HonorsCollege175E

What university core classes do honors courses take the place of?

  • In Ball State's new core curriculum, beyond the Foundation courses the requirements are divided by Tier (level) and Domain (area).
  • Honors requirements are not met by departmental classes, even if offered specifically for honors students. Honors requirements are met only by courses with the HONRS prefix.
  • Tier 1 represents the transformation of experience and information into knowledge.
    • Two honors courses (Honors 189, Honors 201) may replace a Tier 1 Domain requirement in social sciences and in humanities, respectively.
  • Tier 2 represents the transformation of knowledge into judgment.
    • Honors courses (Honors 199, 202, 203, and 296 or 297 or 298) may replace Tier 2 requirements in social sciences, humanities, fine arts, and science, respectively.
    • Some majors require specific courses in the Tier 2 domains, so you may fulfill this requirement more than once.
  • Most honors students also have exemptions from other core courses (Tier 1 Foundation courses) by virtue of Advance Placement (AP) or IB credit, because of high test scores, or by portfolio assessment.
  • Tier 3 represents the transformation of judgement into action.
    • Your senior capstone project in your major will likely meet this requirement. You may take that courses as your departmental course or as HONRS 499 (which is usual).
  • There are “honors” versions of other core courses, but these are not required by the Honors College.
    • For example, ENG 114 may replace ENG 104; HIST 150H may replace HIST 150; COMM 210H may replace COMM 210; MATHS 125H may replace MATHS 125. These are options for honors students, but the honors version of the course is not required: if you have not already received advanced standing credit for one of these classes, you may elect either the standard version of the course or the honors version.
  • Refer to pages 28-29 of the 2011 Advising Handbook or - if you have a different version where page numbers have changed - to the page entitled "University Core Curriculum: Honors College".