Honors College students graduate with an Honors Baccalaureate degree. There are two different tracks.

  • Honors Scholar: requires 30 HC credits. It is generally followed by students who enter the HC their first year.
  • Honors Associate: requires 15 HC credits. It is typically for students who enter the HC after their second year.

The Honors Baccalaureate degree is jointly awarded by the HC and the student's major(s). Honors College students select HC courses that compliment their major and meet their individual interests. Some requirements may change or vary depending on which year students enroll at the university. 

Honors Scholar Honors Associate

30 credits minimum
(12 credits minimum upper division*)

15 credits minimum
(12 credits minimum upper division*)
Honors baccalaureate core courses 6 cr    
Honors colloquia 6 cr Honors colloquia 6 cr
Honors electives** 12 cr Honors electives** 6 cr
Thesis/Research/Projects 6 cr Thesis/Research/Projects 3 cr
Final Thesis   Final Thesis  
Minimum Total 30 credits Minimum Total 15 credits

*Of the required HC credits for both the Honors Scholar and Honors Associate tracks, a minimum of 12 upper-division (300-400) credits are required.  Students on the Honors Associate track should plan carefully to fulfill the upper-division requirement.

** HC electives credits include any HC elective course and/or any HC baccalaureate core or HC colloquia credits taken beyond the minimum required amount.

HC Credit for International Experiences

Students may be able to earn Honors College upper division elective credits for Oregon State sponsored international experiences, such as an internship, research, or study abroad.  Contact an Honors College Academic Advisor for more details and requirements.

All Honors College students must maintain a 3.25 cumulative Oregon State GPA and make progress toward fulfilling the requirements of the HC. HC student grades will be audited each term. Those at risk of falling below the threshold will be notified by letter and are required to meet with an HC Advisor.

Further information is listed in the Oregon State Catalog.

HC Learning Outcomes

The Honors College has established two learning outcomes.  These outcomes describe the skills that participation in HC courses and activities (including the honors thesis) allows all HC students develop by the time they graduate.

SCHOLARLY INQUIRY
As an HC graduate, you will have developed the ability to engage in pursuits that create new knowledge and contribute to one or more scholarly areas of study.  This learning outcome includes the following elements:

  1. Ability to choose a relevant and meaningful topic to study within a scholarly area
  2. Ability to employ a sound approach in creating new knowledge within a scholarly area of study
  3. Ability to synthesize and/or analyze results from a significant, self-directed, and open-ended project
  4. Ability to find multiple sources of relevant information
  5. Ability to evaluate the quality of information resources
  6. Ability to write an honors thesis:  a significant, self-directed, and open-ended project
  7. Ability to present an honors thesis
  8. Ability to defend an honors thesis

ENGAGED INQUIRY

As an HC graduate, you will have developed the capacity to fully engage in meaningful dialog, which incorporates cross-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary perspectives.  This learning outcome includes the following elements:

  1. Ability to fully engage in meaningful conversations outside of your discipline
  2. Capacity to demonstrate your understanding of diverse perspectives in conversations in the classroom and/or field settings
  3. Ability to effectively communicate your unique disciplinary perspective to inform the learning of others