors Program website, as well as in Honors Monday Mail.

No, a non-Honors team-taught course does not satisfy your Honors team-taught course requirement. Students can certainly take a non-Honors team taught, but the course would not earn Honors credit.

A linked Honors course constitutes an individual Honors course, taught by single instructor, that is linked together with another Honors course(s) in a different major based on a common theme, concept or problem. Linked courses are scheduled simultaneously so that students in each linked Honors class might meet together for interdisciplinary group projects, joint discussions, guest speakers and other common activities.

Although any Honors student enrolled in a linked honors class will earn honors units, only students who declare their major under the 2019 catalog or later will be able to earn units toward the Honors Program requirement for interdisciplinary courses by taking a linked class. Learn more about the changes in requirements.

We post the early registration chart for Honors students in the weekly e-newsletter Honors Monday Mail, so that students know exactly which time/day to register for courses. (All Honors students automatically receive the Monday Mail in their @sandiego.edu email inbox. If you are not receiving this weekly email, please let us know.)

Remember that early registration is based on the number of units students have completed, not including those units that are in progress. In general, senior Honors students register before other seniors, junior Honors students register before other juniors, etc. However, some students might have earned enough units to register ahead of their class level. For instance, a second-year student might be considered a ‘junior’ based on units earned.

Honors classes are frequently misplaced in Degreeworks. If Honors units are not reflected properly in your Degreeworks audit, please email honors@sandiego.edu with your USD student ID number and specify the issue. Be sure to include the course title/s and semester/s taken.

The Honors Option Contract converts one regular 3-unit course at USD into an Honors course. In order to make the class “Honors,” the professor works with the student to create an additional project or experience for the student to move deeper into course material.

In addition to contracting one non-Honors course on campus to convert it to an Honors course,  students may also contract one short-term study abroad experience (e.g., Intersession, Summer) if the 3-unit course is taught by a USD faculty member.  Go here to learn more details about the Honors Option Contract.

Yes! Many Honors students participate in study abroad, which we support by waiving four units of Honors credit for semester-long study abroad programs, thus reducing the number of Honors units that students must complete to graduate from the Honors Program. (Note students must still earn the requisite 124 total units to graduate from USD).

When students enroll in HNRS 495: Honors Thesis Seminar, the Honors Program conducts a Degreeworks audit. At that time, we adjust students’ unit requirements to reflect their study abroad experience.

We realize that some students cannot or do not wish to spend a full semester abroad. Instead, they might take a class or two abroad over Summer or during Intersession. We allow students to contract a short-term study abroad class taught by a USD faculty to receive Honors credit. In these instances, students can earn 3 Honors units by contracting a short-term study abroad class, (not to be confused with the 4 unit waiver received for  a semester of study abroad). Go here to learn more details about the Honors Option Contract.

We understand that circumstances sometimes cause a student to have a GPA lower than the 3.4 benchmark. Students who drop below a 3.4 cumulative GPA are placed on probationary status, which means they are given another semester to improve. During this time, they meet with the Director to discuss strategies and resources that they may find helpful. Most students successfully raise their GPAs and complete the program in good standing.

Students who are unsure about completing the Honors Program should consult their academic advisor and the Honors Office. Sometimes students don’t realize they can finish the units, so it’s helpful to meet with the Honors administrators to discuss options.

If students are certain they cannot or do not wish to complete the Honors Program, they need to email honors@sandiego.edu to formally withdraw. The Honors Program Office can only remove students’ Honors affiliation on Degreeworks and with the USD Registrar if they fill out the Honors Exit Questionnaire.

Honors thesis projects offer students the chance to focus on a particular topic of interest, passion, or conviction. These projects may take the form of a scholarly paper, original writing (plays, poems, short stories), artistic composition or design, science experiment, a curricular module, or other project that meets academic standards for originality in a student’s major discipline.  Many students build on projects they began in other classes, in a lab or field experience, or choose a topic they in which they are personally or intellectually invested.  Each student selects a thesis mentor to help guide them as they design, execute and write up their thesis projects.  All thesis projects are formally completed in the semester in which students enroll in HNRS 495 Honors Thesis Seminar, and they are publicly presented at the Honors Colloquium.

Some students create entirely new projects, while others build on projects they have begun in other courses or in independent research or work experiences. Students who choose to extend an existing project must add a unique component or level of depth/analysis that qualifies the Honors Thesis as a distinctive intellectual project, and they must explain this extension in detail in the Prospectus (turned into the Honors Director as part of HNRS 495 seminar).

Because students are expected to complete the Honors thesis project in either fall or spring of their senior year, starting the research process early is strongly encouraged, and typically yields higher-quality work. Some students conceptualize their projects as early as their first or second year at USD while in a lab or class. Others formalize their projects after engaging more deeply in their major course work over their sophomore and  junior year.  In all cases, working on the Honors thesis project at least by the summer preceding the senior year is highly advised.

While students formally complete, turn in and orally present their Honors thesis project as part of the enrollment requirements for HNRS 495 Honors Thesis seminar, they are encouraged (though not required) to enroll in an independent study, research course, or a senior project course associated with their major prior to their senior spring. The goal is to make significant progress on the thesis research before enrolling in the HNRS 495 thesis seminar. 

To learn more about the thesis experience, students should attend the Honors advising meetings in the Fall and Spring. We also have created various resources to guide students through the thesis process. Be sure to check out our advising handout for students.

Yes, students can earn up to 3 Honors units for research supporting their Honors thesis project. Before enrolling in HNRS 495: Honors Thesis Seminar, students are encouraged (but not required) to enroll in either an independent study (499) or research course (496) in their major.

 Alternatively , some majors offer a senior project or capstone course that can serve as a springboard for their thesis work. Please check with your own advisor to determine which is the right choice for you.

Honors students may receive up to 3 Honors units for research going towards their Honors thesis project by:

• Enrolling in an independent study (499) with their thesis advisor. Students fill out the independent study form and bring it to the Honors office before taking it to the Dean for the final signature. Honors administrators sign the top to indicate that the course should be processed as Honors (499H).
• Enrolling in a research course in their major (496). If a 496H does not exist, students should fill out the independent study form and follow those same procedures.
• Expanding upon a project completed in the capstone course in their major. Students should consult their faculty advisor and the Honors office to determine if this is an option. If so, students provide the Honors office with the following information: Student ID number, capstone course title, and semester taken. The Honors Office notifies the Registrar, who adds the “H” attribute to the capstone course at the end of the semester (after the final grade is posted).

Yes, Honors students are eligible to apply for the Lawrence Hinman Research Grant in their Junior and Senior year to help fund their Honors thesis projects. Award winners receive up to $500, which can be spent on research supplies, a presentation for a conference, or travel to present at a conference. Students can apply for the Hinman Grant in the Fall or Spring. Application deadlines will be posted in the Honors Monday Mail.

Students can also seek alternative funding sources for their thesis projects by consulting the Office of Undergraduate Research and Associated Students.

Students are free to select an Honors thesis advisor of their choice. Sometimes the fit is obvious because a student is already working with a faculty member in a lab, in the field, or on a project. Other times, a student might identify a potential thesis advisor based on his/her academic work and approach him/her to discuss the thesis project idea. 

When looking for an advisor, students might consider the following questions:

• Do I enjoy working with this faculty member? Do we communicate effectively and have a good rapport?
• Is this faculty member in my field of study? Will s/he be interested in my project and able to guide me through this research process?
• Will this faculty member be on campus? Is s/he able to commit to this role right now?

Some of these questions will be best answered by going to the faculty member’s office to have an informal conversation. It can be helpful to bring a copy of the thesis advisor handout, so faculty understand what that role entails. We recommend having these conversations as early as sophomore year.

If students have no idea who might serve as a suitable thesis advisor, they might try: 

• Attending Creative Collaborations, USD’s undergraduate research conference, in the spring. Explore projects in your field/s and ask students about their research experience. Who was their advisor? How did they meet? Then connect with those faculty.
• Visiting faculty in their major department during office hours to learn about their research. Many faculty members are working on an exciting project and looking for student researchers.
• Browse the Honors thesis library in Maher 264. Flip through projects in your field to see which faculty members advised students. Then connect with those faculty.
• Talk to the Honors Director and other faculty about your interests; they may be able to offer suggestions.

Students should solidify their advisor-advisee relationship with their Honors thesis advisors no later than the spring semester of their junior year.

Many students complete interdisciplinary projects for the Honors thesis. In these situations, students can work with more than one faculty advisor. However, they must select one faculty member to be their primary advisor, who will sign off on the final project.

Although students are free to work with researchers at other schools or institutions, every Honors student must have one USD faculty member as his or her official Honors thesis advisor. This thesis advisor will sign off on the final thesis project.

The major tasks of an Honors thesis advisor include :

• Guiding students to an appropriate topic/research question that can be accomplished within a year-long project
• Pointing students to appropriate resources for project, including grant opportunities
• Instructing student about the guidelines of their discipline (e.g., writing style, discipline specific requirements for a research paper)
• Meeting with student regularly, providing advice and guidance throughout the process
• Providing feedback on thesis drafts
• Helping students prepare an oral presentation for a general audience
• Attending the presentation or reviewing a recording of the presentation
• Advising and evaluating 496 or 499 credit (if applicable)

In order to graduate from the Honors Program, students must complete HNRS 495: Honors Thesis Seminar. This course is offered in both the Fall and Spring semesters. Students may take the seminar for either 1 or 3 Honors units; the course is the same class regardless of the number of units offered. We provide the 1 unit option for financial purposes, since some students are enrolled in many other units.

The seminar aims to facilitate students’ progress on, and ultimately the completion of, the Thesis Project. It also provides instruction on and opportunities for public presentation of the thesis project at Creative Collaborations and the Honors Colloquium.

Theses vary in length and style, depending on the project and the discipline. We encourage students to check out former students’ work both by reading examples and attending the Honors Colloquium (see below). We have tangible copies of Honors theses, organized by year and discipline, in the Honors Office. Students can also browse Copley’s online catalog, Digital USD, where Honors graduates can publish their work.

The Honors Colloquium takes place in the Fall and Spring semesters. At the Colloquium, students enrolled in HNRS 495 offer a 15-minute presentation on their thesis. They develop the presentation so that it is comprehensible and accessible to a general (educated but non-expert) audience comprised of Honors Program students, faculty, and guests. Students may have to spend time educating the audience on background material or the jargon of the field before discussing the heart of their research. Thesis advisors can help students determine how to organize their presentation and determine what is most important to share.

Our new platform, T.E.A.M. (Torero Employer and Alumni Mentors), offers easy ways for both alumni and students to network, share career advice, and learn about best practices and professional opportunities. The Career Development Center at USD has designed this platform exclusively for the Torero community worldwide. The site is integrated with LinkedIn, which makes joining easy and quick.

T.E.A.M. is a dedicated online network where you can connect with Toreros in your city or industry of interest, choose to mentor (or be mentored) through a "flash" meeting or for a longer sustained period of time, access skilled students and alumni to fill open positions, and share exciting new professional opportunities including internships and shadowing experiences.

Visit mentoring.sandiego.edu to get started - it only takes a couple minutes to register. When you sign up, please make sure to join the USD Honors Program under the “Groups” page to receive updates and share your news.

There are many ways to get involved and to meet other students in the Honors Program. Honors students are always welcome to come hang out in the Honors Office in Maher 264. We have a cozy lounge with a Keurig coffee machine, a group study space, and a small computer lab.  We also host various events throughout the year (e.g., Tea with the President, Brown Bag Lunches with Alumni, Major Mixers, Holiday parties, Dinners with the Director), so be sure to read the Honors Monday Mail and check the Honors events webpage to RSVP.  (All Honors students automatically receive the Monday Mail in their @sandiego.edu email inbox. If you are not receiving this weekly email, please let us know.)