The UWA Honors Program is administered through the College of Liberal Arts. The primary goals of the Honors Program are to provide the high-achieving and goal-oriented undergraduate student with a more stimulating and challenging curriculum, closer contacts with outstanding faculty, and enriched classes, as well as allow the individual to follow his or her own intellectual interests more independently. The program combines academic study with participation in social and cultural activities and provides Honors students with frequent opportunities for interaction with like-minded peers. The Honors Program offers academic opportunities and enrichment within a community of individuals who share a commitment to scholarship and to each other.
The program is open to entering freshmen with an ACT composite score of 24 or higher and an area score of 26 or higher in science reasoning, English, or reading or 25 in mathematics and appropriate scores on math placement tests. Students who have earned between 32 and 63 hours at UWA and have a cumulative GPA of 3.25or higher in non-elective hours may apply for entry to the Honors Program. Transfer students who are interested should apply to the Director of the Honors Program for admission.
Entering freshmen with an ACT composite score of 28 or higher and individual freshmen scores of 28 or higher in English or reading can earn 6 semester hours of credit in history and/or English composition by successfully completing the second course in the history and/or English composition Honors sequence.
Honors students pursue their own major within the Honors framework. The program curriculum for freshmen includes Honors versions of basic curriculum courses (biology, English composition and literature, history, and psychology) and a freshman-level Honor Forum (HR 100), the first of four courses that continue through the sophomore and junior years and culminate in the senior year with the completion of a Honors thesis/project under the guidance of mentor within the student’s major. Honors students should defend their finished projects/theses during the fifth week of the semester before their graduating semester.
Students meeting all of the requirements of the Honors Program graduate with the designation “Honors Scholar.” Participation in honors courses is noted on official transcripts.
Further information may be obtained from the Director, UWA Honors Program, Station 22, The University of West Alabama, Livingston, AL 35470.