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Honors College

Honors College

Ask bigger questions

About 320 students from all four colleges

The Honors College is for students who love the hard questions. Honors Bears take small, discussion-based seminars, complete a funded thesis and join a community that spans every major on campus.

Rows of bookshelves glowing under warm library lights
Apply to Tumbleberry Honors Scholarships

What honors builds

Skills that travel with you

Honors courses are capped at 15 students and taught by faculty who choose to teach them. The skills you practice here show up in graduate applications, interviews and every job after.

  • Writing

    Clear, persuasive writing

    Weekly response papers and a 40-page thesis, with feedback at every draft.

  • Research

    Independent research

    Design a question, gather evidence and defend your findings to a faculty panel.

  • Discussion

    Thinking out loud

    Seminars run on conversation, so you learn to listen, push back and change your mind.

  • Leadership

    Leading a team

    Juniors mentor first-years and lead the honors section of TBU 100.

  • Perspective

    Working across fields

    Team-taught seminars pair, for example, a chemist and a historian on the same question.

  • Presentation

    Speaking with confidence

    Every senior presents their thesis at the Berry Symposium in April.

Inside the Honors College

Four years, one community

Honors adds about 24 credits to your degree, and most of them count toward your general education or major requirements. You graduate in four years with the Honors College distinction on your diploma and transcript.

First year

Take the honors section of the First-Year Trail Seminar and one honors seminar each term. Seminars recently included The Science of Fire, Myths of the American West and Designing a Fair City.

Second and third years

Choose two more seminars and an honors Field Semester project. In your junior year, you propose a thesis topic and pick a faculty advisor from any department.

Senior year

Write and defend your thesis with up to $1,500 in research funding, then present it at the Berry Symposium.

Benefits

  • Priority registration every term
  • Optional honors housing in Larkspur Commons for first-years
  • Late-night study space in the Honors Commons, third floor of Hollis Library
  • Funded trips to regional and national honors conferences

Contact: Dr. Isabel Moreno, Director of the Honors College. imoreno@tumbleberry.site, (541) 555-0275.

How to join

Two ways into honors

There is no minimum test score. We look for curiosity, effort and a willingness to try something difficult.

Start Your Application
  1. Incoming first-years: apply by February 15Complete your Tumbleberry application, then submit the short honors application in your admissions portal. It asks for one 500-word essay.
  2. Current Bears: apply by March 1Students with at least a 3.5 GPA after their first or second semester can apply with a faculty recommendation.
  3. Transfer students: talk with us firstHonors credit from other colleges can count toward your requirements. Contact the Honors College before you enroll.
  4. Watch for your decision in AprilAdmitted students are invited to an Honors welcome dinner during Bear Camp in August.

Honors Bears in their own words

My thesis on wildfire smoke and school attendance started as a question in a first-year seminar. Now it is part of a county health report.
Portrait of Sofia Grant, a woman with light hairSofia Grant, Class of 2027, Public Health
The seminars made me read things I would never have picked up. Arguing about philosophy made me a better engineer.
Portrait of Daniel Reyes, a man with a beardDaniel Reyes, Class of 2028, Mechanical Engineering
Visit honors

Sit in on an honors seminar

Prospective students can join a seminar on most Tuesdays and Thursdays during the fall and spring terms. Add it to your campus visit when you register.

Schedule a Campus Visit