Academics

Honors Constellations

 

Honors Constellations are sets of Honors Courses and sometimes related Experiences that help students learn by making intellectual connections across fields.  Constellations engage students in intellectual communities, give learning greater coherence, and earn Honors Commendations recognized on transcripts and at graduation ceremonies.

 

Each unit of learning for a Constellation is a 3-s.h. course or its rough equivalent in experiential learning with dimensions beyond those academically credited.  Each four-unit network of these courses or experiences provides exercises that connect in coherent, distinctive ways to feature interdisciplinary inquiries of special distinction at the University of Iowa.

 

To count for a Constellation, an Honors Course must be completed with a grade of B- or higher; and this includes courses by Honors Designation.  Experiential learning in Constellations may target research, service learning, study abroad, teaching, editing, or the like.

 

Constellations may be started or finished at any time during undergraduate work at Iowa.  The strong encouragement is to embark on at least one in the first year of study, complete one in the second year of study, and venture additional Constellations along the way to graduation.  The components are usually available so that a Constellation can be completed in a year or two, at the pace of a course or two a semester.

 

Although no particular course or experience may count toward more than one Constellation, many of these courses and experiences can count also for general-education, certificate, or major requirements.  Every credit earned for Constellations, of course, counts toward the total hours needed for graduation.

 

There are three Kinds of Constellations, and thus three sets of paths toward Commendations.  Summaries for the individual Constellations can be accessed through these three portals: