The Honors Outside the Classroom Curriculum (Honors OCC) is a points-based program to help you broaden your experience at Pitt and engage with the greater community. From scholarly to social activities, the program serves as a roadmap to enrich your collegiate experience. By participating in a wide range of experiences and events, you have the flexibility to create your own path and select the opportunities you find most interesting.
Requirements
Completing the Honors OCC is required for both the Honors degree and Honors distinction. To complete the Honors OCC, you must:
- Earn 1,200 total points: at least 100 points in each of the 10 competencies, plus an additional 200 in the category of your choice. (Point values vary.)
- Remain active in the OCC every academic year to stay in good standing for your program.
To stay on track for graduation, you should hit a progress milestone in the app each academic year. The Honors OCC takes about 5-8 semesters to complete, so you should get started as soon as you're admitted to an Honors program. Once you've met the graduation requirements, you can (and should!) continue to earn points for the leaderboards.
You can browse all the eligible activities, verify your points, and track your progress through the Pitt OCC Suitable app (the same app you use for the general Pitt OCC.) Also, visit the Frederick Honors College blog for a list of permanent activities and experiences to explore.
Honors OCC Competencies
- Communication Skills
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Articulate thoughts and express ideas effectively through a variety of senses and mediums including oral, written, visual, non-verbal communication skills, and listening skills to gain understanding. The individual adapts and delivers information effectively in person, in writing, and through digital technology.
- Career Preparation
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Formulate career goals and develop competitive knowledge, experiences, and strengths for future employment or acceptance into graduate or professional school. The individual is able to articulate skills relevant to the position desired and identify areas necessary for professional growth.
- Appreciation of the Arts
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New accordion contentBuild upon one’s personal relationship with art by experiencing various forms of expression including performative, visual and linguistic. The individual develops a broad appreciation of the abstract nature of art that expands beyond creation.
- Global & Cultural Engagement
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Seek to understand how social, economic and political actions affect both local and global communities towards better addressing the world’s most pressing and enduring issues. The individual is an informed, open-minded, and responsible citizen who is attentive to diversity across the spectrum of natural, physical, and cultural differences.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
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Value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. The individual demonstrates openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and understand others’ differences.
- Leadership Development
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Elicit the strengths of others to achieve common goals and use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. The individual leads by example and inspires, persuades and motivates self and others under a shared vision.
- Research, Scholarship & Creative Work
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Contribute to a field of study through the exploration of new and existing knowledge. The individual fosters an understanding of foundational concepts of scholarly work, effective communication techniques across disciplines, and transferable skills applicable to any career pathway.
- Civic & Social Engagement
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Work to make a difference in the civic life of communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference including promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes. The individual encompasses actions through participation in activities of personal and public concern that are both individually life enriching and socially beneficial to the community.
- Well-Being
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Shape personal values, beliefs and experiences into the development of one’s own unique identity. The individual is committed to civility and draws upon emotional intelligence to achieve healthy mental, physical, financial and emotional states, contributing to overall wellness.
- Honors Pride
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Through engaging in the spirit and purpose of the University of Pittsburgh Honors College community, we work to be strong, powerful forces that help to positively shape our Pitt Honors community and the world as a whole.