University of Pittsburgh Honors College

The University of Pittsburgh Honors College (termed the "Honors College" by students and often abbreviated UHC) is an undergraduate college providing a program of advanced study at the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Arising out of the University Honors Program founded in 1978, it transitioned into a college formally dedicated in 1987. The University Honors College provides undergraduate classes that are more challenging and exhaustive than their non-honors counterparts in a wide variety of academic disciplines via collaboration with the other schools of the university. In addition, students are provided with specialized advising and honors housing opportunities. Rather than applying for admission to the UHC and then taking classes solely within it, the honors college does not have a formal membership, but is open to all students meeting certain eligibility requirements, or acquiring special permission, and offers flexibility for students to take advantage of its offerings and resources in accordance to their individual motivation.UHC awards a special Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.) degree to graduates and has successfully helped to culture its students to a school record number of national and international awards including seven Rhodes Scholarships,10 Marshall Scholarships, 48 Goldwater Scholarships, 11 Truman Scholarships, and seven Udall Scholarships; as well as Churchill and Gates Cambridge scholarships.

Academic offerings and community

The University of Pittsburgh Honors College offers between 70 and 80 undergraduate courses each year, from introductory courses to upper-level seminars In offering its courses, the UHC focuses on providing small class sizes (usually restricted to 18 or fewer students), and faculty who must present detailed course proposals before teaching classes. This is done to ensure that UHC courses continue to focus on in-depth examination of course material rather than an accelerated program which would cover more ground.

The University Honors College offers students the opportunity to earn the Bachelor of Philosophy degree in their major. The degree, unrelated to the study of philosophy, is awarded jointly through the UHC and any of the University of Pittsburgh's other undergraduate programs in recognition of a rigorous course of study and ends with an undergraduate thesis. The University Honors College has had the authority to award such a degree since 1987.

The honors college also provides the programs such as The American Experience Distinguished Lecture Series and the Brackenridge Fellowship Program that supports the research endeavors of 52 undergraduate fellows.

Various student groups exist within the honors college including the Student Honors Activities Council, which plans a variety of cocurricular events for honors students, as well as the Pitt Quiz Bowl team, and various other clubs such as the Pizza and Plays and Pizza and Prose book clubs. In addition, the honors college produces four publications including an award-winning undergraduate literary magazine founded in 1995, the Three Rivers Review,

Location

The University Honors College is housed on the 35th and 36th floors of the Cathedral of Learning. The location of the Honors College near the top of the Cathedral of Learning affords students and visitors with large vistas of the campus and surrounding city. In 2002-2003, a renovation to the Honors College's space was completed by Rothschild Doyno Collaborative of Pittsburgh's Strip District. The four-leaf medieval quatrefoil medallion at the top of the Cathedral is a central motif in the design of Honors College. Stained glass behind the reception desk at the center of the space was design by Glenn Greene Glass of Regent Square and centers on a design representing the four seasons, done in polished agate. Wrought ironwork was produced by Vic Reynaud of Technique Manufacturing in the spirit of Samuel Yellin who did the Commons Room ironwork.