The Honors College
The Honors College is a non-traditional, liberal arts and sciences college at The University of Texas at San Antonio. It recruits and develops highly committed and talented students. In Honors, students are immersed in a small college culture while having total access to all of the unique resources of one of the nation’s top emerging research universities.
Emphasizing student development within a real-world context, UT San Antonio Honors has one of the most experiential honors curricula in the nation. The Honors College uses the seventh largest city in the U.S., San Antonio, as our laboratory. Honors students have the distinct advantages of learning and networking in a vibrant, culturally-rich, and innovative city setting.
Honors students also have the benefit of working with equally dedicated students from all disciplines. Our emphasis on student life encourages a family atmosphere and helps students develop lifelong friendships with those who are sure to be tomorrow’s leaders.
Mission
The Honors College curates and fosters independent thought. We center agency and ethical decision-making in the education of tomorrow's leaders. The Honors College offers a hands-on, interdisciplinary curriculum tailored to student goals, embedded in a robust community of student scholars and supported with specialized academic, financial, and professional resources. Honors College students serve, learn, and achieve inside and outside of the classroom through self-discovery and diverse intellectual and civic pursuits. Honors College students become global citizens who cultivate intentional lives and nurture their curiosity.
We are a community that cares. We genuinely value our community of curious, committed scholars. We create environments where students are respected for who they are. We believe in the power of connection across different walks of life. We believe in equal opportunity. We honor the highest standards of virtue and excellence. We teach resilience in the face of hardships and adversity. We counsel benevolence and kindness. We orient toward those who need our help.
Our Philosophy
UT San Antonio Honors focuses on student outcomes. We develop students in order to succeed in what we call the S.P.I.C.E.S. areas. We know that the most successful graduates stand out in six areas:
Service
Professional Development
Intellectual Achievement and Research
Cultural Exploration
Engaged Living
Skill Development
We have intentionally designed our curriculum to help students produce demonstrable achievements and leadership in each of these areas.
Our Ethos
UT San Antonio Honors promotes a “small college feel.” We model our ethos after small, private liberal arts colleges. We want our students to feel like they are part of a family. Our students are exceptional, and we value collaboration from multiple perspectives to solve society's most pressing problems. We promote student wellbeing. We ask our students to remain steadfastly committed to living our H.E.R.B.S., always reminding them to be
Honorable
Equitable, Just, and Fair
Resilient
Benevolent
Supportive
We strive to help students understand their learning as a public good and hope to inspire them to use what they learn for the betterment of others.
Our Learning Outcomes
Our Honors curriculum is open to all majors. Our learning outcomes, or C.A.P.A.C.I.T.I.E.S., reflect our emphasis on knowledge discovery and application through personal development and civic engagement.
Creative Courage
Adaptability & Resilience
Project Management
Agency through Accomplishment
Communicating Effectively
Intellectual Dexterity
Team/Independent Learning and Decision Making
Intercultural Confidence
Ethical Reasoning
Self-Reflection and Awareness
Admission and Retention
Admission
Admission to the Honors College is offered to a select number of hardworking, achievement-oriented, conscientious students who wish to take charge of their education and achieve their highest potential at UT San Antonio.
All admissions to the Honors College are on an invitation-only basis. Incoming freshmen and transfer students are automatically considered for Honors College eligibility based on the student’s information at the time of admission to UT San Antonio. Current UT San Antonio students are automatically considered for Honors College eligibility based on their cumulative grade point average (GPA) and completed credit hours as of the semester prior to invitation. Students are also admitted to the Honors College upon selection of one of the Special Scholar Programs for incoming Freshmen, Honors College Programs Open to Non-Honors College Students, and Jointly Sponsored Programs (listed below). Students admitted to the University of Texas Coordinated Admissions Program (CAP) are ineligible for admission. There are additional honors specific programs and pathways available. More information is available through the Honors College website.
UT San Antonio Honors Programs
Several UT San Antonio colleges have or are developing college honors programs, including the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, the College of Sciences, the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design, the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, and the College of Health, Community and Policy. An Honors Athletics Program and Honors ROTC Program are also in development. When implemented, they will be available to Honors College students who meet the criteria for admission. See your Honors Academic Counselor for details when a new college honors program begins that could apply to your plans.
Retention in the Honors College
Good Academic Standing
Policies on Good Academic Standing in the Honors College vary by program. Please contact your program administrator or your Honors College Academic Counselor for specific program policies. Note that students at graduation need a university grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or higher on a 4.0 scale to be classified as an Honors College graduate. Students need to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, average two Experiences per year enrolled, and attend a minimum of 3 Honors-designated events per Fall and Spring semesters to remain members in good standing with the Honors College; for more information, please see your program administrator or Honors College Academic Counselor.
Benefits and Services
The UT San Antonio Honors College provides the following opportunities to members of the College:
Early Registration
Honors students have early registration benefits, which means they may register for classes on the first day of priority registration.
Dual College Membership
All Honors College students are also members of a degree-granting college. Admission to the Honors College is independent of admission to any other academic unit.
Honors Counseling
Honors students have an Honors Academic Counselor who helps them with the Honors requirements and with their undergraduate careers at UT San Antonio. Honors students also have Honors peer coaches to help them find the best opportunities in which to get involved. Our Honors academic counseling team helps students to find and develop study abroad, service learning, professional development, internship, and other S.P.I.C.E.S. opportunities, all the while ensuring that students stay on track to graduate from Honors. The Experiential Learning Lab (ELL) is a collaborative, in-person, drop-in space where students can explore opportunities ranging from local internships in San Antonio to global study abroad programs, with Honors College staff available during operating hours.
Honors Scholarships
The Honors College, in conjunction with the UT San Antonio Scholarship Office, annually awards numerous Honors scholarships. Many Honors scholarships are renewable for up to three years for students who maintain the requisite grade point average as determined by the specific scholarship and complete an Honors course each semester. The Honors College provides an Experiential Learning Award (ELA) to defray the cost of educational pursuits, professional development, research, service, or other experiential learning opportunities. More information on scholarships is available through the Honors College website.
Honors Events
The heart of the honors community is student life, including events. Honors College hosts many events each year that are funded by honors student fees. These events are social, ceremonial, academic, or sometimes just fun. This is the best way for an Honors student to build their network.
Honors Study Abroad and Study Away
The Honors College works with UT San Antonio's Office of International Programs to offer opportunities for Honors students to acquire new knowledge and understanding of the people, events, movement, ideas, and objects of cultures other than their own. Multiple scholarships are available through the International Education Fund and the Honors College.
Professional Networking
Every year honors students have access to many unique professional, academic, and cultural networking opportunities that are only available to honors students.
Honors Residential Life
First-Year Honors students have the opportunity to participate in a living and learning community with other Honors students in campus housing, where they have Honors events and activities throughout the school year.
Recognition for Honors Graduation
Upon graduating from UT San Antonio, students in the Honors College can be recognized as an Honors College Member, Graduate, or Graduate with Distinction (see below for requirements). Students are recognized in the Honors College Graduation Celebration, where they receive an Honors stole to wear with their academic regalia to the official university commencement ceremony. Recognition for Honors graduates at the UT San Antonio Graduation includes a notation on the diploma and/or transcript and mention in the university commencement bulletin.
Honors College Requirements
To graduate with diploma-level recognition from the Honors College, a student must meet all of the following requirements:
- Be accepted and enrolled in the Honors College,
- Declare and complete Undergraduate Bachelor’s Degree requirements for any UT San Antonio program under a student’s specific catalog of record,
- Have a minimum university grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale, and
- Complete the below-listed Honors College Curricular and Co-curricular Requirements.
Honors College Curriculum Requirements
The UT San Antonio Honors College is committed to students’ community engagement, mindful living, and civic engagement, which may best be understood through the S.P.I.C.E.S. Students are required to actively participate in the S.P.I.C.E.S.: service, professional development, intellectual achievement and research beyond the classroom, cultural exploration, engaged living, and skill development. As such, the UT San Antonio Honors curriculum is designed to help students have the types of experiences that will create lifelong learners and dexterous thinkers. To allow students the ability to take on multiple majors (should they choose to), to potentially graduate early, and to utilize previously acquired credits, our curriculum is intentionally flexible.
The honors curriculum consists of 4 components: 1) a 0 semester credit hour (SCH) course to build your path in Honors to graduation, 2) a 1 SCH course or equivalent course where students identify how they want to contribute to their communities, 3) honors sections of 2 Core Curriculum courses, and 4) six upper-division courses, personalized "Experiences" that can be courses or out of classroom activities that meet certain requirements.
Honors students have the opportunity to meet upper-division Experience requirements in two ways. The first way is traditional Honors coursework, which includes Honors College courses, Honors sections offered in other colleges, independent studies, graduate courses, and other experiential courses. The second way to meet certain Experience requirements is through out-of-classroom activities. Out-of-classroom experiences include study abroad, internships, service projects, research, and other independently designed activities that meet the Honors College Learning Outcomes. Honors students are encouraged to present about their Experiences in the semesterly Experiential Learning Fair for professional development and scholarship awards. Recipients of the Experiential Learning Award (ELA) are required to present at the Experiential Learning Fair.
Overall, Honors curricular requirements are comparable to course equivalencies of 25 or more credit hours. The intentional curricular flexibility and malleability provide students the opportunity to customize their Honors College Experience, thus crafting a curriculum that will make them most marketable to graduate schools and potential employers. In fact, Honors' curricular flexibility with out-of-classroom Experiences allows a student to graduate with only 1 SCH (HON 2301) outside a student's degree requirements.
There are two paths to graduate from the Honors College. Path placement depends on how many cumulative Student Credit Hours (SCH) students have earned when they accept the invitation to join the Honors College: less than 60 semester credit hours and 60 or more semester credit hours.
Co-curricular Requirements for All Honors Students
In addition to the below-mentioned Honors College curricular requirements, all Honors College students must attend a minimum of three (3) Honors-designated Events per semester (see the Honors College website for details).
Curricular Requirements for Students Who Accept the Invitation to Join Honors with Less than 60 Semester Credit Hours
All Honors coursework and equivalencies must earn a grade of C- (70%) or better in order to fulfill an Honors College curricular requirement, except Contracted courses, which must be a grade of B- (80%) or better. Honors credits earned at other institutions of higher education will be substituted in on a credit-for-credit basis.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credit Hours |
| |
| Honors 101 | |
| Honors: The Civic Ethos | |
| Topics in World Cultures (This must be an Honors section.) | |
| Freshman Composition II (This must be an Honors section unless passed before entering the Honors College.) | |
| |
| Honors Service (May substitute HON 3100, HON 3533 (in previous catalogs), or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Service) | |
| Honors Professional Development (May substitute HON 3260, HON 4933, HON 4936, any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Professional Development, or any internship course) | |
| Honors Intellectual Achievement and Research (May substitute HON 3310, HON 4993, HON 4913, any Independent Study course, any Thesis course, or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Intellectual Achievement and Research) | |
| Honors Cultural Exploration (May substitute HON 3400 or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Cultural Exploration) | |
| Honors Engaged Living (May substitute HON 3500 or any 3 SCH Honors section as Engaged Living) | |
| Honors Skill Development (May substitute HON 3600 or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Skill Development) | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Total Credit Hours | 25 |
Curricular Requirements for Students Who Accept the Invitation to Join Honors with 60 or More Semester Credit Hours
All Honors coursework and equivalencies must earn a C- (70%) or better in order to fulfill an Honors College curricular requirement, except Contracted courses, which must be a B- (80%) or better.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credit Hours |
| |
| Honors 101 | |
| Honors: The Civic Ethos | |
| Topics in World Cultures (This must be an Honors section.) | |
| Freshman Composition II (This must be an Honors section unless passed before entering the Honors College.) | |
| |
| Honors Service (May substitute HON 3100, HON 3533 (in previous catalogs), or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Professional Development) | |
| Honors Professional Development (May substitute HON 3260, HON 4933, HON 4936, any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Professional Development) | |
| Honors Intellectual Achievement and Research (May substitute HON 3310, HON 4993, HON 4913, any Independent Study course, any Thesis course, or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Intellectual Achievement and Research) | |
| Honors Cultural Exploration (May substitute HON 3400 or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Cultural Exploration) | |
| Honors Engaged Living (May substitute HON 3500 or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Engaged Living) | |
| Honors Skill Development (May substitute HON 3600 or any 3 SCH Honors section designated as Skill Development) | |
| Total Credit Hours | 16 |
Honors College Graduation with Distinction
A student may graduate from the Honors College “With Distinction” by meeting the following conditions:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credit Hours |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Total Credit Hours | 34-43 |
Honors College Member Graduates
Students who do not complete the requirements for graduation from the Honors College may graduate as “Members of the Honors College” by having an institutional grade point average of at least 3.0 upon graduation and being in good standing in the semester of graduation. Students who are Honors College Members in good standing in special programs but not pursuing the Honors College curriculum will also graduate as Honors College Members.
Honors College Programs Open to Non-Honors College Students and Jointly Sponsored Programs
The UT San Antonio Honors College partners with several programs on our campus. Some programs are also open to non-Honors College students.
The Archer Fellowship Program
The Bill Archer Fellowship Program was established by The University of Texas System in conjunction with Former U.S. Representative Bill Archer as a way to bring highly motivated and accomplished students from Texas to Washington, D.C., to participate in varied internships and take part in classes focusing on policy, history, and advocacy. Students earn 15 hours of upper-division course credit, including six hours of course credit for their internship Experience. Our students work with organizations such as the United Nations Information Centre, the US Department of State, many offices within the White House and on the Hill, with federal agencies, and with non-profit organizations. Our selection process is rigorous, in order to bring only the best representatives from throughout Texas. Information and application forms can be found on the Bill Archer Fellowship UT San Antonio website.
PAD 3513. Archer: Policy-Making Process. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.
Prerequisite: Enrollment in the UT System Archer Fellows Program. This course will focus on the role of Congress and the President in the policy-making process. The course will use a variety of sources (academic texts, newspaper and journal articles, Web sites, blogs, and advocacy papers) to compare textbook and "real world" versions of how policy is made in Washington, D.C. Formerly HON 3513. Credit cannot be earned for both HON 3513 and PAD 3513. Generally offered: Fall, Spring.
PAD 3523. Archer: Politics of National Memory. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.
Prerequisite: Enrollment in the UT System Archer Fellows Program. This course is designed to help students understand power in our nation's capital and, especially, power that lies outside Congress and the White House. Students will study Washington, D.C., by making visits to local sites as they examine complex issues, such as the use of DDT to combat malaria, the relationship between democracy and war, and the future of the Internet. (Formerly HON 3523. Credit cannot be earned for both HON 3523 and PAD 3523.) Generally offered: Fall, Spring.
PAD 3533. Advocacy and Politics: Success in Washington. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.
Prerequisite: Enrollment in the UT System Archer Fellows Program. This course will provide an introduction to the issues individuals face when placed in the role of being advocates for an issue, idea, or even themselves. The goal of the course is for students to learn about advocacy in ways they can apply to their internship settings. Formerly HON 3533. Credit cannot be earned for both HON 3533 and PAD 3533. Generally offered: Fall, Spring. Course Fee: STHC $18.
PAD 4936. Internship in Public Administration. (0-0) 6 Credit Hours.
Prerequisite: PAD 1113 and PAD 2013; students must secure an internship placement and seek approval of the Internship Coordinator prior to registering for this course; contact the Internship Coordinator for support with placements. Supervised experience in an administrative setting that provides the opportunity to integrate theory and practice in public or nonprofit-related agencies. No more than 6 semester credit hours will apply to a bachelor’s degree. Course Fee: STHC $36.
The Legislative Fellows Program
The UT San Antonio Legislative Fellows program provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to serve as interns in the Texas State Capitol. Coordinated by the UT San Antonio Honors College, students in this program also participate in the University of Texas System Texas Legislative Interns Program. Students of all majors with an interest in public policy and a commitment to public service are encouraged to apply. Information and application can be found at the UT San Antonio Legislative Fellows website.
UT San Antonio Citymester
UT San Antonio Citymester is a semester-long academic immersion Experience in the San Antonio community. Students will complete a major internship, significant service learning, and engage the issues and life of the nation’s fastest growing and seventh largest city. Students who successfully complete Citymester meet three (3) Honors Experiences as SPICES or Honors Electives.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credit Hours |
| Honors Service (Course will be titled "Citymester: City Solutions".) | |
| Honors Professional Development (Course will be titled "Citymester: City Skills") | |
| Citymester: City Sites | |
