Barrett Honors College: A Deep Dive into Academic Excellence and Community

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University (ASU), established in 1988, stands as a distinguished institution offering a unique and enriching academic experience. With a growing community of over 7,200 students and more than 20,000 alumni, Barrett has become synonymous with academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and hands-on learning.

A Foundation of Academic Excellence

Barrett, The Honors College creates a foundational educational experience that encourages learners of high potential to respond to the challenges of principled leadership through independent and collaborative scholarly and creative activities, community and civic engagement, transformative study and research, and travel and service opportunities. Barrett students are challenged academically through a diverse range of honors courses that promote creativity and critical thinking. The honors curriculum is designed to supplement a student’s overall university experience by providing additional opportunities. Barrett Honors College students will earn 120 college credits, with a portion of those credits being honors credits. The honors curriculum is created to accommodate all majors and can be personalized. While pursuing the same 120 college credit degree plan required for ASU students, Barrett students earn a portion of their undergraduate credits as honors credits. There are a variety of ways to earn honors credit, including major-specific classes and honors special topics courses, honors internship credit, the Barrett College Fellows Research Program, and honors travel and study abroad. All students in Barrett complete an undergraduate thesis project. The honors thesis is the culmination of Barrett students' honors experience and their entire undergraduate education.

At Barrett, curious, motivated students learn from one another in an inclusive, supportive environment that rewards exploration and encourages responsibility and care for self and others. Barrett values courage and curiosity, belonging and community, agency and leadership, and provides meaningful academic and co-curricular opportunities to support these principals for students.Barrett students enjoy the opportunities afforded to them through Arizona State University, a premier Research I university with considerable resources in the sheer number and variety of degree programs, and take part in the nation's top honors college with benefits more typical of a small, residential college. Students leverage the honors experience to dive deeper into their interests through faculty mentorship, access to distinct research and internship opportunities, specialized projects in classes, domestic and international travel programs, co-curricular opportunities, and student-led engagement activities.

Honors Curriculum and Personalized Learning

The honors curriculum is designed to accommodate all majors and can be personalized. Barrett students are challenged academically through a diverse range of honors courses that promote creativity and critical thinking. Barrett Honors College students will earn 120 college credits, with a portion of those credits being honors credits.

Thesis Project

All students in Barrett complete an undergraduate thesis project. The honors thesis is the culmination of Barrett students' honors experience and their entire undergraduate education.

Read also: Honors College Application Guide

A Thriving Community and Residential Experience

The residential and academic community of Barrett allows students to feel at home at ASU. Through the comprehensive residential communities at each Barrett campus honors students enjoy gathering spaces, special events, and Barrett student organizations right where they live. Over half of the first through fourth year honors students live in the Barrett community. Barrett Online students are also included in community events and special virtual engagement opportunities.

Barrett feels and functions like a small residential college within a large, world-class research university. You will enjoy distinctive honors-only internships, research opportunities and travel programs as well as unique honors courses that integrate seamlessly into your ASU degree requirements.

Barrett, The Honors College supports a free-standing honors campus designed by students, faculty members and staff working with nationally renowned architects. The honors campus, located in the South Neighborhood, is complete with open courtyards and breezeways, a community center with lounges, study spaces and computer labs, 12 classrooms, college administration offices, a cafe, and a fitness center. Amenities include an amphitheater, outside activity courts and a dining hall with a covered terrace, garden and special dining rooms for events.

Opportunities for Growth and Engagement

Barrett Honors College students have access to a wide range of opportunities that can help to enrich their academic journey. These opportunities include studying abroad, pursuing undergraduate research and internships, engaging in social and cultural events, and taking part in leadership initiatives.

Global Education and Study Abroad

Barrett students are connecting their education to the world and earning honors credits in the process. Barrett, The Honors College, encourages honors students to expand their education through global learning and travel. With ASU offerings of more than 300 programs in over 65 countries, ranging from one week to a full academic year, Barrett students can participate in honors-specific travel experiences, as well as academic department programs focused on language, service, research, culture and more. Studying abroad helps students build global awareness, cross-cultural skills, and a deeper understanding of their fields while pursuing their undergraduate education.

Internships and Research

Students leverage the honors experience to dive deeper into their interests through faculty mentorship, access to distinct research and internship opportunities, specialized projects in classes, domestic and international travel programs, co-curricular opportunities, and student-led engagement activities.

Faculty and Staff Support

Honors students are supported by full-time master teacher-scholars, the Barrett faculty fellows, full-time staff members, the dean and vice dean of the college, and associate and assistant deans for all Barrett locations including Downtown, Polytechnic and West Valley campuses.

Admission to Barrett

Students must complete an application to Arizona State University before submitting a separate application to Barrett, The Honors College.Students who have demonstrated high levels of academic achievement in high school or college may apply for admission to Barrett. Each candidate must file an application to the college separate from the ASU application, in accordance with the appropriate Barrett deadlines.Applicants are evaluated on the basis of their academic records and their ranking within the graduating class. For fall 2024, ACT and SAT scores are not required.

Preparing for the Future

Graduating from Barrett, The Honors College at ASU, sets students apart in today's competitive job market and in applications to top graduate, medical and law schools. Barrett graduates are recognized for their academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and hands-on experience through research, leadership and community engagement. Employers and graduate programs seek Barrett students and alumni for their proven ability to think critically, innovate and make an impact beyond the classroom.

With a focus on excellence beyond their college experience, Barrett students have the opportunity to take advantage of the Lorraine Frank Office of National Scholarship and Advisement, which serves all of ASU, and is located in the Barrett Complex on the ASU Tempe campus. There, Barrett faculty and staff mentor students as they apply for national and international fellowships. Each year, ASU students are selected for prestigious recognitions and awards, including the Rhodes Scholarship, Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, Goldwater Scholarship, Boren Awards for International Study and Killam Fellowship Program. In addition, ASU students are recipients of the Benjamin A.

Read also: Requirements for UF Honors

Growth and Evolution of Barrett

Established in 1988, Barrett has now grown to house over 7,200 students and a community of more than 20,000 alumni. Through the years, Barrett has undergone dramatic change, and it’s certain to evolve even more in the future. “When I first came here in 1992, I became the third…of a three-person faculty,” said Michael Stanford, an Honors Faculty Fellow and professor at Barrett. “We were tiny,” said Jacquie Lynch, another Honors Faculty Fellow and Barrett professor. “When I started in 2001, we had under 2,000 students, as opposed to our almost 8,000 now. “In some ways, it’s very much like it is now,” Stanford said.

Expansion and Diversification

“When Michael Crow gave us a mandate to grow The Honors College to 10% of the undergraduate class, we hired a lot more people and got a lot more resources that way,” Lynch said. In addition, Barrett grew and diversified its student base. “It’s more stimulating to me because I get to read more widely in a lot of different cultures, rather than restrict myself and my students to reading (Western books),” Stanford said.

Online Education

Recently, Barrett has focused its expansion efforts on online education. Benjamin Fong, a Barrett professor teaching online sections, said the program has since “gone swimmingly.” The level of student engagement he observed in his online classes surprised him, given the time zone differences that divided his students.

Student Perspectives

For Lennon, Barrett’s approach to learning helped her develop important academic and professional skills. “We read literature that involves science and philosophy and history and culture and religion,” Lennon said. “And you’re presenting that information to a group of students coming from various majors - you synthesize that information, you come to conclusions, you make arguments.

Other students, like Jace Clark, a senior majoring in computer information systems and supply chain management, harbor mixed feelings about their time in Barrett. “There was a time for a while where I was like, ‘The thesis is gonna be too much for me. I might drop it,’” Clark said.

Resources and Support Systems

Barrett Honors College students have three levels of advising: a major advisor, an honors advisor, and a faculty honors advisor. Additionally, students are given the opportunity to live with their honors peers on the campus of their major. The Writing Center and Math Tutoring Center provide free mentorship for students. Furthermore, students have access to numerous resources available through ASU, including an Internship & Community Engagement Coordinator.

Accelerated and Concurrent Degree Programs

Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree. Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor. Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

A Legacy of Excellence

Founded in 1988 by Dr. Ted Humphrey, Barrett has since established itself as a leading honors college nationwide. The school is widely considered the gold standard among honors colleges, according to the New York Times. It has also been ranked No. 1 on the 10 Best Honors Colleges and Programs by PrepScholar. In June 2022, Tara Williams was appointed dean of Barrett, becoming the third (and first female) dean in the history of the college.

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