Honors College

Jot Travis Building, Room 11
(775) 784-1455

Purpose and Mission 

The Honors College provides unique intellectual, professional, and personal development opportunities to highly motivated students across the curriculum and co-curriculum.

The Honors College offers three flexible curricular pathways that accommodate students within any major(s): the Honors Baccalaureate, the Provost’s Scholars pathway, and the 1874 Scholars pathway.

Admission to the Honors Program

Any student may apply for admission to the Honors College and, upon acceptance, select any one of the three pathways. Students in every honors pathway will complete a specified number of honors academic experiences and co-curricular experiences, including an introductory honors course and an Honors Signature Experience. Visit the Honors College website for information on how to apply.

Honors Residential Scholars Community 

The Honors Residential Scholars Community, known as the Honors LLC, provides a cohort of honors students with the opportunity to develop both local and global awareness through inquiry, discussion, and immersion. The community is open to qualified, first-year students of all academic majors who have been admitted to the Honors College. A supplemental application that may be completed together with the Honors College admission application is required in addition to the primary housing application. First-generation college students, members of underrepresented groups, and students who demonstrate financial need are especially encouraged to apply.

Program Requirements

The Honors Baccalaureate is the most immersive honors pathway. This pathway includes an introductory honors course, an Honors Signature Experience, and a total of fourteen honors experiences. A minimum of eight honors experiences must be academic, such as Honors College courses, honors sections of courses, and honors contract courses. A maximum of six honors experiences may be co-curricular “beyond the classroom” experiences.  The Honors Baccalaureate is well suited to first-time, first-year students seeking to engage with the Honors College throughout their undergraduate years.

Honoring the tremendous contributions of the Office of the Provost to honors education at the University, the Provost’s Scholars pathway offers a balanced middle ground.  Like all other honors pathways, it requires an introductory honors course and an Honors Signature Experience. The Provost’s Scholars pathway requires a total of twelve honors experiences, with a minimum of six academic honors experiences and a maximum of six co-curricular “beyond the classroom” experiences. 

Named for the year of the University’s founding, the 1874 Scholars pathway is the foundational honors pathway. Students who graduate as 1874 Scholars complete ten honors experiences, with a minimum of four academic experiences and a maximum of six co-curricular “beyond the classroom” experiences.  Like all other honors pathways, it requires students to enroll in an honors introductory course and to finish an Honors Signature Experience. In its brevity, it is well suited to the needs of continuing and transfer students as well as students whose majors incorporate a time-intensive culminating experience such as a professional practicum.

Note: The introductory honors courses and Honors Signature Experience count toward honors academic experiences.

Program Completion

Students in the Honors College may select any one of the three pathways above. Students in every honors pathway will complete a specified number of honors academic experiences and co-curricular experiences as well as an Honors Signature Experience. Completion of all three honors pathways is measured in honors experiences as detailed in the table above. Pathways do not require the completion of a specific number of credit hours and they are not time dependent. Each pathway includes an honors introductory course and an Honors Signature Experience.

Honors experiences include, but are not limited to, academic courses; co-curricular activities like creative performance, service-learning, internships, and research engagement; applying for a nationally competitive scholarship or fellowship; presenting work at an academic conference; etc.

Honors academic experiences are equivalent to honors courses. These may be Honors College courses, honors sections of courses, or honors contract courses for honors credit.

Co-curricular “beyond the classroom” experiences include, but are not limited to, service, internships, research, professional examinations, leadership of clubs and organizations, etc.

Students who enter the Honors College as first-year students enroll in a required one-credit honors first-year experience course.  Students who enter the Honors College later in their undergraduate careers enroll in a required one-credit honors introductory course at the 300 level. 

The Honors Signature Experience is the culminating honors academic experience. It dovetails with a student’s major-required thesis/capstone for majors that require one. For majors that do not require a thesis/capstone, students will design their own project in accordance with their intellectual, professional, and personal goals. Projects might take the form of creative performances (e.g., senior recitals), extended course projects (e.g., consulting work), an extended service-learning project (e.g., establishing a community program), a professional experience (e.g., internship), etc.

Progression Requirements

Students must complete an honors introductory course in their first semester in the Honors College. Students must also meet with an Honors Advisor for a Life Check at least once every academic year. Students must complete their Honors Signature Experience before graduation.

Nationally Competitive Fellowships and Scholarships

The Honors College houses the University of Nevada, Reno Office of Undergraduate and Graduate Fellowships and Scholarships. The office provides advice and assistance to University of Nevada, Reno undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni applying for external undergraduate- and graduate-level awards such as the Boren Scholarships and Fellowships, the Critical Language Scholarship, Fulbright grants and the Gates Cambridge, Goldwater, Madison, Marshall, Mitchell, Rhodes, Truman, and Udall Scholarships.

The Office of Undergraduate and Graduate Fellowships serves all students at the University of Nevada, Reno. Students do not need to be declared in the Honors College to receive assistance with their fellowship and scholarship applications. Interested students may visit the Honors College website for preliminary information and follow up with the Associate Dean for specific information.

Programs

• Honors College