The following resources may be helpful for students within the Honors Program as they navigate through their chosen baccalaureate plans. Faculty with questions about Honors Contracts should contact the Honors Program Director, Kate McPherson, PhD kmcpherson@uvu.edu 801-863-8055.
The Honors Program is designed around intensive, face-to-face interaction. Honors students typically complete at least one Honors course per semester; scholarship students are required to do so, but may petition for exceptions. In their first two semesters, all Honors students must complete Ancient Legacies (HONR 2000) and Modern Legacies (HONR 2100), as well as Honors Colloquium (HONR 100R). Course descriptions for the Legacies courses, which vary in focus each semester, are available under the Curriculum section of the Honors homepage. Colloquium is a 1-credit course that includes on-campus lectures on a wide-range of topics combined with cohort building activities emphasizing cultural, outdoor, and academic activities. These include trips to premier arts venues, guest lecturers from the academic and professional communities, outdoor recreation activities, reading groups, and community or campus service projects.
In order to graduate with the Honors designation on the transcript, a student must do the following:
The honors course planner can help you plan out your semesters.
The Honors Program Senior Thesis or Project is the capstone to the student's undergraduate experience in the Honors Program. It is a two-semester project, which results in 45-50 pages of research (or a similar time commitment to a project with some kind of public component, e.g., a performance, presentation, workshop, poster session, publication in an academic or creative journal, etc.) on a topic approved by the student’s Faculty Committee. Topics will only be approved if the student demonstrates adequate course work or other preparation in the area of interest.
Having devoted considerable effort to the conceptualization and execution of your senior thesis or project, you face the task of communicating the results of your scholarship, research, or artistic endeavor. Various disciplines have standards of their own and it is the intent of the Honors Program to permit students to adopt a genre and style consistent with their academic discipline. In all questions of substance, the discipline is the guide; talk to your mentor, also known as your thesis or project chair.
You need to be mindful of time constraints; underestimating how much time is required for formatting and preparation after the research is completed is a common problem. Generally, it takes longer than you might expect and the end is always a crunch. At every stage, you will be well served by maintaining close contact with your mentors.
Your thesis or project, and anything resulting from it, represent your contribution to the knowledge of your field. Therefore, the thesis or project must be written or presented in a style and format that is acceptable, consistent, and readily understood - which is why your thesis or project must conform to the requirements in this guide. A well-written thesis or project not only reflects favorably on you but also on your committee, the Honors Program, and Utah Valley University.
If you are ready to begin your Honors Program Thesis or Project, please complete the Honors Project or Thesis Committee Agreement Form.
Honors students needing a scholarship disbursement held for health reasons, military orders, church service, or humanitarian service, please fill out the following form:
To appeal a scholarship decision, please fill out the following form and submit it to the Honors office:
