Honors Credit

Honors General Education Sections (Fall 2026)

These offerings satisfy the respective UNIFI category in addition to counting toward your honors designation. They fulfill both university and honors requirements while emphasizing discussion and class participation. Class sizes are limited to approximately 20 honors students, allowing for a focus on active learning and engagement with peers and faculty.

ANTH 1001-01 Bones & Stones 

Dr. O'Brien, 9:30-10:45am T/Th 

Fulfills UNIFI Scientific Reasoning or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description: The official title of this course is: Bones & Stones: the science of human origins. This course is an introduction to Biological Anthropology, a sub-discipline of the larger field called Anthropology. In this course, we will try to answer the following questions from an anthropological perspective: Where did we come from? What makes us human? This is not a philosophy or a religions course. The theories and concepts presented in this class are based on scientific evidence. We will cover issues related to: evolutionary theory, variation, adaptation, epidemiology, primatology, paleoanthropology, some archaeology, early human migrations, and early farming (animal and plant domestication).

Professor Biography: Dr. O’Brien is a broadly trained anthropologist whose focus is in the field of physical anthropology. His research interests lie within the areas of human skeletal biology, forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Currently he is conducting research on archaeological samples of human crania from Bolivia and Argentina that display signs of being intentionally and artificially deformed. His teaching style has been described as dynamic and energetic. Students have commented on how lectures are informative, engaging and how they enjoy his experiential anecdotes. As an honors course, O’Brien and discussions of the course material will make you think more critically of your role as another biological organism evolving in this world.

ANTH 1003-01 Bones & Stones Lab 

Dr. O'Brien, 8:00-9:50am W

Fulfills UNIFI Scientific Reasoning or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description: 

Professor Biography: Dr. O’Brien is a broadly trained anthropologist whose focus is in the field of physical anthropology. His research interests lie within the areas of human skeletal biology, forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Currently he is conducting research on archaeological samples of human crania from Bolivia and Argentina that display signs of being intentionally and artificially deformed. His teaching style has been described as dynamic and energetic. Students have commented on how lectures are informative, engaging and how they enjoy his experiential anecdotes. As an honors course, O’Brien and discussions of the course material will make you think more critically of your role as another biological organism evolving in this world.

CONSTR 1015-02 Introduction to Sustainability 

Dr. Rumsey, 12:30-1:45pm T/Th

Fulfills UNIFI Responsibility or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description: What does it mean to live sustainably, and is it a worthwhile goal? In this course, students will engage with these questions at both personal and societal scales. Students will develop a general framework for thinking about sustainability and will consider sustainability from a range of disciplinary and professional perspectives. Instruction will focus on balancing ecological, social, and economic objectives. Students will learn about systems thinking as an important component of understanding sustainability. This section will be more discussion-based than non-honors sections of Intro to Sustainability. Two major projects are central to the course: one in which students implement sustainable actions in their own lives, and one in which students research broader trends or innovations that enhance societal sustainability. We will hear from a variety of guest speakers from around campus and beyond and will grapple with a wide range of perspectives on what sustainability means and how it is lived.

Professor Biography: Trained as an environmental historian, Brian Rumsey holds a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. A native Iowan, he studied as an undergraduate at Iowa State and received an M.A. from Mississippi State. Dr. Rumsey is a former sports journalist and has been teaching at UNI since 2019. His doctoral research focused on how people have lived with floods as the climate changes, and he also has a research interest in sustainable agriculture. He collaborates with the Land Institute, a research center dedicated to developing perennial field crops, and has worked extensively with local food systems in the Cedar Valley. He is an avid gardener, cook, and traveler.

ENGLISH 1050-02 Law & Literature

Dr. Zigarovich, 2:00-3:15pm T/Th

Fulfills UNIFI Responsibility or Connect Elective

Course Description: How do we decide what is right and fair? When, if ever, is it permissible to break the law? What role should mercy and revenge play in legal and moral judgment? How should we respond to historical wrongs and how can we rectify social and legal injustices today? Such questions have not only preoccupied jurists and philosophers but have also figured prominently in literature. In this Honors UNIFI course, we consider how imaginative writers from ancient Greece to the present day have examined the nature, problems, and possibilities of justice. Literary texts may include: Sophocles’ Antigone; Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers”; Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun; Franz Kafka’s “In the Penal Colony”; the film adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”; and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. We examine the laws depicted in these texts, as well issues such as literature on trial and law as narrative. Activities include mock trials of characters, case study and legal research, a creative-writing project, and class debates. At the same time that we examine the contributions of literature to pressing moral, ethical, and legal debates, we will work on developing close reading and writing skills. Through class discussions and workshops, as well as short written assignments and formal essays, students will learn how to trace patterns in texts; how to analyze devices such as language, imagery, and tone; how to gather textual evidence to support your claims; and how to craft clear, well-organized, and well-developed arguments. By the end of the course, students will have gained a deeper understanding of the nature and possibilities of justice; learn to articulate appropriate professional and personal judgments that are rooted in an ethical and moral foundation; and apply these tools in order to promote stronger communities and a just society. 

Professor Biography: Dr. Jolene Zigarovich is an Associate Professor of English in the Department of Languages & Literatures. Her teaching interests include the long eighteenth century, women writers, Romanticism, and Gothic literature. She is author of Writing Death and Absence in the Victorian Novel:  Engraved Narratives, and editor of Sex and Death in Eighteenth-Century Literature as well as TransGothic in Literature and Culture. Her monograph Death and the Body in the Eighteenth-Century Novel (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023) had the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Currently, she is working on two new book projects that engage law and literature, Victorian Necropolitics: Legislating the Dead Body and the Novel, 1847-1874 and Legal Bodies: Women, Economies, and the Law in the Eighteenth-Century Novel. 

HIST 2011-04 Engaging Sources: Death & Memory 

Dr. Connors, 11:00am-12:15pm T/Th

Fulfills UNIFI Human Expression or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description:  Benjamin Franklin said, “Show me your cemeteries and I will show you what kind of people you have.” A cemetery is the richest historical landscape in any community; learning to read one offers deep insight to a place’s beliefs, values, and divisions. This class explores the art and architecture of death and memory. How do monuments represent lives and families with a few words or symbols engraved in stone? Through readings, images, and field trips, we’ll examine the history of burial practices across cultures and faiths, with a focus on American and Western traditions. The course is primarily discussion and student-driven, and largely project-based. Students will present on a research topic of their choice and also design a grave monument (for a subject of their choosing). There will be an opportunity to be in a UNI-themed cemetery walk or participate in alternative projects, possibly involving veterans.

Professor Biography: Professor Thomas Connors teaches courses on U.S., Irish, and British history. His research revolves around monuments, memory, and cemeteries. He served as the lead historian in creating lesson plans and short videos for the National Cemeteries’ outreach program. In workshops for social studies teachers, he developed tours of 65 cemeteries in 25 states, ranging from Orlando to Fairbanks. He has also written an article about how the original Sleepy Hollow (of Headless Horseman fame) evolved as a cemetery.

HIST 2020-01 Health in History: Topic (First Year Only section)  (THIS COURSE IS REPLACING HIST 3110)

Dr. McNabb, TBA T/Th

Fulfills UNIFI Responsibility or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description: Coming soon!

Professor Biography: Dr. McNabb is the Head of the UNI Department of History. She teaches courses on medieval and early modern Europe as well as the history of England, witchcraft, and the Black Death. She earned her PhD in History from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she specialized in the history of early modern England, 1485-1714, the period of witch-hunting in Europe. She graduated from an honors program as an undergraduate, served as an Associate Director of an Honors College, and has supervised Honors theses and projects throughout her career.

PHIL 1040-04 Justice and the Good Life

Dr. Preston, 2:00-2:50pm MWF

Fulfills UNIFI Responsibility or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description: When Martin Luther King Jr. penned his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” on scraps of newspaper and a used legal pad from a crowded cell, he called on the world to reconsider what we mean by the word “justice.” With no books, references, or sources, MLK Jr. cites from memory the words of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Buber, and Marx for his scathing critique of racism. He knowledgably unites an entire cannon of disparate thinkers around one idea: that justice, as equality, is a universal concept that binds all of us together and holds us all accountable. In this class we will track the history of this term “justice” and see how it evolves through the ages, becomes associated with religion then secularized, and finally reaches its zenith in the civil rights and feminist movements of the 20th century.

As an honors course, we will be working through smaller amounts of text with a higher degree of scrutiny. The class will require participation in active discussions of this material as part of the grade and will culminate with a project where the students get to emulate one of the writing styles found in these ancient thinkers to express their own thoughts on justice.

Professor Biography: I’m a UNI graduate who went on to complete an M.A. (UNM) and Ph.D. (USF) before returning to this wonderful community to settle down with my wife and two cats to live out my dream: teaching at UNI. Like any teacher worth their salt, I truly believe that my courses are the most important courses you will take, and that translates into passionate lectures and deep discussion. I’m a nerd of many stripes: I am interested in ancient philosophy, chess, video games, movies, and obscure etymological facts. Throughout the semester, I will inevitably come up with an example to explain a philosophical point that surprises both me and the class, and completely derails the conversation. 

POLSCI 1014-05  Power & Politics in U.S. 

Dr. Holmes, 11:00am-12:15pm T/Th

Fulfills UNIFI Human Condition-Domestic or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description: The American Republic has lasted more than 200 years, despite radical changes in society, technology, and the world context it is situated in. While there is considerable consistency in the ideas behind American government, situational pressures have required constant adaptation. Developments and events of the last few years such as the internet, 9/11 and the ensuing war on terror, and increased polarization of both political elites and voters. In this class, we will look at both the historical origins and contemporary manifestations of American democracy, political institutions, and the public itself. Specific topics will include institutions of government, political participation, civil rights and civil liberties, the mass media and public opinion, elections and representation, and governance in the internet age. We will be focusing particular attention this semester on areas where the Constitution fails to give adequate instructions on what to do in unique situations, and a look at why young people, particularly young women, seem alienated from seeking political office. 

Classes will be in the lecture discussion format, with considerable discussion. Each student will be responsible for leading class for a portion of one day. There will be two reflection papers, and 3 exams.

Professor Biography: Justin Holmes is an Associate Professor of Political Science and has taught at UNI since 2008. He earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota.  Professor Holmes's research and teaching focuses on Public Opinion, Voting Behavior, Political Communication, and Political Psychology. Recent projects include studies of the psychology of the impact of negative information on presidential approval, a study of how citizens form opinions about intervening in foreign conflicts, an examination of how campaigns and interest group use new media to mobilize supporters, and a current study on the politics of policy for people with disabilities. He currently serves as the Chair of the American Democracy Project at UNI, which focuses on promoting civic literacy and political participation among college students.  

RELS 1040-02 The Power of Myth: Creation Myths

Dr. Burnight, 12:00-12:50pm MWF

Fulfills UNIFI Human Expression or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description: How did the world come to exist? How did we get here? Why are we here? Such questions reflect what seems to be a universal human impulse to understand our origins and purpose. A wide variety of ideas on the subject have been proposed by mystics, sages, and scholars under the broad categories of religion, philosophy, and science, from the very beginning of the historical period down to modern times. This course will examine and compare a selection of creation myths from a number of ancient sources, such as those of the ancient Near East (including the Bible), Vedic Hinduism, traditional Chinese religion, and Greco-Roman mythology and philosophy, as well as later traditions from Norse, African, and Native American cultures. We will finish with a brief survey of some modern scientific ideas about the nature of the cosmos (e.g., the “Big Bang” theory), emphasizing the effect such theories have had on humanity’s view of its place in the universe, and whether there might be elements of “faith” inherent in these ideas as well. By examining how various cultures have addressed the issue of our beginnings, we might better understand the foundational assumptions underlying our own notions of identity and what it means to be “human.”

Image: Creation https://ibb.co/Ks7gs9s

Professor Biography: John Burnight is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and World Religions. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in 2011, with an emphasis on Hebrew language and literature. He has been a lecturer at a small private college in the Chicago suburbs and large public universities in Connecticut and North Carolina, teaching introductory and upper-level courses in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, World Religions, and the History of Monotheism. In 2007-08 he was a Fulbright-Hays Visiting Research Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research focuses on “subversive” or “protest” literature within the biblical texts: namely, works such as the Book of Job that speak “truth to power” and critique the dominant Israelite/Judahite theology of the biblical periods. 

WGS 1040-03 Women’s and Gender Studies 

Dr. Sutton, 9:30-10:45am T/Th

Fulfills UNIFI Human Condition-Global or UNIFI Connect Elective

Course Description: This course is designed to familiarize students with the academic field of women's and gender studies. Women's and gender studies uses interdisciplinary tools to analyze structural power and the ways that gender manifests itself in social, cultural, and political contexts. Through diverse readings, discussion, and activities, students will be asked to think critically about gender and its construction and reproduction in society and the effect on their own lives and families. Intersectionality with theories of race, class, and other social structures will be examined.

Professor Biography: Elizabeth Sutton is Professor of Art History and Head of the Department of Art at the University of Northern Iowa. She specializes in globalization and power in art as well as in active pedagogical research. She has edited Democratic Habits in the Art Classroom: Supporting Students’ Voice, Choice, and Community (Teachers College Press, 2023) and Women Artists and Patrons in the Netherlands, 1400-1700 (Amsterdam University Press, 2019). Monographs include Angel De Cora, Karen Thronson, and the Art of Place (University of Iowa Press, 2020), Art, Animals, and Experience: Relationships to Canines and the Natural World (Routledge, 2017), Capitalism and Cartography in the Dutch Golden Age (University of Chicago Press, 2015), and Early Modern Dutch Prints of Africa (Ashgate, 2012). Her current interests include various interdisciplinary projects that seek to amplify feminist research, methodology, and pedagogy.

Presidential Scholars Required Credit

Required and reserved for presidential scholars ONLY.

UNIV 1092-01 Presidential Scholars Seminar: Language Development, Brain and Society

Dr. Bleile, 3:00-4:50pm M

*2 credit hour seminar – 1st year Presidential Scholars ONLY

Course Description: We typically spend a large part of each day talking. Almost as soon as we wake up, words start tumbling from our mouths, one after another. Words pour from our lips all day long, their flow only stopping at night when we fall asleep-- and even then, we may continue talking in our dreams. In any single day, we use a multitude of words to -among much else- chat, discuss, palaver, share, hold forth, mutter, shout, address, expound, amuse, insinuate, explain, question, demand, suggest, and digress.

In this seminar we explore the nature, neurological basis, and social foundations of human language. We do this by traveling to another planet, where we, the diverse inhabitants of that world, evolve our brains, languages and societies. Through our world-building we attempt to understand What is language? What is the basis of language in the brain? What roles does language play in societies? How is human communication similar and different from the communications of other species? How do children learn to talk? Why do some people have language difficulties? Why do societies disfavor certain types of language?    

Professor Biography:  I am a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, where I teach in the areas of brain development, speech and its disorders, and early intervention. Some of my career highlights include writing several widely read books in my areas of expertise, and receiving the Iowa Regents Scholar Award, the Fine Arts Dean’s Awardfor Teaching Excellence, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Diversity Champion Award. Some of my weekend highlights include reading, baking and gardening, walking, and listening to Radiohead and Phoebe Bridgers.

UNIV 1092-02 Presidential Scholars Seminar: Sophomore Think Tank

Dr. Jessica Moon, 4:00-5:50pm T

*2 credit hour seminar – 2nd year Presidential Scholars ONLY

Course Description: Sophomore Think Tank provides the opportunity for scholars to identify and analytically approach a problem or issue affecting the campus or community. This fall, Think Tank will be focused on Issues in Higher Education. You'll use your newfound knowledge from the fall to identify a problem and propose a solution to be implemented in pairs or small groups during the spring Service-Learning seminar. The intent of the course is to provide a structured way for Presidential Scholars to grow intellectually while combining their strengths and talents for the benefit of our campus and community.  

Professor Biography: I have served as director of the University Honors Program at UNI since 2004, but I was once in your shoes as a UNI student (BA in Family Services and MAE in Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs). I went on to earn my PhD in Education (Educational Leadership) from Iowa State University. My day-to-day roles include student recruitment and advising, oversight of curricular and extra-curricular offerings, and administration of program scholarships. I believe in the value of active learning that takes place in the honors classroom, and I’m excited to experience that with all of you!  

Honors Advanced Credit

Advanced credit includes honors seminars, independent study, and the required honors thesis. Honors seminars are open to students with sophomore standing or above. Independent study is NOT required, but available as an option. Lastly, the honors thesis is typically a two-semester sequence required of all students completing an honors designation.

UNIV 2196-01 Honors Seminar: Language and Society

Dr. Ergul, 2:00-3:15pm T/Th 

**3 credit hour seminar – Requires sophomore standing 

Course Description: Language and Society is an interdisciplinary honors seminar at the crossroads of linguistics, sociology, and cultural anthropology. In this course, we examine how language both reflects and shapes social life: how the ways people speak, write, and interact can signal identity, group belonging, power, ideology, and assumptions about others. We will explore questions such as why some accents are valued over others, how language varieties become stigmatized, how everyday conversations communicate more than they seem to on the surface, and what language reveals about inequality, culture, and social change. Because this is an honors seminar, the course is built around active participation, discussion, and inquiry rather than memorization or busy work. Students will read, write, debate, analyze real language data, and help shape our conversations as we move through the semester. A central feature of the course is a small, scaffolded primary research project in which students investigate a language-and-society question connected to their own interests. In other words, students will not only learn about sociolinguistic ideas; they will use them. The goal is to leave the course seeing language differently: not simply as a tool for communication, but as one of the most revealing windows into society and into ourselves.

Professor Biography:  I am an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at UNI, where I also serve as Coordinator of TESOL Programs. I earned my PhD from East Texas A&M University. My teaching and research focus on second language acquisition, classroom language use, and the relationship between language, culture, and social meaning. I am especially interested in how language works in real life: how people use it to build relationships, express identities, navigate institutions, and make sense of the world around them. As a teacher, I care a great deal about creating classes that are intellectually challenging, discussion-rich, and genuinely engaging. I love helping students look more closely at things they thought were ordinary and realize there is far more going on underneath the surface. Outside of work, I enjoy traveling, noticing language wherever I go, and learning about different languages and cultures. If you have ever found yourself fascinated by the way people talk, text, judge, include, exclude, or misunderstand one another, you will probably feel at home in my class.

UNIV 4198-01 Honors Independent Study

Dr. Jessica Moon, arr

Course Description: The purpose of independent study is to provide students with an opportunity to participate in an educational experience beyond what is typically offered in the classroom.  Students must be prepared to exercise a great deal of independent initiative in pursuing such studies.  Honors students may receive independent study credit for research projects of their own or those shared with faculty members, certain internship opportunities, or some types of work or volunteer experiences. 

Students wishing to register for Honors Independent Study must meet with Jessica to discuss course requirements and have their registration holds removed.  https://jessica-honors.youcanbook.me/

UNIV 4197-01 Honors Thesis

Dr. Jessica Moon, arr

Course Description: The Honors Thesis is the final step towards earning a University Honors designation from the University of Northern Iowa.  The thesis gives Honors students the opportunity to explore a scholarly area of interest with the guidance of a faculty member.  It is intended to serve as the culmination of the Honors experience. 

The thesis provides you with experience in research as well as an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise.  While the process may at times be challenging, it will also be rewarding.  You will enhance your knowledge of the chosen topic and further develop your research or creative skills.  The final product should leave you with a sense of pride and accomplishment for what you have attained. 

Completion of the thesis is a two semester process.  Most will register for 1 credit of 010:197 to begin the process in the fall and 2 credits of 010:197 to complete their work in the spring (talk with Jessica if your situation requires a different split of hours).  Those wishing to register for Honors Thesis must meet with Jessica to discuss course requirements and have their registration holds removed.  https://jessica-honors.youcanbook.me/

Honors Contract

Contracting provides students with the opportunity to earn honors credit in non-honors courses. Credit is based on the fulfillment of a written contract between the student and the professor that outlines an enhanced learning experience above and beyond normal course requirements. Contracting is approved on a case-by-case basis, and there are restrictions on the number of honors credits students can contract.

Honors Contract Guidelines

Honors Study Abroad Credit

Students are strongly encouraged to make use of opportunities for international learning. There are many options for study abroad participation at UNI, from short summer study programs to semester or year-long exchanges. Students participating in non-honors study abroad programs can apply up to 3 hours of credit toward their honors designations through the completion of a travel journal and reflection paper. The journal should be compiled throughout the study experience and can be used to prepare a reflection paper upon the student's return. A request for credit must be submitted prior to travel, including a description of the themes or questions the student anticipates addressing in the reflection paper. Honors students with majors in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences or the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences are eligible to apply for travel funding through the Nadyne Harris Scholarship for Honors Travel and should use that application to request study abroad credit. All others should email their request for credit to Jessica Moon.

Study Abroad

*You do NOT need to register for additional credit for these options, but an application is required.