The University Honors Program is the honors college at Portland State University; it is meant for students who plan, after graduation from college, to go on to graduate school or to professional school—in other words, to work toward the Ph.D., the M.D., the J.D., or any of the other advanced degrees. Once admitted to the Program, students are excused from the general university requirements and instead complete the undergraduate degree by the combination of work with the honors college and in their departmental majors.
How does it work?
Once admitted, students take part in the nationally-recognized core curriculum of the honors college and in work appropriate to their chosen academic major. Since we encourage our students to immerse themselves in their chosen academic departments, the core curriculum is designed so that the largest commitment of time to the honors college falls in the first two years; after that, students are increasingly free to focus on work in advanced courses in the major. In the junior and senior years, honors college students are expected to complete at least two upper-division seminars in the Program and to write the senior thesis (usually under the mentorship of a senior faculty member from the academic major department).
Celebrating Forty Years
2009 marks the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of the University Honors Program at Portland State University. In recognition of this milestone, we reflect here on the Program’s ongoing innovations and accomplishments in curriculum development, student learning outcomes and assessment, and fulfillment of the University’s core mission.
