While Honors College courses frequently center global perspectives and experiential learning, HC faculty members take these components of an honors education one step — or rather, 5,025 miles — further each summer by transporting their classrooms from Corvallis to London.
In fall term, 2025, Don Johnson will conclude 25 years of teaching in the Honors College with his final offering of two long-standing colloquia: Leadership and Positive Psychology and Last Year Experience. Both courses prepare students for personal and career success beyond graduation. In his 50 years at Oregon State, Don has modeled this kind of success, serving in diverse roles and taking part in the university’s transformation from a “very good university of 12,000 students into a world-class research institution of over 40,000 students.
The honors thesis is a cornerstone of the Oregon State University Honors College experience and the culmination of the honors baccalaureate degree. It offers students the chance to showcase intellectual and creative talents through a project that reflects individual interests.
The Honors College believes that individual and collective achievement go hand in hand. So too does Renata Hemstreet, a second-year honors bioengineering student whose exemplary teamwork and initiative in group learning has garnered recognition from peers and professors alike.
For Honors College students looking to get an early start on the academic year or just explore topics in intensive, hands-on ways, the fall extension period can be a revelation This past year, the Honors College offered two colloquia during this short window in advance of fall term, Field to Fork Farming and Seeing Climate Change in Oregon. These short-form classes allow students to fully immerse themselves in a topic and a community with focus and minimal distractions, creating a unique honors experience.
When you walk by Dennis Adams’s classroom, it looks more like a group of friends hanging out, playing board games and getting a bit too competitive than a college class. It’s no surprise that the course, History of Commerce Through Board Games, has become one of the most popular Honors College colloquia.
Oregon State University’s nationally ranked online undergraduate programs are about to add a new distinction. Starting in spring term 2023, the Oregon State Honors College will become one of the first honors programs in the world to be fully accessible to online students.
Rising sea levels and declining marine populations have had alarm bells ringing in the science community for years, and today, news stories abound with warnings of marine heatwaves, ocean acidification and expanding low-oxygen zones. When it comes to examining the climate crisis deep below the surface, though, one Oregon State professor has decided to dive past the headlines and bring OSU Honors College students straight to the source.
