Apply to Honors: 
Current USU or Transfer Students

Overview

The University Honors Program values diversity and seeks students who bring a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and skills to our Honors Aggie community. In your application, we want you to show us both your curiosity and creativity in pursuing ideas that interest you and your courage and connection to others when exploring ideas that challenge your own.

Honors accepts applications from current USU and transfer students on a rolling basis.

NOTE: Current USU or transfer students must have enough time remaining at USU to complete all Honors requirements (usually four terms).

We encourage potential applicants to schedule appointments with our Honors Academic or Peer Advisors.

Applicants typically have 1) maintained a minimum 3.5 cumulative college GPA, 2) earned at least a B+ in English 2010 or equivalent course, if previously taken, 3) time remaining to meet all required Honors requirements(typically four terms), and 4) demonstrated in their Honors application essays and extracurricular resume the potential to be curious, engaged learners both in and outside their majors at USU. For more information, please make an appointment with Honors advising.

All applications must include: (1) a completed basic information form with the name and email address of a professor to serve as a reference (preferably in your major or research area), (2) a detailed extracurricular resume focused on work relevant to the USU Honors Program and following the format of our Sample Activity Resume, (3) an unofficial college/USU transcript, and (4) two essays that respond specifically to the prompts below.

How to Create an Extraordinary Honors Application

For advice on your Honors application, please review our Honors application advice sheet.

Current USU and Transfer Student Application Requirements 

1

Basic Information and Reference

  • Complete the basic information form at the bottom of this page, including the name and email address of a professor who has agreed to serve as a reference.
 
2

Extracurricular Resume

  • Upload (below) a brief (1–2 page) extracurricular resume as a PDF.
All resumes should follow the format of the Sample Activity Resume.

A strong resume demonstrates your potential as a curious, community-engaged Honors student at USU. Please list any college-level Honors classes and the extracurricular, volunteer, and work experiences that have been most important to you so far in college. While we are very interested in non-classroom academic activities (service projects, internships, undergraduate research work, grant applications, study abroad), we also recognize the potential value of work experience, which can demonstrate a student’s determination or resilience, ability to manage time constraints, thoughtfulness about future professional goals, and desire to engage with various communities. We value all of these qualities, and your extracurricular resume should help us see how you have developed them in your activities outside of class.

The formatting of your resume is important. Please include a one-sentence explanation of why each activity was important to you and a clear list of the college year(s) (first, second, third) during which you completed each activity or experience. Indicate the total number of hours required to complete each activity (see sample resume) and whether it resulted in any specific product (presentation, paper, report, etc.—we do not expect such a result, but we are interested if you did have one). The hours are particularly important because they allow us to award incoming points as part of the 28 total points required for Honors graduation.

Finally, choose (and bold the names of) two particularly meaningful activities or experiences. For each of these two special activities, write a few sentences describing how your involvement made an impact on others either working alongside you (fellow participants, co-workers, etc.) or in the broader community.

 
3

Transcript

  • Upload (below) a PDF file of your unofficial college transcript.

The USU Honors Program is looking for students who are curious and willing to challenge themselves academically. Some transcripts speak for themselves; if yours does not, we encourage you to write a brief explanation of your academic path through the earlier stages of your undergraduate career (200–250 words). Honors recognizes the value of academic success in challenging courses, but an additional explanation can put your course choices and grades in context and/or describe how you challenged yourself in other ways. You may also explain, as relevant or necessary, any circumstances that have affected your college GPA.

 
4

Essays

  • Upload as a PDF (below) two clearly labeled essays (250-300 words each): one on Curiosity and Creativity and the other on Courage and Connection.

The USU Honors Program’s motto, from the poet Horace, is “Sapere aude” or “Dare to Know.” Honors is looking for a diverse group of curious, engaged students who want to take that dare by putting classroom knowledge into practice to make a difference in other people’s lives. Please write and upload two brief essays that respond to the following prompts (label the two essays with the underlined titles below):

Curiosity and Creativity (250-300 words): Describe thoughtfully and in detail a moment in college when you became so passionately curious about an academic idea, assignment, or activity from a class that you decided to share it with people outside your classroom (friends, family, co-workers, community members, professors from other classes). Use this essay to show us the kinds of ideas that excite you, your ability to bring classwork to life, and the value you find in sharing your passion with others. Your essay should demonstrate your curiosity and creativity, helping us to see how you will take the USU Honors Dare to Know.

Courage and Connection (250-300 words): Honors courses and other academic experiences are designed to take students out of their comfort zones in a safe space that builds community among Honors peers with different interests and points of view. Honors is looking for students who are brave enough to expand their own and others’ perspectives through civil discourse and conversation. Choose a specific example from your own recent experience that demonstrates your ability to question your own perspective and to engage with other views in a positive, productive way. Show us that you can listen carefully, expand your own mind, and build connections by engaging with what others care about. Then, take a look at our list of upcoming Honors Think Tank Courses and Honors Book Labs. Choose one and tell us briefly how you think that experience might challenge you and what you imagine bringing to the conversation. Use this essay to show us both your personal courage and potential to build connections within our Honors community.

 
5

Combining and Converting Application Files for Submission

Honors accepts only PDF application submissions that include all required parts listed above (1-4).

Please do not upload these parts of the application as separate Word documents, JPGs, Google Docs, Pages documents, Zip files, or other file types. Please follow the directions below and/or try using the techniques in this article if you have additional questions about combining or converting your files.

From Google Drive:

  1. If all of the files you want to convert are together in one Google Drive document, use the top menu to choose File>Download As>pdf document. Don't forget to save your application with the appropriate file name.
  2. If you need to add additional files before converting, choose Insert>Image to combine your files, and then follow step 1.

From Microsoft Word:

  1. If all the files you want to convert are already part of one Word document, select File>Save As. Then, name your file and choose “.pdf” as the file format.
  2. If your documents are not all Word files, place the cursor in your Word document where you want to insert your PDF, JPG, or other file. Then, select Insert>Picture (Insert>Object in some versions). Once all of your documents are in one file, use the instructions in step 1 to convert the file into a single pdf.

From Preview:

  1. Using Preview, open all of the individual files that you want to combine.
  2. Using the small dropdown box in the top left, select Thumbnail view.
  3. Click and drag each page from thumbnail into a single preview window.
  4. When you have put all the documents into one file, select all the thumbnails (shift+click on Mac) and choose File>Export as PDF in the main Preview Menu. Save using the appropriate file name.

NOTE: Students interested in completing Honors with a Business major may also be interested in applying to the Huntsman Scholars Program. Admission to the Huntsman, Quinney, or Caine Scholars programs does not guarantee admission to the University Honors Program. Students must apply directly to the University Honors Program.

Current USU or Transfer Student Application

Fields marked with an asterisk* are required.
No information that you provide below will be used in a discriminatory manner.

Please indicate on which USU Campus you attend.
Regardless of your answer above, please check one or more of the following racial categories in which you consider yourself to be a member:
Please select a professor who knows you and your work.

Upload your resume, transcript, and essays as a single PDF: