Why Choose Honors

The Honors Program is designed for students who truly love to learn. Are you a student who goes above and beyond on required assignments? Have you ever asked a teacher for further reading on a topic? Do you sometimes find yourself wishing that a class wouldn’t end, but that you could inquire more deeply into the subject? If so, Honors might be for you. 

The Baylor Honors Curriculum works with all majors at Baylor University. There are a few required classes, but most of the Honors curriculum takes place within a student's major or preprofessional program. It begins with a “First Year Seminar” of your choosing, where you engage in high-level reading and discussion with one of Baylor’s best professors. You also take two semesters of “Great Texts” courses where you will read some of the greatest works of the western intellectual tradition—including Plato, Aristotle, Homer, and Dante. In your sophomore or junior year you take the final required course, “Colloquium,” where you read and discuss some interesting books with other students and professors. Along the way, you are taking other classes required for your major for Honors credit.

The Honors Program curriculum culminates in a “Senior Thesis.” For this project you choose and work with a mentor who guides you in choosing and pursuing a research question. A required course in research methods during your sophomore or junior year is meant to guide you as you formulate your particular project. A thesis might consist of bench research in the sciences, archeological field research in Italy, creating original artwork, writing a business plan -- the possibilities are practically endless!  

By the end of your senior year, you will have produced and defended this substantial piece of original research or creative expression. Many students tell us that this is the most challenging and rewarding part of their college experience.