Teaching & Mentoring for Honors

Texas State faculty of any rank may teach an honors course. Usually, Honors faculty are "borrowed" from departments on campus. Periodically, as need may arise, exceptionally accomplished members of the community are hired on a per-course basis to teach specialized courses in their area of expertise.

It is strongly recommended that faculty speak with their department chair and the Honors College prior to submitting a new course proposal.

After submitting a complete proposal, the faculty member will be invited to a review meeting with the Honors College Curriculum Committee.

A final decision about the new course proposal will be sent by email to the faculty member with further guidance and requests for revisions (if any) within two weeks of the curriculum meeting.

Course proposals that are intended to satisfy General Education requirements must be reviewed and approved by the Texas State General Education Committee in addition to the Honors College. Faculty intending to submit a general education proposal should review GEC guidance on their website..

Course proposals for the fall term must be received by September 1 of the prior school year. Course proposals for the spring must be received by February 15 of the prior school year. New general education / honors course proposals are only accepted at the September deadline.

Most honors courses adopt an interdisciplinary approach, and many are structured as seminars or active workshops that promote engagement with course content. Most course enrollments are capped at 20 students.

Students in Honors courses often represent many different academic fields. In order to effectively leverage diverse perspectives and viewpoints, and to attract enrollment, course material should appeal to students with broad disciplinary training.

Honors courses are usually writing intensive. At least 65% of the overall course grade must derive from written work, and at least one written assignment should be 500 words or more in length. The writing intensive requirements must be explained in the course proposal.

Honors courses may count toward degree or program requirements in other colleges with prior approval from the relevant academic unit. Compelling proposals will be accompanied by at least one curricular equivalency, allowing the course to count toward another major, minor, or degree program.

Department chairs or directors must release full-time faculty to teach in Honors. Upon request, the Honors College may reimburse home departments to help defray the cost of covering the faculty member's departmental course load. The chair’s/director's signature on the Departmental Approval Form indicates their willingness to grant the faculty member’s release. Faculty who are not full-time may contact petert@txstate.edu to discuss arrangements to teach an Honors class. Faculty are usually not permitted to receive course overloads for teaching in Honors.

To be reviewed, a complete course proposal must be received by the relevant deadline. Required components of a course proposal include: (1) Honors College Course Proposal Form, (2) Departmental Approval Form, (3) Course Substitution Form, (4) current CV for the instructor.

General education proposals must also include a complete syllabus in the appropriate template. Please note that additional proposal materials addressing core component requirements are also required. Please contact honors for more information.

Please submit all required materials to Peter Tschirhart, Associate Dean in the Honors College, by email at petert@txstate.edu.