The Honors Distribution

While your major will provide you with in-depth education in a particular field, your honors experience will also ensure that your education has breadth. Honors students are exempt from general education requirements for undergraduates. Instead, honors students complete the Honors Distribution, which asks you to select courses from each of the following groups:

  • Humanities (Group I) 6 credit hours
  • Language, Writing, and Arts (Group II) 6 credit hours
  • Social Science (Group III) 6 credit hours
  • Mathematics and Natural Science (Group IV) 7 credit hours

Students must enroll in 17 credit hours of coursework designated as “Honors Sections."  When a course you have selected for your distribution requirement is available as an honors section, you are required to take that section. In addition, any course can be turned into a “Honors Section” through an approved Honors Credit By Contract form.

Credits earned by Advanced Placement (AP) test scores, transfer credits, bypass credits, and credits earned while in high school through Ohio's CCP program may be used to satisfy the distribution requirement in part or in whole. 

To maximize your opportunities and capitalize on your developing interests, it is recommended that you spread these courses among the four or five years of your program here, rather than take them all at once. 

Forms

  • Honors Distribution Worksheet: Please use this fillable form to work out you plan of study for the Honors Distribution.
  • Transient Permission (for courses being applied to the Honors Distribution).
  • Honors Credit By Contract: Please use this form to complete the contract.  Contracts must be turned in by the third week of the semester in which the course is taken.

Honors Distribution Summary

Group I

Humanities

  • 6 or more credits in courses offered in these departments:
    ART:100
    ART:101    		 Survey of History of Art I & II
    CLAS Classical Studies
    ENGL English (except composition courses)
    HIST History
    MUSIC:351
    MUSIC:352    		 Music History I & II
    PAFS Pan-African Studies (except PAFS 256)
    PHIL Philosophy (except PHIL 170)
    WMST
    Woman's Studies    		 Women's Studies

Group II

Language, Writing, and the Arts

  • 3 credits of English at a level of 3300:112 or 3 credits Technical Report Writing (3300:222), and
  • 3 additional credits in courses offered in any of the other departments:
    MODL Modern Language 
    ARAB Arabic
    CHIN Chinese
    FREN French
    GERM German
    ITAL Italian
    JAPN Japanese
    LATN Latin
    SPAN Spanish
    ART Art
    MUSIC Music
    MUSAP Applied Music Lessons
    COMM Communications
    SLPA Sign Language
    THEA Theatre
    DNCE Dance

Note:

  • Modern Languages (ARAB, CHIN, FREN, GERM, ITAL, JAPN, LATN, SPAN): Courses must be at an appropriate level as determined by previous courses taken, UA placement tests, Advanced Placement scores, or interview. Beginners should take at least two semesters in order to obtain some useful proficiency.
  • MUSIC – Music: Courses within MUSEN, Music Organizations, are not included. Private music lessons are included.
  • SLPA – Sign Language: At least two semesters should be completed.

Group III

Social Science

  • 6 or more credits in courses offered in these departments:
    ANTH Anthropology (except ANTH 105)
    ANTH Archaeology
    CRJU Criminal Justice
    ECON Economics
    GEOG Geography and Planning
    PAFS 256 Diversity in American Society
    POLIT Political Science
    PSYC Psychology
    SOCIO Sociology
    SOWK 230 Human Relations

Group IV

Mathematics and Natural Science

  • 3 credits in Mathematics, Computer Science, or Statistics, and
  • 4 or more credits in Natural Science lab courses, offered in these departments:
    ANTH 105 Human Evolution
    BIOL Biology
    CHEM Chemistry
    CPSC Computer Science (except 125 and 126)
    GEOL Geology
    MATH Mathematics (135 or higher)
    PHIL 170 Introduction to Logic
    PHYS Physics
    STAT Statistics