If a course is honors, do you have to be enrolled in that department's honors program to take it? If not, would it be a bad idea to take more than one a semester?

8/18/2007 11:46:29 AM

As long as you're in the university honors/scholars program you can take them.

8/18/2007 12:43:27 PM

i think you can take them if you have a high enough gpa.

i never took more than one per semester, but its do-able. the amount of extra work varies by class/professor. sometimes its not even extra, just different or more difficult.

8/18/2007 1:05:09 PM

Honors classes typically demand quite a bit more (both in quantity and quality)... but often the teachers teaching them are very involved and intriguing. Also, the class sizes are usually smaller (from my experience). Any class can be theoretically be used for honors credit if extra work is done with the professor. I took an Honors course my Freshman year w/o being in Honors, then took one my Sophomore year when I was in Honors. I enjoyed both of them immensely, so if you have the opportunity to take one do so. However, I wouldn't take more than 2 simultaneously. The second Honors class I took was a Literature course and we read atleast 1 book/week (although reasonable, the questions and level of thought that was required to be prepared for the next class meeting was extremely time consuming). So, if you want to get the most out of the class, I'd suggest taking no more than 2 and putting in the time that it demands/deserves.

8/18/2007 4:33:31 PM

i should add, my honors econ classes are a big reason i decided to add that as a second major. excellent professors, and real small classes.

8/18/2007 5:21:48 PM

^ indeed, I can't imagine taking an econ class in an auditorium of 300 I would have fallen asleep every other day...

thats really the biggest benefit of honors, smaller class size and generally better teachers. I don't think they are really harder, the extra work/higher standards are offset by the increase in quality classroom environment.

8/18/2007 6:27:22 PM