Honors College
We provide opportunities for students to transform themselves from learners into leaders.
The Honors College is in the process of being closed and a replacement Honors Program is being developed with an anticipated launch of Fall 2027 or later. Please check back for more information.
Transforming Learners into Leaders
Through a rigorous curriculum and distinctive experiential-learning activities, the Honors College seeks to create a community of learners prepared for a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, inquiry, scholarship, and service.
What is the Honors College?
The Honors College at Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a small college of approximately 100 highly motivated students that exists within the larger university at SOU. It provides the students who are admitted to the Honors College with a unique general education curriculum along with substantial scholarships reserved for Honors College “Scholars,” which are renewable for a total of four years. The Honors College curriculum is only open to Honors College Scholars, taught in smaller than typical class sizes by some of the best and most engaged faculty on campus. Honors College scholars enjoy a challenging, rigorous curriculum, enriching activities both inside and outside of the classroom, and opportunities for both leadership and service. The Honors College fosters a sense of community and belonging, with peer mentoring and an Honors College lounge, recreation room, and kitchen. The Honors College supports its scholars in becoming leaders on campus and in their communities through a program that requires scholars to “Take the Lead,” give service, and engage in internships or study abroad experiences before they graduate from SOU. The unique experience of being a scholar in the Honors College creates a community of learners prepared for a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, inquiry, leadership, scholarship, and service.
What are the Benefits of Being in the Honors College at SOU?
- Four years of tuition scholarships
- Freshman orientation activities make it easy to make new friends
- Take classes with your cohort for four years
- Peer mentors and a strong sense of community and belonging
- Outstanding SOU professors
- Challenging curriculum that works for any major
- Individualized advising and early registration
- Small classes
- Internships and leadership opportunities
- Cultural events, outdoors activities, and enriching programs beyond the classroom
- Honors College lounge and study space
- Portfolios
- “Honors College” on diploma
- A lifelong and diverse network of high-achieving colleagues
What SOU Honors College Students are Saying
The Honors College at SOU has given me a challenging and rewarding educational experience, and I know that the skills and relationships I have formed will enrich my life even after I graduate.
The Southern Oregon University Honors College introduced me to amazing teachers who have encouraged me to achieve my full potential, courses that have expanded my mind, and fellow students who have collaborated with me on my journey toward leadership. It has been the catalyst that ignited my passion for learning and my desire to serve the wider community.
Belonging to the Honors cohort has helped me think more outside the box. Listening, conversing with, and getting to know my fellow honors students has been exciting, enlightening, and mind-opening.
I’ve met some of my best and most cherished friends in the Honors College. We’ve really become close after attending classes together, participating in a wide range of co-curricular activities, and even living together. I will forever be grateful for the lifelong friends and connections I have made, and I thank the Honors College for this incredible opportunity!
For me, the Honors College at Southern Oregon University is more than just a title on my diploma. We are a family who grow together, challenge each other to be the best versions of ourselves, and support each other along our paths to success. I am so incredibly grateful for all the experiences and relationships that I have gained through the Honors College and I believe that being an Honors College student has provided me will all the tools I will need to fulfill my personal and career aspirations.
The Honors College allows me to build leadership skills through Take the Lead Projects. I can tailor the projects to my passions and interests, giving me more experience in my future career field.
The Southern Oregon University Honors College is full of passionate people. I wanted to immerse myself in a learning community that pushes me toward excellence! When I learned that by joining the Honors College I would be surrounded by those who are dedicated to intellectual growth, service, community engagement, and responsible global citizenship… I knew I had found my educational home!
As an international student, I greatly appreciate the fact that the Honors College provides a broad education about the global political leaders, governments, and economic systems. The Community Partner Mentor Program and the Democracy Project are both outstanding outside-the-classroom initiatives. The Honors College truly provides an opportunity to improve people’s lives through local and international community service events.
To me, the most important parts of being an Honors College Scholar have little to do with academics. It is the mentorships (both being mentored and mentoring others), the thought-provoking conversations, the volunteering, the international projects, and the opportunities for leadership that make the Honors College at SOU special. I have been challenged constantly to broaden my mind and seek out new perspectives, and that, to me, is invaluable.
Doors I didn’t even know existed opened for me because of the connections the Honors College brought into my life.
The Honors College scholarship allowed me to travel across the country to a state I’ve always wanted to visit, and finally discover a place where I could see myself living in the future.
As a first generation Latino student, the Honors College at SOU has given me the opportunity to attain and afford higher education through the scholarships we earn. The Honors College challenges us to become leaders in our community, and supports us unconditionally in our quest for knowledge.
For me, the SOU Honors College has been an absolute blessing. I was already sold on the classes, projects, and community aspects, and then, when Dr. Mulliken mentioned the scholarships, I was ecstatic that my transfer from Nebraska would actually be possible. The Honors College staff has stood by me and offered support since before I even set foot on campus. I cannot overstate how grateful I am to be here.
When I was considering which university to attend, what first caught my attention about SOU was its Honors College and corresponding scholarship support. Once I arrived on campus and immersed myself in the Honors College experience, I began to realize that there is so many other benefits to being an Honors College scholar. I especially appreciate the small class sizes, emphasis on community, service orientation, and intellectual rigor.
The Honors College has not only provided me with a great education but also some of my best friends. I love that I get to take classes with like-minded people who challenge me to learn and ask questions.
SOU’s Honors College has offered me an experience and opportunity to make close connections with not just individual students, but with a whole community of students all with vastly different fields of interest and personalities. I’ve made friends with people that I otherwise would have never met within my major.
