Exploring the Honors College at Texas State University: Requirements, Opportunities, and Experiences
The Honors College at Texas State University offers a distinctive academic environment designed to challenge and engage motivated students from all disciplines. This article delves into the requirements, opportunities, and overall experience of being an Honors College student at Texas State.
A Unique Living and Learning Experience
The Honors College provides a special living and learning experience that is both demanding and lively for students of all majors at TXST. Students who join the Honors College take small, interdisciplinary, seminar-style classes where they discuss ideas and raise questions stimulated by readings, field trips, and campus research. All Honors students have the opportunity to engage directly with a TXST faculty member of their choice on a Capstone proposal, which typically culminates in the production and presentation of a creative or research project.
Admission and Course Registration
Incoming freshmen admitted by March 1 for the following Fall term may request pre-registration access for specific Honors courses.
Maintaining Good Standing in the Honors College
Honors College students are to maintain a GPA of 3.25 or higher. Students are considered in "Good Standing" if either their TXST or overall GPA is above a 3.25. Grades are reviewed and probation/dismissal notifications are sent directly to students at the start of each semester.
Students will be placed on if their Texas State and overall GPA are less than 3.25 but greater than 2.00. If a student's GPA falls below a 2.0 (both TXST and overall), the student may be dismissed from the Honors College.
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If a student's GPA remains below a 3.25 (both TXST and overall) after serving one semester of Honors Probation, the student will be considered "eligible for dismissal".
All students considered "eligible for dismissal" will be given an opportunity to provide more information. The decision to dismiss will be based on the student's participation in Honors courses, entire academic history, and the student's response. Students must provide additional information in response to an "eligible for dismissal" notice via the dismissal form, which is sent directly to all students in the "eligible for dismissal" category.
What does it mean to be dismissed by the Honors College? You are no longer a member of the Honors College.
Honors Credit for Transfers and Incoming Freshmen
If a transfer student has participated in an honors program previously, the Texas State Honors College will accept two transfer honors classes (up to 7 hours) for any student graduating in the Honors College and up to three transfer honors credits (up to 10 hours) for the minor in Honors Studies. Students who wish to receive transfer Honors credits should meet with an Honors College advisor to review their transcript and plan their classes at Texas State.
If an incoming freshman student has completed the AP Capstone program consisting of AP Research and AP Seminar courses with a score of 3 or higher, the Texas State Honors College will accept 4 hours for any student graduating in the Honors College via the Traditional Path or the Minor in Honors Studies.
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Minor in Honors Studies
The Minor in Honors Studies requires 21 semester credit hours. Nine hours cannot count toward any other degree requirement, and twelve credit hours must be at an advanced level. HON 4390A or substitute a pre-approved by the Honors College is required. A Capstone must be completed by earning credit for HON 4390B or HON 4090. Student are required to demonstrate cross-cultural awareness by completing an education abroad program or a qualifying project pre-approved by the Honors College.
Academic Honors and Recognition
President's List
To qualify for the President’s List at the end of any fall or spring semester, an undergraduate student must earn a 4.0 semester Grade Point Average (GPA) and complete at least 12 credit hours of Texas State coursework (in-person, online, or hybrid) during that semester. Distance and extension, along with Graduate-level courses, also count for President’s List calculation.
Dean's List
To qualify for the Dean’s List at the end of any fall or spring semester, an undergraduate student must earn a semester Grade Point Average (GPA) between 3.5 and 3.99 and complete at least 12 credit hours of Texas State coursework (in-person, online, or hybrid) during that semester. Distance and extension, along with Graduate-level courses, also count for Dean’s list calculation.
Graduation with Academic Honors
Effective fall 2021, to be eligible for graduation with academic honors, a student seeking a baccalaureate degree must have completed at least 48 semester credit hours at Texas State preceding graduation. Hours earned through Texas State correspondence courses and extension courses count toward GPA and academic hours eligibility. Hours earned through Texas State credit-by-examination, work/life experience and other courses that offer only "CR" (pass/fail) grades also count toward academic honors eligibility, but they do not count toward GPA. Transfer students who have earned at least 48 semester hours at Texas State are eligible to graduate with academic honors if their Texas State GPA meets the above criteria. Students earning second baccalaureate degrees are eligible for graduation with academic honors if they complete 48 or more semester credit hours at Texas State, meeting the GPA criteria, in pursuit of a second degree.
Honor Societies at Texas State
The following honor societies are open to qualified Texas State students. More information may be obtained through the Student Organizations Council (SOC).
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Alpha Chi
Alpha Chi is a national honor society, which promotes academic excellence and exemplary character among undergraduate college and university students. To qualify for membership at Texas State, a student must be a first-time undergraduate, a junior or senior (having attained at least 60 credit hours), have a minimum Texas State GPA of 3.50 on at least 45 semester hours at Texas State. Graduate students with a 4.0 and at least 15 hours of graduate course-work at Texas State also qualify for Alpha Chi membership. Alpha Chi is the oldest honor society at Texas State, founded in 1922.
Alpha Lambda Delta
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national academic honor society for freshmen that honors academic excellence during a student’s first year in college. Its purpose is to encourage superior academic achievement, to promote intelligent living and a continued high standard of learning, and to assist women and men in recognizing and developing meaningful goals for their roles in society. Membership is open to all freshmen who are registered for a full course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree, who achieve a minimum scholastic average of 3.50 (based on grades of the first full semester or on the cumulative average of the first year in college), and who have paid the initiation and lifetime membership fee.
Golden Key
Golden Key recognizes and encourages scholastic achievement and excellence in all undergraduate fields, supports the faculty and administration in developing and maintaining high academic standards, provides economic assistance by means of annual scholarships, and promotes altruistic conduct through volunteer service to Texas State and community.
Phi Kappa Phi
Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest, and most selective collegiate honor society for all disciplines. This prestigious honor society was chartered at Texas State in 2013 and 30 members of the faculty, staff, and administration signed the charter petition. To qualify for membership, undergraduates must be juniors who are in the top 7.5 percent or seniors in the top 10 percent of their respective classes. Graduate students must rank in the upper 10 percent of their class. Students who are invited to become members may join by paying the initiation and membership fee and participating in an induction ceremony. In addition to numerous membership benefits, the national organization awards over $1 million in scholarships and fellowships each biennium.
Honors Course Descriptions
The Honors College offers a variety of courses designed to provide students with a challenging and engaging academic experience. Here are some examples of Honors courses offered at Texas State:
HON 1390C: The Greek Experience: The Trojan War. The course will introduce students to Greek civilization and its impact on the western world by examining how one theme central to the Greek literary imagination-the Trojan War-influenced the development of later western literature. The course studies major texts in the Greek literary canon. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 1390D: Culture and Civilization in 5th century Athens. The Greek Experience: towards a new vision of human nature and of society. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 1390F: Economics, Ethics, and Society. This class explores the sociological and philosophical effects operating in conjunction with economic decision-making. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 1390H: Technology and Communication. The course is designed to focus on skills, research and theories about the relationships between technology and communication behavior. It teaches face to face communication skills in the contemporary technological environment. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 1390I: The Art of Storytelling. The course focuses on the role of the storyteller from ancient times to the present. Students will cultivate an appreciation for the oral tradition in the shaping of history, cultural identity, social mores and personal values. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2110A: Environmental Sound and Music. How might we understand environmental sound as a kind of music? In this interactive short course, students will explore the research and scholarship of the "World Soundscape Project," understood both as a historical movement and a contemporary practice. We will examine primary and secondary source literature from musicians, sound artists, and environmentalists-including R. Murray Schafer, Barry Truax, and Hildegard Westerkamp. 1 Credit Hour. 2 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2110B: Research at Texas State. This course will provide students direct engagement with research at Texas State and in the surrounding region. Students will interact with faculty and graduate students, recognize different levels of research engagement, and gain an understanding of the role that research plays in graduate school. 1 Credit Hour. 1 Lecture Contact Hour.
HON 2301A: Writing for Change. This course examines communication through writing to promote positive change in the world. This course will enable students to communicate their own arguments appropriate to the subject, occasion and audience. Students will choose a global issue on which to focus their writing, and perform related community service. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2301B: Portraiture. By studying a person, a group of people, an institution, or a concept, students will create carefully researched written "portraits" that integrate personal narrative, interviews, and academic research. Students will communicate their own arguments and develop ideas about the effect of the message to foster understanding and to communicate persuasively. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2302A: Elementary Number Theory. This course engages students in the systematic study of problems in elementary number theory using definitions and logical deductions from these definitions. Emphasis will be on developing critical thinking and applications to modern problems. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2302B: Graph Theory. This course engages students in the study of important topics in graph theory through it's applications and through proofs designed to strengthen mathematical techiques. The course will emphasize developing critical thinking and applications to modern problems. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2303A: Physics for Pre-Service Teachers. Course content includes both physics concepts and research findings on physics teaching and learning. Students will develop a deep understanding of fundamental concepts in physical science and how these concepts relate to making sense of everyday experiences. This studio-styled physics course is ideal for pre-service K-8 teachers. 3 Credit Hours. 2 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2303B: Astronomy and the Humanities. In this class, students will combine astronomy and the humanities. They will create computer simulations of past celestial events. These results will be combined with evidence gathered from primary sources to investigate how astronomy affected history or appeared in the historical art or literature. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2303C: Resource Usage. Students will use basic scientific principles to investigate resource usage in our daily lives from the production of electrical energy and construction of housing to daily consumption including HVAC systems and major utilities. Students will compare energy conservation programs across the globe and evaluate how public policy effects energy consumption. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2303D: Basic Biological Concepts. This course provides the non-science major with a strong foundation of scientific methods and basic biological concepts. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2304A: The Experience of Death. By examining the moral and existential questions raised by our own mortality, students in this course will practice critical thinking and examine the variety of human responses to and understanding of death by focusing on how ideas, values, beliefs, and other aspects of culture express and affect human experience. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2304B: The Ethics of Eating Animals. This course examines the changing nature of, and views about, the production and consumption of animals in America from the 18th century to the present. The course will focus on the ethical and philosophical issues raised by eating animals. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2304C: Nonviolence. This course examines nonviolence as the systematic endeavor to break cycles of violence, poverty, and racism. The course will focus on investigating the ongoing force of such cycles and to formulate effective understandings for subverting and reversing such trends to offer productive contributions toward more sustainable human development. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2304D: Utopian Studies. This seminar introduces students to utopian studies, a field of humanities that views utopia as an expression of a universal human desire for better ways of living and being. Whether in the form of religious paradises, literary fantasies, philosophical treatises, or intentional communities, cultures around the globe have dreamed utopias-imaginary worlds of peace, plenty, and human flourishing-to define their values, orient their projects, and explore the human condition. What can we learn from utopia’s poets, philosophers, and architects, past and present, to help us reinvent utopia at a time when the planet may need it the most? 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2305A: African-American Popular Music. This course is a reading-, writing-, and listening-intensive interdisciplinary survey of African-American popular music in America and its relationship to American culture, society, politics and the other arts. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2305B: Texas Women in Music. This course examines the lives and creative contributions of Texas women composers, performers, historians, and patrons, and their roles in the promotion and advancement of the arts, especially music, in Texas. This course will address topic-related issues of class, race, and identity formation. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2305C: Italy and the Islamic World. This course focuses on the interpretation of art in its historical context, introducing students to visual analysis and art historical interpretation to understand related scholarship exploring the relationship of Italy to the Islamic world in the medieval and Renaissance periods. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2305D: Creative Arts Disciplines. Students in this course develop broad familiarity with creative arts disciplines through project-based learning. Each project is rooted in a “real world” challenge familiar to the disciplines of art, music, theatre, and dance. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2306A: American History Through Memoirs. Through studying memoirs this course focuses on American history since the end of the Reconstruction period. The memoirs, depicting interactions among individuals, communities, states, the nation, and the world, provide an understanding of how these interactions have contributed to the development of the United States and its global role. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2306B: Baseball in American History. This study of baseball focuses on American history since the end of the Reconstruction period. As a testing ground for the persistence of racial prejudice and the expansion of civil rights, and with advances in technology and management structure, the study of baseball will expose the American experience. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2306C: American Social and Protest Movements. This course in the history of American social and protest movements from the end of Reconstruction through Occupy focuses in particular on the movements of the 1960s - the Civil Rights Movement, the New Left, the Women's and Homosexual Liberation Movements, and the Counterculture - and their enduring legacies in contemporary society. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2306D: Social and Legal Culture of Early America. This course is an in-depth investigation into the social and legal culture of Early America through the study of microhistories. In this course, we will concentrate on a series of capital crimes, ranging from murder to witchcraft. The period will be the 17th century through 1850. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2306E: Early American History Through Biography. This course will examine early American history, from colonial times through 1877, through the lens of biography. Students will not only read biographical works on past figures but also analyze autobiographical writings that shed light on their lives. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2306F: American Exceptionalism. This course introduces students to the major political, economic, social, intellectual, and cultural developments in American history through Reconstruction with a special emphasis on the origins and evolution of the tradition of American exceptionalism. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2306G: American Counterculture. This course introduces students to major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in American history through the lens of “counterculture.” Although this term is usually associated with the 1960s, countercultures have flourished in the US since the mid-nineteenth century. As 60s guru Timothy Leary observed, countercultures bloom wherever and whenever members of a society embrace lifestyles, artistic expressions, and ways of thinking and being that diverge radically from the mainstream. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
HON 2307A: American System of Government. This course is a study of functions performed in the American system of government, understood through the framework of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville's seminal study of American social and political life, the nature and distinctive character of modern democratic societies, and the problems and perils these societies confront. 3 Credit Hours. 3 Lecture Contact Hours.
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