An Honors course is a course section created for students who are members of the Honors Program. Honors students can register for Honors courses on their own through Owl Link. Honors sections are smaller sections with a maximum enrollment of 20 students. They are offered in three different formats: classroom, blended, and contracts.
Classroom
Honors classroom courses are taught to foster an active, collaborative learning environment through discussion, debate, reflection, and student-led activities. Honors courses may offer value-added components that include service learning, practicum, field trips, film series, independent research, conference participation, web-enhanced discussion, and assignments.
Online
Honors online courses offer Honors students the same opportunities and enrichments as Honors face-to-face sections but in an online environment. Online courses require students to be self-directed, independent learners who are able to communicate effectively with the professor and their peers.
Online courses allow a student more flexibility regarding when the work is done. However, online courses are just as rigorous and require at least as much time as face-to-face class formats. Online students must have good computer equipment and internet access to facilitate success. Online students also need to be self-disciplined. Find out more about online courses at PGCC.
Honors Blended Sections
An Honors blended section is an Honors course offered concurrently with a non-Honors section. Both sections meet at the same time and day, in the same classroom, and are taught by the same faculty member. As in an Honors course, enrollment is limited. The two sections combined will total 20 students. Honors blended sections offer Honors students the opportunity to undertake Honors-level work in courses that lack sufficient enrollment to be offered exclusively as Honors sections.
Classroom instruction will be the same for Honors and non-Honors students. However, course syllabi, assignments, grading rubrics, and out-of-class research will be differentiated between the Honors and non-Honors sections. Honors students may be assigned to work together in and outside of class on additional or different assignments as they relate the course content and learning objectives. Students taking the course for Honors credit will be on a separate roster and will receive an Honors notation on their academic transcript.
Honors Contracts
An Honors contract is an agreement between a professor and a student to undertake accelerated, in-depth study of the material while enrolled in a non-Honors course. Honors contracts allow students to engage in Honors work and receive Honors credit for courses not offered in the Honors curriculum. Students must complete an Honors contract eligibility form before beginning to prepare the contract. The faculty member must prepare, in consultation with the Honors student, a detailed statement of work to be performed, including the assignments, deadlines, percentages, and rubric for evaluating the work. The student, faculty, department chair, and division dean must review and approve this supplemental statement of work. The document must be returned to the Honors Program coordinator for approval no later than the third week of the semester. Students must maintain a 3.2 GPA to complete the Honors contract.
Students who successfully complete an Honors face-to-face, online, hybrid, or Honors contract will receive an Honors notation on their academic transcript at the end of the semester.
Contact Us
Lanham Hall, Room 102A
301 Largo Rd., Largo, MD 20774
Monday–Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 301-546-7530
Fax: 301-546-0456
Email: honors@pgcc.edu