OTC Honors Program

The OTC Honors Program provides academically motivated high-achieving students who conduct themselves in a responsible and respectful manner the opportunity to engage with a community of scholars through a variety of individualized or learner-directed experiences. These experiences may include collaboration with instructors and peers, enhanced or additional learning environments, and real-world experiences both in the classroom and beyond to explore learning that is broader, deeper, unique, or more complex than traditional educational experiences.

No application is required to join the OTC Honors Program. To pursue the Honors Program as a part of any OTC degree, enroll in an Honors course of your choice, email honors@otc.edu to request an invite to the Honors Program Canvas site, or speak with your OTC Navigator. The Honors Program can be completed as a part of any OTC degree through a combination of traditional Honors courses/sections and individualized Honors Contracts completed in regular courses/sections in any area of the College.

Benefits:

  • A unique, individualized, and learner-directed educational experience.
  • Create lasting connections with like-minded Honors students and dedicated instructors.
  • Scholarship opportunities at OTC and at other colleges/universities upon transfer.
  • Honors Program graduates earn an Honors Studies Certificate of Specialization along with their degree upon graduation, a merit earned by less than 1% of OTC graduates.
  • Earn honors credits that are transferable to Honors Colleges at many universities including Missouri State, Drury, Missouri Southern, the University of Missouri, and many others.

Completion Requirements

  • Complete HON-101: Honors Seminar (3 credits)
    • Offered online each FA/SP/SU Semester
    • Optional “Prior Learning Credit” opportunity available through Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
  • Complete 12 additional Honors credits
    • May Include:
      • HON-290: Honors Service-Learning
      • HON-195/199: Phi Theta Kappa Officer Development
      • HON-295: Honors Selected Topics
      • Any Honors course/section offered with HON, HON1, WHON1, VHON1, or HHON1 in the section number
        • Ex. COM-105-HON1, ENG-295-HHON1, BIO-135-WHON1
      • Honors Contracts supervised by the Honors Office, in which the student works with an instructor in a regular class/section to add honors elements and earn honors credit.
  • Complete an OTC sanctioned Service-Learning Experience
    • Either by completing HON-290: Honors Service-Learning (also counts towards the 15 Honors credits needed to complete the program) or a Service-Learning component in a traditional course/section facilitated by the OTC Office of Service-Learning.

 

*All classes must be completed with a letter grade of ‘B’ or above to be considered a completed Honors course and count toward the OTC Honors Program completion requirements.

* For more information about Phi Theta Kappa “Prior Learning Credit”, Honors Contracts, or adding a Service-Learning component, please visit Honors Program – Course Substitutes.

* Receiving an Honors Studies Certificate of Specialization is dependent on fulfilling all requirements for completion of the Honors Program and maintaining a cumulative OTC GPA of 3.5 or above.