Welcome, New Honors Students!

Welcome, new Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College students, to an intellectual community that asks big questions and makes bold plans for the future.  We want you to find your passion for inquiry and your reason to engage in more meaningful work.

Save the dates!

  • Honors Induction - October 5, 2024. The Honors Induction ceremony welcomes new students and their families to the Cohen Honors College. 
  • Walk-In Honors Advising Available - August 12-16, 2024. Cohen Honors College students are encouraged to stop by the Honors Student Lounge front desk and sign-up for a walk-in advising appointment with the Honors advisor.
  • Shockfest Honors College Open House - August 16, 2024. At 2:30 p.m., the Cohen Honors College will host our official college welcome in the Honors Student Lounge located in Shocker Hall, Building A. See the Shockfest schedule of events for more information.
  • Follow the college on  @CohenHonorsWSU for events and opportunities each week. 

Find Your Honors Path

Honors Curriculum and First-Year Advising

We often say that we aim to do more meaningful work in Cohen Honors, and we do this by aiming to fulfill the four pillars established by the students who wrote the college charter.

Honors curriculum paths comprised of courses that meet general education or major requirements allow you to choose how you earn honors. 

  • Honors Colloquium: All new honors students take HNRS 102 in fall and HNRS 103 in spring. This new zero-credit course sequence meets at least two times each semester. It's designed to introduce you to honors opportunities and build honors community in your first year. If the meeting times don't work with your schedule, your first-year advisor will let us know. Below are the Fall 2024 meeting days and time. 
    • 9/11/2024 - 3:30-5:00pm
    • 10/16/2024 - 3:30-5:00pm
    • 11/20/2024 - 3:30-5:00pm
  • First-Year Honors Courses: There are many types of honors courses for your first year. These include pre-requisites for your major,  such as PSY 111H or ECON 201H, and Honors First-Year Seminars. Fall honors FYHN topics include:
    • Me and My Place in the World
    • Facts, Opinions, and Why They Matter
    • Community & Cultural Connections
    • Discovering Humanity
  • 8-week Class Cohorts: We've scheduled two of the first-year seminars as 8-week classes and scheduled two department honors courses at the same time in the second 8 weeks so that you can get to know a group of honors students and can take more than one honors course in your first semester, if you choose.
  • First-Year Advising: Your first- year advisor will place you in an honors course in your fall semester when possible. It doesn't always work with your schedule, so you may take your honors course in your spring semester instead.

Many Options: You may take more than one honors course in a semester if you choose, and you may work with a faculty member to turn one of your regular courses into an honors course with an honors option agreement. We recommend the honors option only for your second semester and beyond.

There are many ways to earn honors - not only through courses listed in the schedule of courses each semester. Visit the Types of Honors Courses and the year-by-year sequence of courses pages on our website for more information. 

Benefits and Opportunities

  • Honors has 24/7 student space in Shocker Hall with multiple study areas, a break room with a microwave and lockers, a dedicated classroom, computers and free printing.  All Honors students, whether living on campus or off, have 24-hour keycard access to this space. 
  • First-Year Research opportunities in spring. 
  • Student Leadership opportunities throughout the year:

Student Fee

The expanded Honors student space in Shocker Hall, technology, programming, and some teaching are supported in part by a $50 per semester program fee for all Honors students.