Honors Primetime is a three-and-a-half day workshop for incoming first-year honors students. Workshops of about twenty students engage in hands-on learning with exceptional UI faculty and staff, and successful completion earns 1 semester hour of honors credit. Students at Primetime get to know other honors students, connect with honors staff and faculty, and gain an introduction to the distinct approach honors education offers while becoming familiar with the university campus and Iowa City. Primetime 2021 will be held Monday, August 16 - Thursday, August 19th. Early move-in is Sunday, August 15th through housing. The Honors Program cannot assist with housing related requests and encourages you to contact the Housing Team directly. 

Information for 2021 Participants

  • Primetime is Monday, August 16th- Thursday, August 19th. Early move-in is Sunday, August 15th through the housing team.
  • If you've reached your semester credit load limit for the Fall 2021 semester, please do not contact your academic advisor for this. Not all academic advisors have this capability on campus. The Honors Program will be working with academic colleges to lift these caps for students before you register on July 12th. No action is necessary on your part.
  • Registration for Primetime workshop preference will open at 8 AM CST on Monday, July 12th. It is important you review the Primetime sections in advance to pick your top 3-5 workshop preferences. You will receive a registration code from the Honors Team that will deliver to your UI email address. Once the registration date opens we recommend you register as soon as able to get your top pick. 
  • By August 13th students will receive additional information about their workshop assignments
  • Early move-in is Sunday, August 15th. All inquiries must be directed to Housing. The Honors Program cannot assist with Housing related inquiries.  
    • Housing will charge participants $35/day for two nights to the student's University Bill, no cash/check needed upon move-in
  • Primetime will conclude on Thursday in time for students to participate in On Iowa! events
  • For more information read our Primetime FAQ

Be prepared to expand your knowledge beyond the usual! Below you'll find a small sample past workshops to give you an indication of what you can expect to find. 

A Selection of Primetime Course Descriptions

Media in Society

Why does media matter? How does it achieve its ends? How is pop culture manipulated, and how are seemingly oppositional motifs combined to further a brand or concept?

Trashcano!

The goals of this experiment are to quantify the physical processes which occur in a volcanic eruption by measuring and calculating characteristics of an experimental eruption column. Basically: the science of blowing up trash cans.

Eating Local: Mapping Food Sources From Ancient Rome to Iowa City, IA

This workshop explores the types, sources, and transport of food in ancient Rome and in Iowa City. Students will be introduced to Roman food and cook ancient dishes before delving into the sources and distances that food had to travel from farm to table in antiquity as compared to today.

How Do Birds Work?

Did the structures necessary for flight, such as feathers, first appear for that purpose? Why do birds knees seem to point backwards? Are penguins truly flightless? In this workshop, we will study of the skeletons of modern and fossil birds and encounter living birds to explore how their wings work. 

Student Perspectives on Primetime:

  • "For Primetime, we came to campus early. My roommate and I really got a feel for downtown and the University of Iowa community. We walked around the Old Capitol, checked out a famous bookstore called Prairie Lights, and got frozen yogurt from Yotopia."
  • "This was my first experience on campus, so it allowed me to meet other new members of the Honors Program. I was surprised to see many of their faces in my chemistry class on the first day of school."
  • "Primetime was taught by a professor. Taking this class introduced me to the culture of college classes and how to interact with professors."
  • "Primetime ended with a symposium in which each workshop presented a brief summary of what they learned. This way, I learned about different topics and fields of study at the U of I."

Primetime FAQ