Credit Smarts

How Honors Students Make the Program’s Requirements Work for Them

By Sophia Gregorio and Kaitlyn Brustkern

Twelve hours of honors coursework, 12 credits of experiential learning, and a grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.33–these are the requirements that honors students at the University of Iowa must meet by graduation. But what do these numbers mean, and how is it possible to fit them into an already rigorous college plan?

Every UI honors student takes their turn making sense of these numbers and factoring their honors requirements into their busy schedules. Between normal classes, extracurriculars, jobs, and social life, students put a lot of thought into how to fulfill these credits and how to make them count.

What many don’t realize, however, is that within the classes, extracurriculars, and experiences they might already be exploring are the credits they need for University Honors. Even though being an honors student can feel like a lot to handle sometimes, honors credits complement and enhance an already developing college plan.

Ali Meredith, a fourth-year student studying psychology and health promotion, admitted to feeling “a bit overwhelmed” as a first-year. However, as a fourth-year, Meredith reflected on all that she’d accomplished through the UI Honors Program.

Earlier in her college career, Meredith wasn’t sure how she was going to fit all of the honors requirements into her four-year plan. As a third-year student, she began working as a peer mentor and advised other students on how to do exactly that. 

She counsels intimidated first-years to “focus on the coursework for your first year, and brainstorm what types of [experiential] things you’d like to try.”

The honors peer mentors, Note to Self blog, and departmental/major staff and faculty are excellent resources for exploring experiential learning. With a running list of interests to lean on, students can begin to figure out what opportunities they’d like to pursue to fulfill their experiential learning credits. 

Meredith’s done more than enough to fulfill her 12 credits. She was an undergraduate teaching assistant (TA), conducted research, worked internships, and served as an honors peer mentor. Reflecting on these experiences, Meredith surprised herself to find that what was most useful was comparing her various experiences to learn what she most enjoyed.

Meredith said, “With Honors, you get out of it what you put in.” After many hours of exploring opportunities, she feels that she gained a better understanding of herself via experiential learning. Someday she hopes to work one-on-one with people, counseling in the field of health promotion or psychology.

Throughout her years at Iowa, the Honors Program became a tool for self and career discovery for Meredith, who advised, “It’s you doing the work anyway, so you might as well enjoy it.”

Many students enter college already having ideas of what they’d like to get involved in, including research, pursuing honors in the major, or studying abroad. All of these opportunities count for experiential learning credits, allowing honors requirements to fit right into many students’ pre-existing college plans.

Lynne Inouye, a senior honors student majoring in English and creative writing, chose to pursue honors in the major to complete her experiential learning requirements. For an English major, honors in the major means adding advanced classes.

“It’s totally worth it,” said Inouye, “especially if you want to do a deep dive into your specific field of study.”

Honors in the major allowed Inouye to work closely with an English faculty member of her choosing to complete a creative writing capstone project. 

“It was the most useful class in my college career,” she said.

Though she fulfilled her experiential learning credits through honors in the major, Inouye also chose to study abroad in Kyoto, Japan.

“It was a little intimidating to meet all new people, but I feel like being a freshman at [UI] and being a newcomer to the Honors Program gave me a good foundation,” Inouye said of her summer abroad. 

While experiential learning might at first feel like more requirements to fulfill, completing them creates fun and engaging opportunities with important outcomes. The flexibility of honors experiential learning allowed Inouye to delve further into her academic focus and encouraged her to travel abroad to immerse herself in another culture. Likewise, trying out different research and internships helped Meredith gain a better understanding of herself and learn what she enjoyed doing. For these students, as for many others, experiential learning has served as a tool for self and career discovery. 

The UI Honors Program is built to help students grow as they approach graduation, and the requirements within it are doable regardless of a student’s goals. Whether you plan to pursue honors in the major or explore a variety of experiences, being an honors student can and will fit right into your college life.