Looking  for a Community That Pushes You Further?

If you’re searching for a campus community that values curiosity, active learning, and exploring beyond the classroom, the University of Iowa Honors Program might be the perfect fit. Honors adds an extra layer to your academic and social experience, connecting you with students who love to challenge themselves and dive deeper into learning.

What Do Honors Students Actually Do?

Before classes even begin, you’ll kick things off with Honors Primetime, a one-credit workshop during On Iowa! welcome week. It’s designed to help you explore campus and Iowa City while meeting Honors faculty, staff, and connecting with other new Honors students.

Primetime topics change each year and range from children’s literature and steel drums to tree identification, Iowa City’s music history, and leadership. It’s a low-pressure way to start college while getting plugged into the Honors community from day one.

Once the semester begins, you’ll take Introduction to Honors, a course that helps you understand the program, explore opportunities, and connect with the Honors community.

Many first-year students begin with an Honors First-Year Seminar, which is a small, discussion-based course built around big questions.

One of our tour guides, Nina, took Solving the Grand Challenges of Sustainability. The class sparked conversations about climate change, sustainable agriculture, and population growth, and ended up shaping her academic path. She later added two majors—Environmental Policy and Planning and Geographical and Sustainability Sciences—all because of that early Honors experience!

Honors Courses and Beyond

Honors sections are offered for many classes you’d already take, like Principles of Chemistry for science and engineering majors. You’ll attend the same lecture as everyone else, but your discussion section will be all Honors students, which means smaller groups, deeper conversations, and more engagement.

If you want more flexibility, you can contract a class for Honors credit by working with your professor on an extra project. This is a favorite option for second-year students who’ve built strong faculty relationships. One student, Emma, contracted a Linguistics class to study accents. That project grew into a long-term research opportunity she’s still pursuing today!

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Honors isn’t just about coursework. It’s about experiences. You’ll complete experiential learning and reflection activities that might include research, internships, study abroad, volunteering, or even serving as a teaching assistant.

Take Patrick, for example, he completed a global internship in Prague the summer before his junior year, then spent eight weeks student teaching near Iowa City and another eight weeks in New Zealand. These experiences gave him professional skills, cultural insights, and unforgettable memories—all for Honors credit!

Community and Support

Honors students are supported through peer mentors and the option to live in Honors housing in Catlett Residence Hall. Living in Honors housing is optional, and Honors students live across campus in many residence halls and Living Learning Communities.

Housing applications open in January, with Honors admissions notifications released in late February.

How to Apply

There are no strict minimum requirements for Honors admission. Applications are reviewed holistically, looking at your transcript, activities list, and essay. We’re looking for students who engage fully and show strong self-reflection.

The application opens in September in your Admissions Profile on MyUI. If you don’t see it, contact your admissions counselor to have it added. The deadline for incoming first-year students is January 16, 2026, at 12 p.m. CST.

Learn more about the application process.

Why Honors?

If you want an education that goes deeper, with more opportunities, support, and connections, the Honors Program is for you. You’ll benefit from smaller, discussion-based courses, research and experiential learning, and meaningful relationships with faculty and peers. Honors opens doors to mentorship, leadership, and undergraduate research — experiences that prepare you for graduate school, professional programs, and impactful careers.