Honors students have the opportunity to elevate their academic journey through a variety of designated Honors Experiences. The goal of these unique and required experiences is to encourage students to dive deeper into their studies, push the boundaries of knowledge, and explore subjects they are passionate about with peers and distinguished faculty and staff.
Students can fulfill the Honors Experience requirement in a variety of ways that fit their interests and schedules.
Expand the links to learn more about each option!
At UCSB, many courses require students to attend a weekly discussion section to review, discuss, and dive deeper into the topics covered in the associated lecture. Honors students can enroll in special Honors sections or courses. Some courses may require students to attend both the regular section associated with the lecture and an Honors section. Typically, students earn an additional unit when they enroll in an Honors section. For enrollment details and a list of offerings, check the Honors Section/Course page.
Winter 2025 Honors Sections/Course
Honors Seminars (INT 84’s) are lower-division, two-unit courses of twenty students or fewer; they are designed specifically for first and second-year students in the Honors Program. In these seminars, faculty instructors introduce students to their own special research and scholarly interests. All Honors Seminars meet for two hours a week. Use the link for details on each quarter's seminar options.
For questions about Honors Seminars, email Kate von der Lieth, kvonderlieth@ltsc.ucsb.edu.
Honors Contracts are the primary method of earning Honors Experience credit in upper-division courses. Honors contracts allow students to enrich their upper-division courses while establishing close working relationships with faculty. For example, in some Honors contracts undergraduates participate in seminar-style discussions or assist faculty on research projects, gaining the kind of scholarly experiences normally reserved for graduate students.
Fall 2024 Deadline to CANCEL an Honors Contract - WAS Friday, November 15th
Winter 2025 Deadline to SUBMIT an Honors Contract - Friday, January 17th
Winter 2025 Deadline to CANCEL an Honors Contract - Friday, February 21st
Enrollment Information:
- Reach out to the instructor before the quarter begins or during the first few days of instruction to discuss the possibility of establishing an Honors Contract.
- Work with the instructor to create a curriculum for the Honors Contract.
- Submit the Honors Contract Proposal Form before the deadline. Proposals must be submitted by the end of the second week of the quarter in which the contract is undertaken.
- After the Proposal is submitted the associated course, INT 197HC will be added to your schedule during week 8 by the Honors Program staff. Although the course will not appear on your schedule immediately, you are expected to work on the contract as soon as it is submitted. INT 197HC will appear on your schedule/transcript but you will not be expected to attend an additional course. NOTE: INT 197HC will NOT be added to Honors Contracts for Summer Sessions.
- Complete the upper-division course for a letter grade. A letter grade is required unless Pass/No Pass is the only available grading option for the course.
- Earn a grade of B or better in the associated upper-division course. If the course was taken for a Pass/No Pass grading option, a grade of P is required to earn credit.
- Each Honors Contract successfully completed with a grade of P, or Pass, will earn one Honors Experience credit.
Course Grading Process:
- To receive a grade of Pass in INT 197HC, Honors Program staff will contact your instructor to confirm that you successfully completed the terms of the contract and earned a letter grade of B or higher in the associated course, or P if the course was taken for a Pass/No Pass grading option.
- Course Honors will be added to your transcript for the course associated with the Honors Contract and P will be appear for the INT 197HC course after grades are recorded.
- For students completing more than one Honors Contract per quarter, the number of units for INT 197HC will reflect the number of contracts completed (e.g., for two contracts there would be two units added for INT 197HC provided both contracts are completed).
- If you do not get a B or better in the associated course but complete the Honors Contract, you will receive a P in INT 197HC but you will not receive credit for the contract as an Honors Experience.
- If you do not complete the Honors Contract, you will receive a NP (Not Pass) in INT 197HC regardless of the grade you received in the course.
Important considerations:
- Contracts are only accepted for upper-division academic courses in the College of Letters and Science. Contracts are not accepted for Exercise and Sports Studies, Education/CNCSP, College of Creative Studies, Technology Management, IHC - Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, Computer Science, or Engineering courses.
- Contracts must be supervised by the course's instructor of record.
- All faculty members, Senate and non-Senate, may supervise Honors Contracts.
- Instructors with the titles of Visiting Professor may supervise a contract if the dean determines that the contract proposal meets the Honors Program's academic standards.
- Graduate students, including Teaching Assistants and Teaching Associates, MAY NOT supervise Honors Contracts.
- Do not submit a contract proposal for any course that is already an honors section or already on the list of courses automatically granted Honors credit.
- Please consult the following resources for help developing an Honors Contract Proposal
Cancelling your Honors Contract:
If you need to cancel your approved Honors Contract prior to the Week 7 Drop Deadline reflected on GOLD, email both Kate von der Lieth at kvonderlieth@ltsc.ucsb.edu and your professor regarding the cancellation.
To cancel an Honors Contract after Week 7, a Petition from the College of Letters and Sciences is required to drop the INT 197HC Contract course from your schedule. Please note, these petitions are rarely approved. If not approved, you will receive a grade of NP for INT 197HC.
Discovery Seminars (INT 86AA-ZZ, 87AA-ZZ, 186AA-ZZ or 187AA-ZZ) are small group courses that facilitate student-faculty contact, promote valuable intellectual discourse in a small group setting, and allow students to explore subjects outside their majors in a low-pressure context.
Some courses are automatically recognized as an Honors Experience. These include independent research or independent study work for which students receive academic credit. Also included are courses students complete to earn Distinction in a major. Examples include, but are not limited to, senior thesis, independent study courses numbered 98, 99 AA-ZZ, 198, 199 AA-ZZ, and many others. Use the link below for a list of courses and enrollment information.
A UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) term can count as one Honors Experience if a student meets the following criteria:
- The student is registered for at least 12 letter-graded units during one quarter/semester or at least 9 units in a summer term through UCEAP.
- The student earns a B or better in all courses.
- The student receives a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Additional Details & Information:
- Students may earn credit for two Honors Experiences if they earn 24 letter-graded units through UCEAP and meet the above criteria.
- A student planning to study abroad for a full academic year should meet with an Honors Advisor to determine how many Honors Experiences they are likely to earn while abroad.
- Individual courses taken during a UCEAP term cannot count as Honors Experiences.
Participating in the Capital Internship Program through UCDC or UCCS can count as one upper-division Honors Experience if the student earns a B or better in the required research seminar.
Enrollment Information:
A term of UC Natural Reserve System (NRS) Field Studies can count as one upper-division Honors Experience. The California Ecology and Conservation (CEC) Program is a part of the Natural Reserve System Field Studies Program, which enables students from across the University of California to gain a deeper understanding of the natural world while visiting NRS reserves. The CEC program is an intensive program of study with a workload equivalent to four on-campus courses. It is offered every Spring, Summer, and Fall quarter.
Enrollment Information:
- Review the UCNRS website for application deadlines.
- Review the UCSB-specific reserve website.
- Notify Honors Program staff if you are enrolled in UCNRS.
- Individual courses taken during UCNRS terms cannot count as Honors Experiences.
Unsure of how many honors experiences you've completed?
We can help. Complete this form to verify the number of Honors experiences you've completed. Allow 2 weeks to process.
Honors Experience FAQs
No. INT 84 courses are restricted to Honors Program students only.
In order to receive Honors Experience credit for a course, you must earn a letter grade of B or higher—even if the professor has indicated that grading is optional. Occasionally, a professor will offer a course as P/NP only. If this is the case, a grade of P will be accepted for credit towards the Honors Program. Note: An Honors Section taken in conjunction with a regular discussion section counts as 1 Honors Experience (i.e. EARTH 30H + EARTH 30). You must earn satisfactory grades in both the Honors Section and in the discussion section to earn 1 Honors Experience credit.
Yes. You may take 8 units maximum of INT 84 Honors Seminars.
In general, Honors Contracts must be supervised by a course's instructor of record holding one of the following titles:
- Professor
- Associate Professor
- Assistant Professor
- Lecturers SOE
- Lecturers PSOE
- Senior Lecturers SOE
- Affiliated Faculty.
If the instructor of record is a Visiting Professor, the Honors Contract may need to be reviewed and approved by the Dean to determine if it meets our academic standards, and we'll notify you of the decision. Teaching Assistants and Teaching Associates (i.e., Graduate Student instructors) may not supervise Honors Contracts. (Note: The Honors Contract Proposal Form lists these acceptable and unacceptable types of instructor titles. When proposing a contract with the instructor, please ask for their title to include this in your proposal.)
