Students who plan to pursue an associate degree at Utah State University have the option to apply to the University Honors Program. Students can earn the Associate with Honors transcript designation in addition to other USU transcript designations. If a student continues to pursue a bachelor's degree, they can complete additional requirements to stack the University Honors designation on top of an Associate with Honors designation.
Admitted students seeking an associate degree can graduate with the Associate with Honors designation by earning a total of 14 Honors points, completing an Honors Associate Capstone Portfolio Project, and maintaining a minimum 3.25 USU/overall GPA.
How Many Points Should Students Earn by the End of Each Year?
Honors has set guidelines for the number of points that students should have earned by the end of each year in the program.
End of Year One
5-7 points
Focused on introductory experiences, HONR 1900: Honors Associate Portfolio Preparation, an Honors Gen Ed Breadth course, and co-curricular activities.
End of Year Two
14 points
Focused on at least one Honors Mentoring Agreement (HMA), Honors-in-Practice experiences, and the Honors Associate Capstone Portfolio completion.
How Do Students Earn Honors Points?
Honors points track each student's progress toward completing program requirements and meeting Honors Learning Outcomes. Students earn Honors points by engaging in four areas of the Honors curriculum. Honors points give students credit for developing mentoring relationships with professors, building portfolios of independent project-based work, and articulating the value of a USU education.
The point maximums and recommendations below are designed to guide rather than dictate progress toward graduation with the Associate with Honors designation. Because this curriculum is carefully tailored to each student’s goals, all Honors students should schedule an Honors advising appointment to create an individualized plan. Our sample plan also offers a sense of what a student’s path toward an associate degree with Honors might look like.
2-4 POINTS
Honors students must complete a basic First-Year Honors Requirements Quiz (1 point) and engage with the USU community by attending and reflecting on campus, community, or virtual co-curricular events that enrich their college experience (3-point maximum).- Students must successfully complete our First-Year Honors Requirements quiz for a total of 1 point.
- Students must attend and reflect on how at least 2 campus, community, or virtual events (.5 point each) impacted their USU experience, for a total of 1 point.
- Students may attend and reflect on up to 6 events for a total of 3 points for co-curricular reflections.
3-6 POINTS
Honors courses are designed to create a community of Honors students across disciplines and to meet USU’s General Education or other departmental requirements. Students earn 1-4 points (1 credit = 1 point) for every Honors course or Honors section of a departmental course they successfully complete.
- Students must take a minimum of one (3-credit) Honors Gen Ed Breadth course that fulfills a USU General Education Breadth requirement. (See Honors Capstone Portfolio for required capstone portfolio courses.)
- Students may decide to take additional Honors courses to earn up to 3 additional points (one point per credit, usually three points per course).
3-6 POINTS
Honors in Practice (HIP) allows students to apply their academic knowledge outside the classroom. HIP dares students to think imaginatively and practically about the value of experiential learning by engaging in research, creative projects, community service, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This work often lays the foundation for future professional paths by training students to take responsibility for their own learning and to communicate its value to others.
- Students must earn 3 points in this area by completing an Honors Mentoring Agreement (HMA) focused on some sort of critical inquiry within their major or a particular area of academic interest (may include research, reflective internship, and/or community-engaged research or learning).
- Students may earn up to 6 points by completing additional Honors-in-Practice experiences, including HMAs and/or structured Honors experiences such as Honors Book Labs, alumni mentoring, and leadership academy.
3 POINTS
All students must build a professional portfolio in Canvas, using the Portfolium tool. Under the mentorship of a permanent USU faculty member, students complete the following tasks as part of this portfolio:
- Curate their best work;
- Feature their Honors experiential learning and reflective writing; and
- Write a meta-reflection on the personal and professional value of their experience as an Honors student in their associate degree program.
Students must complete the following courses as part of the Honors Capstone Portfolio:
- HONR 1900 Honors Capstone Portfolio Preparation (1 point) introduces students to the Associate with Honors Program and the Honors Capstone Portfolio requirements. This course must be taken during a student's first semester in an associate program.
- HONR 2900 Honors Capstone Portfolio (2 points) is an independent study course that students complete in the final semester of their associate program. In this course, students work with a faculty mentor to finalize and complete their capstone portfolio.