Submit an Honors Course Proposal

The Honors Program, a division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, is accepting course proposals from individuals in all disciplines interested in working with motivated undergraduates eager to take on intellectual risks and deepen their university experience.

The Honors curriculum & community

Through the Honors Program’s interdisciplinary curriculum, students from across campus work with instructors in challenging classes and engage in experiential learning via research, service, international experiences, leadership, and internships.

Faculty teaching in 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. It is also expected that our instructors incorporate the educational goals of the Honors Program and promote reflection by incorporating the Honors portfolio into course assignments, ideally using the portfolio as a portal for these reflective assignments.

Honors classes are a wonderful opportunity to experiment with either substance and/or pedagogy that you may have been thinking about but have not had space or time to develop in your regular teaching load. The Honors Program provides compensation to departments through either replacement TA or instructor funds, or direct compensation to faculty.

Currently teaching in Honors?

If you are currently scheduled to teach in the Honors Program during the 2024-2025 year and are interested in teaching during 2025-2026, we ask that you submit a course proposal to ensure that your course continues to be considered for our line-up during 2025-2026. You may now use the on-line system to retrieve past proposals and update them for 2025-2026 consideration.

Study Abroad / Study Away

If you are interested in proposing to lead an Honors Program study abroad (international) / away (domestic), please reach out to Brook Kelly (bbkelly@uw.edu) to discuss your ideas before submitting an Honors study abroad/away proposal. We are eager to talk about your ideas for engaging in interdisciplinary, experiential, and reflective learning in other locations, be it internationally or domestically.

You will also need to review the information for Program Directors on the UW Study Abroad website, to thoroughly understand the process and requirements.

Note: The Honors study abroad/away proposals must be submitted before the UW Study Abroad program application, so that we may review and approve a proposal as a designated Honors study abroad/away. 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.

Deadlines

• for Summer & Early Fall 2025 Study Abroad/ Study Away: submission window has closed
• for Academic Year 2025-26: proposal submissions are due Friday, November 1, 2024

Other ways to participate in the Honors curriculum

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

1. “Wither” a course. In select situations, we work with departments across campus to make cross-listed courses available within our core curriculum. To be “withered” course content should reflect Honors-level expectations and educational objectives.
2. Offer an Honors section as part of your larger lecture course. Honors sections must require additional and/or different work, at an Honors level, distinguishing them from other sections. If proposing a section or “wither” of a graduate course, then no adjustment to the curriculum is necessary.
3. Refer talented UW instructors and community scholars to our program.
4. Supervise an Honors Ad Hoc project in a non-Honors course, work with an Honors student on an Honors 499 interdisciplinary independent study, or invite an Honors student to participate in a graduate-level course you are teaching.

If you are interested in opening up spots in your course through temporarily joining your course listing with Honors, i.e. “withering” a course, please contact Stephanie Smallwood at ses9@uw.edu.

Contact Information

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

Stephanie Smallwood
Director, University Honors Program
ses9@uw.edu

Aley Willis
Director of Academic Services, University Honors Program
aleym@uw.edu