Courses & Seminars
Honors College courses will help you develop strong critical-thinking, research and writing skills through active-learning approaches.
Our courses span a wide array of disciplines, introducing you to new concepts and perspectives. Only Honors College students can enroll in these courses, which are capped at 25 students.
You must complete a minimum of 18 credits worth of departmental honors courses and Honors College Seminars before graduation. Due to the unique nature of Honors seminars, AP classes do not count towards the Honors College credit requirement.
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Departmental Honors Courses
UAlbany’s most distinguished faculty teach Honors College courses as an opportunity to work closely with students in a collaborative, discussion-based environment.
Departmental honors courses typically meet at least one general education requirement and may also count toward your major.
Recent offerings include:
- Art Goes to War!
- Human Trafficking
- The Beat Poets
- Confucianism and Samurai Ethics
- Cultural History of Food in America
- Money and Power
- Scientific Revolutions
For current offerings, explore the Schedule of Classes.
Honors College Seminars
Honors College seminars are taught by Honors College lecturers and faculty fellows.
They are interdisciplinary by design to emphasize the complex nature of the world. Like departmental honors courses, Honors College seminars typically meet at least one general education requirement.
Recent offerings include:
- Conspiracy Theories and Public Discourse
- Food Waste
- Remote Sensing of the Universe
- From Personal Ethics to Global Morality
- Poster Making for Social Activists
- The Asian-American Experience
For current offerings, explore the Schedule of Classes.
More information about Honors College Classes
All Honors College courses at UAlbany must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- The course uses an open discussion (or another interactive and participatory) format, rather than a pure lecture format, to create a learner-directed classroom culture.
- The course approaches its subject in an interdisciplinary manner, encouraging multiple points of view and emphasizing the interconnectedness of both problems and solutions.
- The course provides opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills developed in the course in other contexts outside the classroom (whether elsewhere on campus or in the wider community).
- The course builds global awareness and appreciation for other cultures and viewpoints, including educational experiences abroad or domestic experiences with culturally diverse communities.
- The course critically examines the origins and development of knowledge through the study of primary texts.
- The course explores how theories developed in one field can be applied in new contexts, across disciplinary boundaries.
Departmental Honors Programs
The Honors College takes a student-centered approach to nurturing aspiring students at every stage of their academic journey, regardless of their major. Departmental honors programs further ensure excellence in each student's chosen field.
Students apply to their major’s departmental honors program and complete all requirements of that program in order to graduate from the Honors College. Program requirements are listed in the Undergraduate Bulletin.
The few students whose majors do not have a departmental honors program instead meet with their advisors during their sophomore year to map out which courses within their major they’ll need to take to graduate from the Honors College.
Note: Honors College students are not automatically enrolled in their majors’ departmental honors programs. They must apply and be accepted.
Each departmental honors program has different requirements and deadlines. Please contact your academic department for more information.
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