Research, lead, explore … honors and scholars are a valuable part of our college and the community.

Honors

This opportunity is designed to challenge superior students to take a closer look at what interests them most. With the support of faculty, honors students conduct research and share their discoveries with others.

Whether you start your academic career in honors or you join after your first year, students in our honors program will have a variety of challenging academic experiences including:

  • Honors classes
  • Accelerated and advanced courses
  • High-level research experiences

The college offers two honors programs:

Undergraduate
Students looking to earn a bachelor's degree in the following areas are eligible for our honors program.

  • Agriculture
  • Constructions Systems Management
  • Food Science
  • Nutrition

This program is based on the concepts of flexibility in course selection, enrollment in honors, accelerated, or advanced courses, and an honors project.

Click here to learn more about OSU Honors and Scholars.

Undergraduate and Graduate Combined
The Combined BS/MS Honors Program allows a continuity of curriculum development into graduate education. Students are enrolled concurrently in the Graduate School and College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

This program permits the logical development of course work without strict regard to prerequisites and class standing of students. The purpose of the combined program is to give outstanding students an opportunity to simultaneously pursue two degrees by reducing the amount of time normally required to complete both sets of degree requirements.

The benefits of participating in the honors program are plentiful. Here are just a few:

  • Individual Honors Curriculum: Honors students work with a faculty advisor to create a unique curriculum that lets them explore their interests.
  • Additional Scholarship Opportunities:You can earn additional scholarship dollars for your extra efforts. These scholarships are "merit-based" and evaluated on the basis of the research proposal. The amount varies based on the quality of the research proposal.
  • Honors Courses: Students are requested to schedule honors courses and/or upper division courses to meet requirements in the GEC section of the honors curriculum. Generally, more than 100 courses are available throughout the university as honors courses each year.
  • Individual Advising: Students work closely with a faculty advisor to map out their honors curriculum and project plan.
  • Priority Scheduling: Honors program students are given priority scheduling. You'll be able to schedule your classes before other students who are not in the honors program.
  • Special Recognition: Honors courses are designated as such on official university transcripts. Students who complete their honors program with at least a 3.4 CPHR and satisfactorily complete the honors thesis and exam will graduate with honors research distinction in their major area of study.
  • Career Preparation: Employers value problem-solving and communication skills. They are eager to hire students who are strong, analytical thinkers and who are driven to learn.

Students in the honors program gain and build all of these skills, making them highly marketable when they graduate.

If you're considering graduate or professional school, the honors program will definitely prepare you for such studies.