Humane Letters, B.A.

The Humane Letters major launches fall 2025.

Like the Honors Program, the Humane Letters major is for students interested in joining the centuries-old conversation about what makes for a meaningful and well-lived life, but who want more. This may include, for example, students with a deeper interest in classic texts-based, seminar-style, virtue-focused education than can be satisfied through the regular Honors Program as well as students interested in teaching or otherwise serving in K-12 classical schools.

The Humane Letters major is 120 credit hours and can be easily combined with double major and dual degree options at TU. Students should consult their Student Success Coach in determining what is best when it comes to double major and dual degree options.

Tulsa Curriculum and First Year Experience (47-49 hours)

Core Curriculum and First Year Experience (10 hours)

General Curriculum (37-39 hours)

Block I (6 hours)
Block II (12 hours)
Block III (3 hours)
Block III w/lab (4 hours)
Foreign Language* (12-14 hours)

Note

*It is a policy of the Honors College that the Foreign Language requirement can only be satisfied by Greek, Latin, French, or German.

Core Courses (18 credit hours)

Honors Elective Courses (12 credit hours)

Students will be informed every semester of courses approved by the Honors College to serve as Honors elective credit in the Humane Letters major. The Honors College will offer Honors electives and/or crosslist select courses in other colleges. These courses will typically focus on:

One subject area or discipline: e.g., classic texts in history.
One theme: e.g., classic texts on the happy life.
One genre: e.g., classic texts in tragedy.
One author: e.g., Aristotle.
One work: e.g., Dante, The Divine Comedy.
One non-Western culture: e.g., classics texts in the Chinese tradition (Confucius, Analects; I Ching; Mencius, etc.).
One of the above in the original language: e.g., Aristotle in Greek.

Honors Senior Thesis (3 hours)

The Honors Senior Thesis requirement is satisfied by one or more courses amounting to three credit hours (e.g., HON 4111 Senior Thesis Proposal , HON 4121 Senior Thesis I , HON 4131 Senior Thesis II ). Exceptions may be granted at the discretion of the Dean’s Office.

General Elective Courses (40-42 hours)

General Elective (39 hours)
General Elective (1-3 hours)

Service Requirement

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.

Total Hours: 120

Application

To join either program in the Honors College, students must submit a separate application. Please visit the Honors College webpage for more information.

Common Questions

Colleges