The Honors Program
What does it mean to be a UNF Honors student? It means learning to think carefully and well. It means working with professors who know your name. It means traveling to other countries and learning to understand other cultures. It means being part of a tight-knit community in which everyone is focused on becoming well-rounded individuals and exploring the world beyond lectures and textbooks. It means being supported by faculty who understand that the most meaningful education combines experiential learning and critical thinking. Our classes are heavily discussion-based, with plentiful opportunity for careful, critical thought. Many of our courses include field trips and other activities beyond the classroom so that students have the chance to see how the topic relates to the real world and to apply the skills they’ve learned.
Honors in college and at UNF is different: In high school you get quality points because the class is more advanced and requires more work – it is both faster and more. Honors at UNF also gives you more, but in a different way. We take the best of challenging advanced work and use active and experiential learning techniques to make the subject more project-based, more applied, more experiential. Some classes replace large traditional General Education offerings with smaller classes that have a more focused theme and an interdisciplinary basis, others are a part of your major but involved research or applied projects, and still others include a trip abroad or the opportunity to work one-on-one with a faculty member on your own research or a joint project.
Vision
The Honors Program demonstrates its commitment to academic and cultural growth, civic awareness and student success by fostering a community of intellectually curious global citizens. Through the Honors Program, students are encouraged to develop rigorous and comprehensive critical thinking, their sense of integrity and a commitment to service.
Mission
The Honors Program inspires students to explore new areas beyond the experiences they’ve had. Through a vibrant, supportive community of faculty, staff and students, the program emphasizes opportunities to exercise disciplined critical thinking, make connections between disciplines, develop global awareness, participate as community citizens, and engage fully in their education. We do this through an interesting variety of small seminar classes taught by motivated faculty, individualized attention from a dedicated staff, and a vibrant student-directed social life.
