Program Requirements

How the Honors Program works:

The University Honors Program is designed to work with every major at A&M-Texarkana. We put you in control of how you complete the requirements of the program, and that flexibility gives you a unique and personalized Honors experience. By successfully completing curricular (courses, projects, etc) and co-curricular (colloquiums, workshops, tutoring) activities, you will gain points towards the total needed to graduate from the program. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to earn badges (see below under Perks) that reflect your particular achievements, including in public speaking, stewardship, research, and teaching.

To maintain good standing in the Honors Program a student needs to do the following each academic year:

A cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher
Successfully complete at least one academic opportunity (i.e. a mentored project, an HONR course, an Honors section of a course)
Gain at least eight co-curricular points

At the end of the Spring semester, any student who has not fulfilled these requirements will be placed into inactive status from the program and will no longer receive the benefits associated with the program. In the case of not meeting these expectations, students may make appeals to the Director of the Academic Honors Program.

NOTE- A MINIMUM GPA OF 3.25, 4 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AND 16 CO-CURRICULAR POINTS ARE REQUIRED TO BE ELIGIBLE TO GRADUATE FROM THE PROGRAM.

(Students may petition the Director of the Honors Program to have these requirements amended under extraordinary circumstances)

Academic Opportunities

As the Honors program gives you the flexibility to shape your experience, it is up to you which of these opportunities to pursue. Most students do a combination of courses and projects to fulfill the academic requirements, but the path is up to you! (A minimum GPA of 3.25 is required to remain in good standing in the Honors program) During your time in the program, you need to successfully complete at least FOUR achievements from the following list:

Requirement	Specifics of achievement
One to two Honors designated sections of a typically non-honors course	Must complete with a grade of C or better.
Honors course (has prefix HONR)	Must complete with a grade of C or better.
Supervised Honors projects	Requires working with a faculty member as a mentor. The final product must be deemed satisfactory by the faculty mentor. Successful completion may count towards the Research seal.
Honors Thesis	This is the most ambitious undertaking in the program. Each discipline does this differently so contact the Honors Program Director for more information. Successful completion may count towards the Research seal. (counts as two achievements)

Co-curricular Opportunities (minimum 16 points needed for graduation)

As with the academic requirements, the co-curricular path is yours to forge. You can focus on honing your research and presentation skills if you wish, or to give back to the campus through tutoring and stewardship, or a combination of all of them- the choice is yours!

Category	Activity	Points per Completion
Student Research	Attend a Colloquium	1
	Facilitate an Honors colloquium	2 Applies towards Stewardship seal
	Present at the Honors program Showcase	4 Applies towards Research seal
	Present an Honors Colloquium	4 Applies towards Public Speaking seal
	Present at approved academic conferences	6 Applies towards Public Speaking seal
Tutoring and Coaching	Attend an Honors workshop	1
	Lead an Honors workshop	3 Applies towards Teaching seal
	Serve as an official Honors program tutor-	6 per semester Applies towards Teaching seal
	Serve as a Program FYE Coach-	6 per semester Applies towards Teaching seal
Program Stewardship	Serve as an Honors Program Ambassador. This can include: ● volunteering at Eagle Open House, SOAR, and other recruitment events ● Multi-modal interaction with social media	2 Applies towards Stewardship seal
	Serve on the Honors advisory council	4 per semester Applies towards Stewardship seal
	Serve on the Honors Program Teaching Excellence Awards committee	4 Applies towards Stewardship seal

Honors Program Perks

Degree Enhancement: Students can add value to their education and degree through rigorous project-based learning and campus engagement. Students emerging from the program have enhanced knowledge and skills, and have an Honors designation that sets them apart. Students participate in Honors-specific courses together, and also work one-on-one with faculty to complete advanced Honors projects.

Seals: Students can demonstrate their own individualized path to an Honors designation through the Honors Program Badges. These badges represent specific forms of achievement and they communicate to others what skills and expertise a student gained in the program. Each badge is unlocked after 12 points (though a student must also graduate from the program to earn a badge).
Current badges include:

Public Speaking
Research
Stewardship
Teaching

If you would like to propose a new badge, please contact the Honors Program Director.

Perks: Honors students receive several “perks” from departments on campus, including:

Enhanced borrowing privileges at the library
National tutor certification opportunities
Priority class registration for Honors students

For more information, contact honors@tamut.edu

Contact Academic Honors Program

Dr. Craig Nakashian

Director, Academic Honors Program

(903) 223-3135

honors@tamut.edu