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Academics

A rigorous and inspiring academic program lies at the heart of Miami University's Honors College — nurturing students with the will to excel intellectually and professionally.

The Honors College enhances Miami University’s commitment to undergraduate student success in an environment ripe for meaningful, reflective learning. Here, we are committed to instilling you and your Honors classmates with the confidence to exercise critical and independent thought and to make positive changes in the world around you.

 

    We encourage you to imagine and develop your own path while pursuing stimulating research inside and outside the classroom. As a student in the Honors College, you will have the opportunity to chart an academic course that not only meets the program's requirements but also aligns each learning opportunity with your interests and goals.

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Honors College Requirements

Six (6) Honors Experiences

Year 1:

As a first-year Honors student, you will take two (2) Honors courses, fulfilling areas of the Miami Plan and/or other requirements pertinent to your major. Honors courses are small classes, often capped at 25 or fewer students, and are designed to allow for a more rigorous or unique approach to the course content. Honors courses incorporate research, application of course content to real world situations, and/or student-led learning opportunities.

Years 2-3:

During your sophomore and junior years, you will complete four (4) Honors experiences by enrolling in additional Honors courses or proposing experiential learning activities to count as Honors experiences, to be determined in a conversation between you and your Honors advisor.

To earn these four (4) Honors experiences, you may complete any of the following:

  • Additional Honors courses.
  • Campus engagement or leadership positions.
  • Course extension — additional assignments in regularly offered Miami courses to further explore that course's content, alongside faculty mentorship.
  • Pre-professional experiences, which may include internships, co-ops, or Miami pre-professional study away programs.
  • Significant community service work at one volunteer site or agency.
  • Study abroad during any Miami term.
  • Teaching experiences such as coaching, mentoring, tutoring, and teaching assistant roles.
  • Undergraduate research, which may include any faculty-mentored research in which students engage.

The Honors Senior Project

You will complete the Honors Senior Project in your final year. This year-long intensive project can involve research, scholarly work, or application of scholarly work to a real-life setting. In many cases, this project can overlap with departmental honors work, or may connect with a student’s capstone, student teaching, senior design project, or other culminating course in their major.

Benefits of completing the Honors Senior Project include:

  • The opportunity to dive deeper into the topics that most interest you 
  • Preparing for graduate or professional work
  • Working closely with a faculty mentor
  • Collaborating with other students or working independently on a project
  • Learning how to manage a large scale project
  • Bringing everything you learned at Miami together in a culminating project

Learn More About Undergraduate Research

Two Options for Completing the Honors Senior Project

Citizen

This option will provide students with the opportunity to use intensive experiential learning activities as a basis for producing an inquiry based project with relevance to the common good. This can be realized through activities that encompass either:
  1. sustained leadership and service,
  2. pre-professional internships or practica, or
  3. design and creativity.
These projects should involve a minimum of 400 total hours of activity. The focus for all of these projects is activity that engages the world beyond the classroom through creative expression, community service and social impact, entrepreneurship and professional development and growth, and/or leadership and public service. Students will need to spend at least an additional 50 hours working on a reflective analysis component and an inquiry component, such as a professional report, exploration of an original research question, or literature review on a relevant topic. The completed project must be at least 20 double-spaced pages in total, either as one cohesive document or a portfolio of multiple documents. All components of Citizen Honors Senior Projects should be well written and executed to a professional level.

Final submission of completed Citizen projects can take the form of:
  • A written report, such as a business plan or lesson plans, with analytical reflection
  • A performance or other creative based display
  • A portfolio of works

Scholar

This option allows the student to delve into topics of interest to them through intensive research that results in a traditional thesis, written to the standards of their major field of study. The thesis is understood to be an academic product and it will always involve significant inquiry and research under the direction of a faculty mentor. Through their thesis, a student will present new ways of looking at the world, develop expert interest in a particular topic, and contribute to the ongoing scholarly conversation in their field. The thesis must contain original research and it must mirror the quality of writing and thought typically seen in publishable scholarship. A student is expected to produce some new insights or interpretations on the topic investigated. There is not a set minimum length for Scholar projects, however, most projects will be a minimum of 35-50 pages, dependent on the standards of the academic discipline. Students are strongly encouraged to present their work at Miami's Undergraduate Research Forum. 

Scholar projects can be completed through, but are not limited to:
  • Departmental Honors thesis
  • Yearlong independent studies
  • Research connected to on-campus research labs
  • Extended capstone projects 
  • Undergraduate Summer Scholars Program
  • Geoffrion Family Fellows program
  • CAS Dean's Scholar Program
  • Combined Bachelor's-Master's degree thesis completed as undergraduates

Timeline for Completion

First Year

  • Fall Semester Honors Course
  • Spring Semester Honors Course
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Second and Third Years

  • Four (4) Honors experiences, which may be a combination of Honors courses or course extensions and experiential learning, such as an internship, study abroad, research, teaching, or service.
  • By the end of your third year, you will need to declare your intention to complete an Honors Senior Project requirement or opt out of the Honors College.

Fourth Year

  • The Honors Senior Project, which can be a scholarly thesis or experiential learning based project.
Past Project Examples

    GPA Requirement

    All students must maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA in order to remain a participant in Good Standing in the Honors College. The Honors College reserves the right to make accommodations for any student whose GPA might fall below this threshold, but whose overall record projects successful completion of their Honors College requirements.

    Transcript Notations

    As a student enrolled in the Honors College, you may also earn the University Honors notation on your transcript and in the graduation program when you achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Honors College

Peabody Hall
701 Western College Drive
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-3399
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