What Makes An Honors Seminar?

What happens when you bring together curious minds, passionate professors and thought-provoking topics? Sparks fly — intellectually, that is. The University Honors Program’s (UHP) honors seminars are transformative courses designed exclusively for UHP students. They challenge students to think critically, connect ideas across disciplines, and deeply engage with pressing questions shaping our world today.

With a maximum of 20 students per class, honors seminars create an ideal environment for dynamic discussions and collaborative learning. Exceptional faculty guide students through innovative pedagogical approaches that encourage spirited debate, civil discourse, and the integration of knowledge across fields. These aren’t your typical lecture-based classes; they’re spaces for active learning and meaningful connection. And for many students, they’re the highlight of their Honors experience.

A unique subset of honors seminars are designed specifically for first-year UHP students. These courses go beyond the classroom by featuring an Honors Fellow—an older UHP student who mentors new students and facilitates co-curricular events that help first-years transition to college life and expectations and complement course content. From campus scavenger hunts and film screenings to group study sessions and museum visits, Honors Fellows help first-year students build community while diving deeper into their seminars’ themes.

Just a few of the most recent HON seminar offerings that highlight the UHP’s commitment to curiosity and interdisciplinary exploration include, but are certainly not limited to: 

• “The Creative Process in Science” with Dr. Larry Blanton
• “Data and the Human” with Dr. Paul Fyfe
• “Outbreak” with Dr. Carlos Goller
• “Storytelling for Social Change” with Dr. Maru Gonzalez
• “Music Beyond Binaries” with Dr. Kirsten Paige
• “Emotion and Reason” with Dr. Sanem Soyarslan
• “Election 2024” with Dr. Andrew Taylor
• “Race, Membership, and Eugenics” with Dr. Carolyn Veale

Experiential honors seminars take learning further by combining on-campus instruction with domestic or international travel. UHP staff and NC State faculty often co-facilitate these courses, allowing students to explore ideas, cultures, and global challenges firsthand while earning UHP coursework credit. Whether studying sustainability in Seattle or unraveling the history of socialism in Eastern Europe, these experiences leave lasting impressions.

Some of the UHP’s most recent Experiential Seminars include:

• “Puerto Rico After Maria” with Dr. Maru Gonzalez
• “Venice: Urban History, Tourism, and Sustainability” with Dr. Holly Hurlburt
• “Postsocialism from Berlin to the Balkans” with Dr. Kristen Hetrick and Dr. Tatiana Rabinovich
• “Sustainable Cities and Communities: Seattle” with UHP Assistant Director Meghan Teten

For students looking to explore contemporary topics in a conversational and creative setting, HON 398 seminars offer a unique opportunity. These 1- and 2-credit pass/fail courses invite students to take intellectual risks, collaborate with peers, and engage deeply with niche subjects ranging from popular culture to cutting-edge research.

Recent HON 398 offerings include:

• “American Foreign Policy in a World Transformed” with UHP Director Dr. Sean Cassidy
• “Practicing Happiness” with Mia Self, University Theatre
• “New Fiction: Contemporary Issues in Literature” with UHP Associate Director Ken Johnson
• “Springboard into Research” with Dr. Scott O’Leary
• “Critical Disinformation” with Anne Burke and Tyler Kroon, NC State Libraries
• “The Power of Gossip” with UHP Program Coordinator Emily Koester
• “Taylor Swift: Through the Eras” with UHP Assistant Director Anne Auten

The UHP acknowledges that collegiate first year programs around the university value first year learning experiences as well. Honors students can earn HON seminar credits for first year program-required courses when the UHP has verified that these college transition and introductory courses are offered with smaller class sizes and a pedagogy that focuses more on classroom discussion and experiential learning opportunities than lecture.

To earn honors seminar credit for a course they already have to take for their first year program, Honors students ensure they enroll in a special “H” or Honors section(s) of their class. Three examples of this partnership between the UHP and a first year program are: 

• ENV 101, “Exploring the Environment,” is a required first term course for students in the Environmental First Year Program; the Honors section is taught by UHP Assistant Director Meghan Teten, who serves on the Environmental First Year Program’s Steering Committee. 
• IS 200, “Introduction to International Studies,” is a required course for students completing the International Studies major or minor; the Honors section is taught by the Honors Village’s Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Tatiana Rabinovich.
• LSC 101, “Critical and Creative Thinking in the Life Sciences,” is a required first term course for students in the Life Sciences First Year Program; the Honors sections are currently taught by the Director of the LSC First Year Program herself, Dr. Erica Kosal. 

Honors seminars are more than just courses; they are launching pads for curiosity, connection, humility and intellectual growth. Whether grappling with ethical dilemmas in bioethics, analyzing data’s impact on society or discussing the power of music to transcend boundaries, Honors Program students leave these seminars with new perspectives and skills that shape their personal and professional lives.

For questions about University Honors Program coursework requirements, please contact university_honors@ncsu.edu.