Dig deeper into your interests by taking Frederick Honors College courses, which are both more challenging and more interesting. In these courses, you will engage in the material with richer analysis, cutting-edge tools, and through the lens of culture and society. Frederick Honors College faculty fellows, specialists from across the University, design and teach our courses with the intellectual needs of our students in mind.
Enrolling in Honors courses
Use PeopleSoft/Campus Experience (CX) to find the list of all Honors courses being offered. On the Class Search page, select Frederick Honors Course in the Course Attribute pull-down menu to get the list.
If you do not meet the enrollment requirements for an Honors course, you must contact the professor teaching the course to obtain their permission to enroll in it. When you email the professor, explain why you're interested in taking the course and offer details about any skills/experiences you will bring to the course.
If the professor is willing to waive the enrollment requirements to allow you to enroll in the course, the professor can direct you to someone in their department who can issue you a permission number, or the professor can send an email message to David Hornyak (hornyak@pitt.edu) with the following information:
- The course department and number (e.g., HIST 1234)
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your PeopleSoft ID number
You will be emailed a permission number in return.
Honors Course Enhancement Contracts
Honors course enhancement contracts allow David C. Frederick Honors College students the opportunity to earn course credit for Honors Degree or Honors Distinction program requirements in an undergraduate course that does not already fulfill an FHC requirement.
Examples of courses approved for FHC requirements that cannot have a course enhancement include:
- Courses with the Frederick Honors Course attribute
- Courses with the High Impact Attribute Values of Undergraduate Research, Undergraduate Internship, and Capstone Course
- Courses with the Civic Learning and Civic Learning + Engagement attributes
- Courses used to fulfill honors-approved certificates/programs
- Courses that have an honors version of it available (e.g., introductory biology, chemistry, physics, etc.)
Additionally, undergraduate courses with the writing intensive course (w-course) attribute cannot have an honors course enhancement contract associated with them.
Instructors are not obligated to agree to a request from a student to create an honors course enhancement contract for their class.
The experience and subsequent product(s) must engage the student beyond a more passive requirement, such as adding one additional paper for the class, although a paper may be one component of the deliverable.
Instructors and students are encouraged to be creative in their approach by considering:
- Presentations
- Individual research projects or assistance with instructor research
- Using innovative technologies
- Producing creative works
- Community engagement or service-learning projects
- Preparing and presenting class lectures or designing and testing lab projects
- Reflecting on intellectual development opportunities related to the course, such as visiting museums, galleries, archives, or attending guest lectures or seminars
An honors course enhancement may be designed for an individual student, or several students may work together under one contract.
A contract form (PDF) is submitted to David Hornyak no later than the end of the add/drop period of the semester in which the course is being taught. The contract form includes details of how the course enhancement provides greater depth to the course and a description of the deliverable product(s). The contract form is signed by the student and the course instructor. If several students are working on the same enhancement project together, separate contract forms must be completed for each student, although the details about the enhancement project can be the same for all students involved.
At the end of the semester, David Hornyak will provide the instructor with an evaluation form through Qualtrics to assess the student’s performance and success in meeting the requirements of the contract. The evaluation is due when course grades are submitted.
The evaluation of the honors course enhancement contract is separate from the grading for the course. Failure to complete the contract’s requirements will have no impact on the grade the student receives for the course.
If the student successfully completes the requirements of the honors course enhancement contract, they will be given credit for an honors course requirement as part of the Honors Degree or Honors Distinction.
For questions or assistance in developing an honors course enhancement contract, students and instructors are encouraged to discuss possible ideas with the Frederick Honors College by contacting Assistant Dean David Hornyak at hornyak@pitt.edu.
SPIA courses for Frederick Honors students
Are you interested in public service and learning how our world works? Do you want to challenge yourself by taking a graduate-level course? Any Honors College student is welcome to cross-register and take a course from the Graduate School of Public & International Affairs.
To request a permission code that will allow you to register, please email rkidney@pitt.edu and specify which course you would like to take. You will receive a reply within 2-3 business days.
Course examples include:
- PIA 0601 Ideas to Impact: Persuasive Communication for Public Policy
- PIA 0602 Ethics & Equity in Public Policy
- PIA 1103 Multinational Corporations & Global Policy Challenges
- PIA 1107 Workers Without Borders
- PIA 1108 Global Sustainability Policy
- PIA 2096 Capstone: Non-Profit Clinic
- PIA 2473 Strategies of Global Inquiry
- PIA 2502 Environmental Policy: Local & Global
PIA 2210 Race, Gender, Law & Policy
