University of Washington Honors Program

Submit an Honors Course Proposal by November 1, 2025

The University Honors Program, a division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, is accepting course proposals from faculty and candidate-level graduate students interested in working with students who are highly-motivated, deeply curious, and excited to participate in seminar-style learning communities with peers from all majors.

The Interdisciplinary Honors Curriculum & Community

The Interdisciplinary Honors Curriculum engages students from across all UW Seattle colleges and schools in challenging courses, critical academic reflection, and experiential learning via research, service and community engagement, international engagement, and leadership opportunities.

Faculty teaching in Interdisciplinary Honors are part of the Program community and are asked to attend workshops (approximately two hours) in autumn and spring quarter, as well as attend selected events to promote mentorship opportunities for both students and instructors alike. Interdisciplinary Honors courses are a wonderful opportunity to pilot content or pedagogy that you may have been thinking about but have not had space or time to develop in your regular teaching. The Honors Program provides compensation through instructor replacement TA funding or direct salary compensation as appropriate.

Proposing a course taught previously in Interdisciplinary Honors for academic year 2026-2027?

Instructors proposing to repeat a course taught previously in Interdisciplinary Honors can use the course proposal system to retrieve the past proposal and update it for 2026-2027 consideration.

Deadline

  • On-campus Academic Year 2026-27: Friday, November 1, 2025

Submit an Honors Course Proposal

Honors Study Abroad / Study Away

We coordinate with program directors and the UW Study Abroad office to sponsor a handful of study abroad (international) / away (domestic) programs each year, most frequently for summer and early fall terms. Honors study abroad/away programs should support and contribute to the three primary components of the Interdisciplinary Honors curriculum: connection between and across the different branches of knowledge; experiential learning that takes learning outside the formal classroom; and critical reflection.

If you are interested in proposing to lead an Honors Program study abroad/away, please reach out to Brook Kelly (bbkelly@uw.edu) to discuss your ideas before submitting an Honors proposal. You will also need to review the information for Program Directors on the UW Study Abroad website and be in touch with the friendly experts in that office to thoroughly understand the possibilities, process, and requirements.

  • The Honors study abroad/away proposals must be submitted before the UW Study Abroad program application so that we may review and decide if we will cosponsor the study abroad/away before the UWSA application deadline. 
  • Please do not list Honors as a sponsoring department in the UW Study Abroad program application if you have not received approval from the Honors Program for the particular program and year you are proposing.
  • Based on student interest, Honors supports 3-6 programs per year.
  • All compensation for study abroad/away comes from the program fee that students pay, and payments must be routed through the UW academic department where the study abroad/away program director has an appointment.

If approved to offer an Honors sponsored study abroad/away, UW Study Abroad will be your primary source of support and program planning, while the Honors Program will:

  • Assist you in the coordination of the academic course listings for the program.
  • Create a digital flyer for your program and physical posters promoting all upcoming Honors Program study abroad/away programs.
  • Promote your program and info sessions via targeted email and social media to Honors students and across the UW campus.
  • Coordinate and staff an Honors study abroad/away table at the annual UW Study Abroad Fair.
  • Provide advice on recruiting students.
  • Assist you in reserving Honors rooms for information sessions, interviews, orientations, etc.
  • Provide consultation on your program design and during the program term.

Study Abroad / Away Deadlines

  • July 31, 2025
    • Summer quarter 2026 / Autumn quarter 2026 / Winter 2027
  • September 30, 2025
    • Early Fall 2026
  • February 1, 2026
    • Spring Break 2027 / Spring quarter 2027

Submit an Honors Study Abroad/Away Proposal

Other Ways to Engage with Honors Students

If proposing a course at this time is not possible, please consider the following:

Contact Information

Please contact us for more information on teaching in Honors and joining our vibrant community:

Stephanie Smallwood
Director
ses9@uw.edu

Aley Willis
Director of Academic Services
aleym@uw.edu

Brook Kelly 
Director of Strategy and Operations
bbkelly@uw.edu

Alycia Gilbert
Curriculum Specialist and Academic Operations Manager
amgilb@uw.edu