University Honors College and Honors Courses
The University Honors College (UHC) seeks to meet the special academic and co-curricular needs of the University’s most able and motivated undergraduate students. The UHC offers a variety of carefully designed courses from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, along with special advising opportunities, academic activities, and a distinctive baccalaureate degree in any undergraduate school of the University.
Contact Information
- University of Pittsburgh
University Honors College
3600 Cathedral of Learning
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
412-624-6880
www.honorscollege.pitt.edu
Admission Requirements
The UHC is not a membership organization. Permission for involvement in UHC offerings, such as UHC courses, develops on an ongoing basis depending upon a student’s prior achievement. Entering freshmen having a combined SAT I score above 1400 and ranking in the top 5 percent of their high school graduating class are automatically qualified to take any UHC course whose prerequisites have been satisfied. The same is true for continuing students having a GPA of at least 3.25 (B+) in their prior term. Students who do not meet these requirements may nevertheless request permission from a UHC advisor to take a particular UHC course.
Advising
The UHC provides special academic and career advising designed to complement the formal advising programs offered by schools and departments. The UHC advising staff is experienced in helping talented students combine diverse academic interests into educationally sound and appealing plans of study. The study plan might not only include the University’s full range of courses, certificates, and degrees, but also national scholarship and fellowship opportunities available to undergraduates. Students seeking UHC counseling are encouraged to make an appointment with a UHC advisor.
The Bachelor of Philosophy Degree
The culmination of an honors education is the opportunity to earn a distinctive undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil). The authority to award a degree is what separates an “honors college” from an “honors program.”
The BPhil is jointly awarded by UHC and any undergraduate school/college at Pitt, which is the “home school” of the recipient. In order to receive the BPhil, students must fulfill the degree requirements (major, general education, and/or other curricular requirements) of their “home school” (i.e., School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, College of Business Administration, etc.) plus two additional requirements. One is a more demanding program of study, proposed by the student, which should have breadth, depth, and focus. Often, this is achieved through a dual degree between schools or through double or triple majors in a single school. The second requirement is an independent research project and a written thesis that is defended before a faculty examination committee that includes a visiting external examiner from another college or university.
Special Academic Opportunities
The Honors Center on the 35th and 36th floors of the Cathedral of Learning is the home of the UHCand serves as the hub of its many curricular and co-curricular activities. There are currently four undergraduate publications supported by the honors college: The Pittsburgh Undergraduate Review, a professionally refereed journal of undergraduate scholarship solicited nationwide; The Three Rivers Review, a citywide literary journal; Collision, a journal of nonfiction cosponsored with the Department of English; and the Pittsburgh Political Review, a venue for undergraduate political writing. The Honors Center houses literary discussion groups, a weekly film series, and a weekly lecture series. Interested students are urged to visit the Honors Center, meet the UHC staff, and become acquainted with the latest roster of UHC activities.