Jennifer Frey, Dean
Mission
The mission of the Honors College at the University of Tulsa is to offer an excellent and accelerated general education, focused on the study of classical texts in the liberal arts tradition, in a vibrant intellectual community that fosters friendship, growth in excellent habits of mind and character, and service to the common good.
Vision
We believe that education is the cultivation of human potential into human excellence through the development of good habits of mind and character. The Honors College offers an integrated, holistic, and transformative liberal arts education that complements any major offered at TU. By studying classic texts within a community that seeks wisdom, virtue, and friendship as common ends, Honors College students will confront the most profound and enduring questions of human existence, as explored by some of the most influential thinkers within our inherited intellectual tradition.
Students complete their journey through Honors in one of two ways:
- The Honors Program, for students primarily seeking to integrate their studies in Honors with a major in another college.
- The Humane Letters major (launching fall 2025), for students seeking a deeper and more sustained engagement with classic works. Students in the Humane Letters major are automatically in the Honors Program.
Collegiate Academic Policies
The following policies apply to all students taking programs in the Honors College, whether the Honors Program or the Humane Letters major.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete their program in the Honors College will:
- Be able to clearly and thoughtfully articulate their own understanding of what makes for a meaningful and well-lived life, expressing their ideas and questions by drawing on some of the foundational texts that inform, illuminate, provoke, or challenge their understanding of themselves and the world.
- Become exceptional in the arts of communication, both oral and written. Students will not only develop excellent habits of mind; they will also develop excellent habits of interpersonal communication so that they can clearly express their ideas and values to others, especially those who may strongly disagree with them. Students will learn to navigate spaces of civil and thoughtful disagreement about the good life and society.
- Examine, discuss, and write about foundational texts in a manner that reflects deep, sustained, and serious reflection upon them. Students will become more thoughtful, self-aware, and intellectually and ethically responsible about matters of existential import to humanity. Students will be able to give persuasive reasons in support of their interpretation of texts and be able to construct and defend valid arguments in support of an ethical or political position.
Service
Honors students must complete a minimum of 80 hours of community service prior to the end of the fall semester before graduation.
All activity undertaken in completion of the Honors service requirement must:
- Be proposed to the Dean’s Office in advance and may only count toward completion of the service requirement based on prior, explicit approval of the Dean’s Office.
- Be undertaken in collaboration with organizations pre-approved by the Dean’s Office.
- Include direct, face-to-face engagement.
- Be begun no later than the fall of the student’s second year and be completed no later than the fall of the student’s graduating year.
Students who complete service hours as part of another program at TU may count those service hours toward completion of the Honors service requirement, provided that they meet the requirements listed above.
Exceptions to the above may be granted at the discretion of the Dean’s Office.
Good Standing
To remain in good standing, Honors students must maintain a 3.0 GPA in the first year, and a 3.25 cumulative GPA thereafter.
To remain in good standing, Honors students must also ensure that they complete (a) core courses, (b) service, and (c) senior project or senior thesis requirements within a viable timeframe for graduation. To do this, they are encouraged to consult their Student Success Coaches and/or the Dean’s Office.
Application
To join either program in the Honors College, students must submit a separate application. Please visit the Honors College webpage for more information.
Contact
If you have questions about the Honors Program, please contact Dr. Jennifer Frey, Dean of the Honors College, at honors@utulsa.edu.
Major
Other Programs
