The Honors Experience at LSUA offers a distinctive opportunity for qualified students to gain valuable experience that will help them set, pursue, and achieve long-term goals. Substantial scholarship funds are available to support students as they chart their paths to success.
Rather than increasing the workload or introducing additional rigor, The Honors Experience provides additional dimensions of learning through practical experiences. Ideal candidates for employment or graduate school are those who not only have strong academic records but also engage in activities that foster critical thinking, collaborative work, and visionary leadership.
Eligible students include incoming first-time, full-time freshmen who are pursuing a degree and attending classes on campus (not 100% online). Full-time students are required to enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester. Students from all bachelor’s or associate’s programs at LSUA are considered for admission.
Application deadline for the applicants: April 30th, prior to the start of the Fall semester of Freshman year.
At LSUA, “Honors” is not focused solely and rigidly on studious classroom work.
Unlike regular honors programs at other universities, The Honors Experience at LSUA is about special opportunities beyond the classroom – opportunities usually reserved only for students in graduate school or in highly specialized programs of study. Along the way, significant mentoring and guidance are provided to ensure maximum impact.
Start with the community, including the friendships that will be forged among similarly motivated, like-minded students.
Consider also the fun events, including trips, that are part of the social experience.
Understand that completing The Honors Experience will mean being more likely to land an outstanding job or a coveted spot in graduate school.
AWESOME truly describes this unique combination of benefits!
Leadership experience can come in many forms. Some students are teaching assistants or peer mentors; some serve in student government or as officers in student organizations on campus; some coach youth sports off campus or represent the university to the greater community in other ways. Academic credit can be awarded to students who reflect on their leadership experience and carry forward what they have learned to other endeavors.
Citizenship experience can be through volunteering in the community, assisting with campus activities, working together for a social cause, and much more. Academic credit is available for students who engage in citizenship initiatives.
Scholarly experience comes from the curriculum, which includes special seminars and research projects. Students will have the chance to present their scholarship at campus events or at professional conferences elsewhere in the country.
Friendship is a core pillar of The Honors Experience, along with leadership, citizenship and scholarship. Through the many special activities designed especially for these students, friendships are developed among students from all majors and across the entire university – friendships that would never have been realized but for membership in The Honors Experience community.
Students in The Honors Experience will bond while enjoying various social, cultural and intellectual activities. Possibilities include guest speakers, game nights, outings in town, movies, cookouts, and other fun things students might want to do.
In an effort to introduce new and diverse perspectives, there are opportunities for students to travel together and attend special events elsewhere in the country, present their work at professional conferences, and attend national honors conference in cities such as Orlando, Boston and Seattle. Special seminars on other states or other countries are available during spring break or during part the summer.
Students in The Honors Experience will earn 15 credit hours of Honors coursework (9 credit hours if pursuing an associate’s degree), but these will not be additional courses. Rather, they will be built into the existing plan of study for each degree program.
Bachelor's degree-seeking students are required to complete 15 credit hours of honors-related coursework. Of these, 6 credit hours must be at the 3000 or 4000 level. Additionally, 6 credit hours must be completed before the end of sophomore year, and 9 credit hours must be completed before the end of junior year. Students can fulfill these requirements through various options: Contract Honors Courses, the Honors Section of LSUA 1001, teaching assistantships, or an approved HIPS seminar course. Associate degree seeking students are required to complete 9 credit hours of honors related course work, 3 of the 9 credit hours will be a general education course or LSUA 1001 and the remaining 6 credits must be at the 2000 level or higher. In addition to the Contract courses each student will be expected to complete 10 hours of service per semester. Service hours simply means time spent volunteering to help an individual, group, for-profit or non-profit organization.
The heart of The Honors Experience, these are special opportunities to obtain course credit for engaging in Leadership, Citizenship, Teaching, and Research. Some of these experiences will be on campus, though options will exist for off-campus
Students in The Honors Experience can earn general education credit and take elective options that are nontraditional, experimental, low-risk, and (most importantly) fun! Seminars will be largely discussion-based and may deviate from traditional assignments such as tests or papers. Examples of possible seminars include: The Meaning of Life; The Supernatural; You Tube in Contemporary Society; Country Music vs. Rock-and-Roll; The Physics of Billiards; Chemistry in the Kitchen; Zombies in Film; Theories of Justice; Squirrel! (The Art of Distraction); and many others. The possibilities are endless, and students will have input into which courses are offered.
At least one course (3 credit hours of Honors work) must be through a research project in a course that the student is already taking. Working with the professor, the student will propose a project, carry out the needed research, and present his/her findings at LSUA’s Scholar Day or similar campus event. Options exist for students to travel out of state and present with faculty at professional conferences.
Send us your questions! We will be happy to provide additional information about our the Honors Experience.
The Honors Experience