Honors Program Benefits

The most significant benefit of being in the Honors Program is being among other students who enjoy intellectual engagement. However, there are also tangible benefits for participants in the Honors Program:

Honors Program Scholarship

Students admitted to the Honors Program as an incoming freshman receive a scholarship toward tuition, in addition to other financial aid awards. This scholarship is renewable each year provided students stay in good standing and continue progression towards meeting Honors Program requirements.

Honors Undergraduate Research Grants

Honors students are eligible to apply for Honors Program research grants, given each year to support excellent research by Honors Program students.

Priority Registration

Students in the Honors Program have the privilege to register for classes following seniors in order to ensure that they will be able to enroll in their first choice courses. This is effective for freshmen when they register for their spring semester.

Honors Program Travel Award

Honors Program students may apply for funding to support attendance at academic/professional conferences.

Opt-Up Course Option

Honors Program students benefit from an enhanced academic experience that fosters deeper and more substantive learning. To this end, Honors Program students have the opportunity to “opt up” within general education. With this “opt-up” option, Honors students may, with approval, choose to substitute a general education course (e.g., PSYC 121, Introductory Psychology) for a more challenging, upper-level course within that same field (e.g., PSYC 431, Stereotyping, Racism, and Prejudice). Allowing Honors students to “opt up” opens doors with respect to the types of courses students can select to take. Instead of taking more traditional survey-level courses that provide breadth but often little depth of content, honors students can garner more opportunities to delve into the depth of a specific field.

Honors Housing

Honors Program students have the option to live in special honors housing located in Powell Residence Hall. Space is limited but available to incoming and current Honors Program students. Applications are available in the Office of Residence Life.

Honors Cords, Medallion, and Graduate Certificate

Students completing the program will receive purple cords and an engraved medallion to wear with their academic regalia at graduation. Students will be invited to a graduation dinner to celebrate their accomplishments and receive their cords and medallion. A certificate of completion will also be awarded to Honors Program graduates.

Transcript

Honors courses are denoted with an H following the course number on student transcripts. Students who complete the Honors Program will have a special notation on their transcripts and diplomas.

Visibility

The University of Evansville Honors Program is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council.

Honors Social Media and Communication

The Honors Program has a Facebook group, Instagram page, and Twitter account for sharing news and event information.

The Honors Program also maintains an email distribution list whereby members receive announcements. Because this is the primary format in which the director communicates to honors students, it is imperative that students regularly check their UE email.

The Honors Program also communicates with students via an email distribution list and event postings on UEngage.

Social Events

Honors Program students have the opportunity to participate in various social activities, such as the freshman retreat, honors banquet, monthly breakfast club, game nights, Nerd Wars trivia competition, and more.

Leadership / Volunteer Opportunities

Honors Program students can serve a leadership role in the organization by participating on the Honors Activity Board. Students also have the opportunity to volunteer with HACER, the Honors Program community service initiative.

Future Achievement

Graduates of the UE Honors Program have continued on to various prestigious graduate schools and employment opportunities. Recent graduates have attended such graduate schools as the Boston Conservatory, Yale University School of Drama, A.T. Still University's Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University, Michigan State University Law School, and the University of Maastricht in Maastricht, Netherlands, among others. In addition, graduates have been accepted into the Disney College Program, while others have pursued service opportunities such as the Peace Corps.