The heart of the Saint Leo Honors Program is a specialized curriculum that fully replaces all general education requirements for graduation. Honors courses address key questions related to 21st-century global citizenship. The topics for Honors courses change from year-to-year to reflect what is most relevant in an ever-changing world. What does not change is our commitment to the importance of learning how to have deep and meaningful conversations about what really matters. Through our interdisciplinary approach, Honors students learn that the best conversations include many different points of view. Because we include experiential learning opportunities in every course, students discover the importance of putting ideas into practice. And, because an honors education should prepare us to give back to our communities, Honors students engage in service both as part of their coursework and as part of their final project.
Curriculum Details
The Saint Leo Honors Program Curriculum has two tracks: Honors Scholars and Honors Fellows. Honors Scholars is designed for incoming first-year students, or for current Saint Leo students who have earned less than 40 credits. Honors Fellows is best suited for transfer students or for current Saint Leo students who have earned 40 credits or more.
Honors Scholars Track Requirements:
- University Foundations (15 credits)
- Honors First-Year Seminar I and II (6 credits)
- 5 Honors courses (15 credits)
- Senior Project (4 credits)
Honors Fellows Track Requirements:
Honors Fellows complete the standard University Explorations sequence for general education, but may substitute two or more Honors courses to replace general education requirements. Honors Fellows also complete a senior project.
- 2 Honors courses (6 credits)
- Senior Project (4 credits)
Learn More About the Honors Program Tracks
Honors Courses
HON160 and HON161: First Year Seminar I and II
All Honors Scholars participate in a two-semester first-year seminar sequence. The seminars are taught by an interdisciplinary faculty team and emphasize the analytical and creative skills required to be successful in Honors. While focusing on key issues pertaining to global citizenship, the specific topics for the seminars rotate regularly. The collaboration of multiple faculty on a single topic demonstrates the advantages of a collaborative approach to learning and problem-solving.
HON260: Ideas & Expression
HON260 explores the wide variety of ways in which human beings respond to the world through speech, the written word, technology, numbers, and the creative arts. This course emphasizes the power of ideas to shape human experience and the rich diversity of means by which ideas are communicated. In recognition of the fact that these questions exceed the boundaries of any single discipline, the course will adopt an interdisciplinary approach. Topics change regularly.
HON261: Nature
HON261 provides students with opportunities to observe the natural world through the lens of one or more academic disciplines, cultures, and/or religions. Students will assess how inquiry is structured by the selected discipline/culture/religion to develop ways of knowing and valuing the natural world. Selected natural systems will be evaluated in terms of distinguishing characteristics and ecological interactions as learned through literature readings, expert presentations, and immersive experiences (e.g. field trips, study abroad, outdoor campus activities). Emphasis will be placed on challenging participants to critically analyze their own attitudes towards nature and how these attitudes shape support for conservation and/or exploitation. Topics change regularly.
HON360: Community and Identity
HON360 examines social structures and their relationship to questions of human identity, culture, and community. Students will develop the ability to engage productively with traditions and perspectives that differ from their own. Doing so will enable students not only to appreciate the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a multicultural world, but also to better understand their own identities. In recognition of the fact that these questions exceed the boundaries of any single discipline, the course will adopt an interdisciplinary approach. Topics change regularly.
HON361: Global Responsibility
HON361 develops civic engagement and ethical reasoning in the context of global citizenship. Students in this course will critically question and debate global issues of equity, justice, and sustainability by engaging multiple cultural, social, political, economic, and environmental perspectives. Through the facilitation of faculty, students will build knowledge and skills in managing the complexities of global interdependences, peace and conflict, and identity and diversity. Topics change regularly.
HON498: Honors Research Methods
HON498 involves planning for the senior honors thesis/project by developing a project proposal under the guidance of a faculty mentor, constructing a project timeline, and researching the available bibliographical and material resources relevant to successful completion of the senior thesis project.
HON499: Senior Honors Project
This course involves the completion of an original research thesis/project under the guidance of a faculty mentor who is responsible for awarding the final course grade.
HON101: Freshmen Honors Apprenticeships
All first-year Honors Scholars and Fellows have the option of taking HON101: Honors Apprenticeship. This optional 1-credit course enables Honors students to contract with individual faculty to assist in research, preparation for teaching, or the advancement of projects intended to enhance the intellectual or artistic environment of the campus. The Honors Director or Associate Director makes available a list of all apprenticeship opportunities at the start of each semester. Work requirements, duties and responsibilities, and grading policy are detailed in a contract developed by the instructor and signed by the student before enrollment is completed.