Apply for Honors Only Course Funding

Honors Only seminars and discussion/lab sections should be taught by faculty members or permanent/long-term instructional staff with a terminal degree. As a general rule, graduate students, postdocs, and temporary lecturers should not be instructors in Honors Only settings.

We understand that each department’s situation may be different. If you would like to discuss your department’s plans for Honors teaching assignments, please reach out to the Honors Faculty Director or Associate Director of Advising and Curriculum.

Honors Only seminars/sections foster a highly motivating learning environment for some of UW’s most intellectually curious and engaged students. Instructors regularly share that Honors teaching is particularly rewarding and enjoyable. Moreover, availability of Honors Only coursework across disciplines is critical to the Honors in the Liberal Arts curriculum. There are over 1,600 undergraduates in the L&S Honors Program. By offering Honors Only coursework, you can help these incredible students discover or deepen their interest in your field and make impactful connections.
Please note that the current call for funding applications is only relevant for seminar-style Honors Only courses.

We welcome proposals from all types of courses that can contribute to an enriched liberal arts education. Course characteristics that are particularly sought after by students and helpful to the Honors in the Liberal Arts curriculum include:

• No or few prerequisites, including courses open to first-year students
• Satisfy the ethnic studies requirement (ESR)
• Carry biological/physical/natural science breadth and are intended for students with non-science majors
• Connect to current issues, technology, health, or law/policy
• Interdisciplinary profile

We have had an overrepresentation of Communication B courses in recent years, so that is not a particular need at this time.

For more about Honors Only teaching guidelines and policies, visit our Teach an Honors Only Course page.

L&S encourages all departments to consider offering Honors Only courses as part of their core undergraduate instructional mission and without relying on additional funding.

That said, there are no restrictions on requesting funds for the same course over multiple years or funds for multiple courses from the same department. The Faculty Honors Committee will generally prioritize funding courses that fill critical needs in the Honors in the Liberal Arts curriculum and courses from units that have not regularly received funding. The Faculty Honors Committee also values applications that demonstrate the individual instructor’s thoughtful efforts to create or adapt their course for an Honors Only setting.