Honors

The School of Human Ecology offers several honors opportunities to our students. You will encounter the humanities and the sciences, business and the arts. Our students become physicians, clinical dietitians, cancer researchers, public health professionals, museum curators, social workers, retail entrepreneurs, public policy practitioners and apparel designers. Our students develop knowledge through observation, interaction, research, and writing.

As an honors student, you want to take your education further. You want to take smaller challenging courses. You want to be a part of a scholarly community. You want to do cutting-edge research. You are inquisitive, and you care about people.

You are science based and human focused–just like us.

To view faculty research interests and program opportunities, learn more on the School of Human Ecology website:

Degree Programs

What: Complete a 4-year degree plan that allows students to take small honors versions of major level courses, work closely with faculty, complete independent research, write a thesis and present at the Honors Symposium. Dive deeply into the Human Ecology fields of study while getting a strong natural sciences education. See Honors Thesis Guidelines for more information.

This is currently available for the BS Human Development & Family Sciences: Honors in Advanced Human Development & Family Sciences (HAHDFS) degree option.

For the Honors in Advanced Nutritional Sciences (HANS) program, students select any BS Nutrition option to pair with their honors research coursework. Degree options include dietetics (registered dietitian nutritionist pathway), nutritional sciences, or nutrition and public health.

Benefits: Be a part of a small community of honors scholars; work closely with faculty; explore and perform cutting edge research; dedicated staff and faculty support; scholarship opportunities. Receive an honors degree, a certificate, and a line on your transcript stating “Special Honors in [department]”

Eligibility:

Demonstrated high academic performance in the past and potential for future success
Must have 3.3 GPA overall and 3.5 GPA in Human Ecology courses

Receiving Honors:

Maintain the GPA requirements listed above
Submit a Special Departmental Honors Thesis Application Form/Thesis Proposal and receive approval before registering for the 379H thesis course
Earn a letter grade of at least a B on the 379H thesis course
Present at the School of Human Ecology Honors Symposium
Submit a bound/ signed copy of the thesis to the School as well as a digital copy to archive in the UT Digital Repository.

How To Apply: Incoming Freshman

How to Apply: Incoming Freshman

Incoming freshmen should complete the College of Natural Sciences Honors application when applying to UT. The recommended deadline for incoming freshmen is October 15. The regular deadline for incoming freshmen is December 1.

If you are, or soon will be, a High School Graduate and have not enrolled in college after high school:

Nutritional Sciences:

Complete the application for Freshman Admission and select Nutritional Sciences as your first or second major preference.
At the end of the online application, check the box that states that you are interested in applying for an honors program.
- Note: You will not be able to begin the honors program application until you have submitted your admission application. (It can take up to 24 hours for you ApplyTexas application to be received by UT Austin once you submit it on the ApplyTexas site. Please submit early to avoid complications and delays.)
Complete and submit the honors program application by the DECEMBER 1 deadline. All students who select Nutritional Sciences as a major preference and apply to the College of Natural Sciences Honors will also be considered for HANS regardless of which honors program you indicate as your preference.

Human Development and Family Sciences:

Complete the online application for Freshman Admission and select Human Development and Family Sciences (E 56000) as your first or second major preference.
At the end of the application, check the box that states that you are interested in applying for an honors program.
- Note: You will not be able to begin the honors program application until you have submitted your admission application. (It can take up to 24 hours for you ApplyTexas application to be received by UT Austin once you submit it on the ApplyTexas site. Please submit early to avoid complications and delays.)
Complete and submit the honors program application by the DECEMBER 1 deadline. All students who select Human Development and Family Sciences as a major preference and apply to the College of Natural Sciences Honors will also be considered for HAHDFS regardless of which honors program you indicate as your preference.

**If you are an incoming freshman student interested in HANS or HAHDFS, but you did not list Nutritional Sciences or Human Development and Family Sciences as your major preference and/or you did not complete the CNS Honors application, please contact Dr. Ladia Hernandez, Research Advisor - SoHE Honors Program - GEA 30C, (512) 471-0890.

How to Apply: Continuing or Transfer Student

How to Apply: Current UT Students

If you are a Continuing or Transfer student:

Nutritional Sciences - Complete the HANS Continuing and Transfer Student Application and submit the form to Dr. Ladia Hernandez, Research Advisor - SoHE Honors Program. Have a faculty member complete and submit the HANS Reference Form.
Human Development and Family Sciences - Complete the HAHDFS Continuing and Transfer Student Application and submit the form to Dr. Ladia Hernandez, Research Advisor - SoHE Honors Program. Have a faculty member complete and submit the HAHDFS Reference Form.
It is important that your reference knows about you as a person in addition to your academic abilities. If you do not have a professor who knows you well enough, we will also accept references from a high school teacher or advisor. Your application will not be considered complete until the reference is received. Give your reference plenty of time to submit the form before the deadline.

**Continuing and transfer students are admitted to the HANS and HAHDFS programs on a rolling basis. Please submit your application as soon as possible.

Special Departmental Honors

The School of Human Ecology offers Special Departmental Honors within Human Development and Family Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, Public Health and Textiles and Apparel. This can be added to any degree option for students who are interested in completing an honors thesis with a faculty supervisor.

What: Work closely with faculty, complete independent research, write a thesis and present your work over a 1-2 semester commitment. See Honors Thesis Guidelines for more information.

Benefits: Receive a certificate and a line on your transcript stating “Special Honors in [department]”

Eligibility:

Must have 3.3 GPA overall and 3.5 GPA in Human Ecology courses
Approval of Honors Faculty Advisor
Must apply Spring semester of Junior year or 2+ long semesters before graduating
Completed at least 60 hours of coursework before beginning thesis
Some faculty members require additional lab or field experience, so inquire early if interested in pursuing special honors.

Receiving Honors:

Maintain the GPA requirements listed above
Submit a Special Departmental Honors Thesis Application Form/Thesis Proposal and receive approval before registering for the 379H thesis course.
Earn a letter grade of at least a B on the 379H thesis course
- Public Health students pursuing Special Departmental Honors are expected to complete two semesters of 379H.
- Most students should plan to take two semesters 379H to provide sufficient time to complete the thesis.
Present at the School of Human Ecology Honors Symposium
Submit a signed and approved PDF of the thesis to the School
Optional: submit a digital copy to archive in the UT Digital Repository.

How to Apply

Students should apply no later than the spring semester of their Junior year or 2+ long semesters before graduating.

Set up a meeting with Dr. Ladia Hernandez (ladia.hernandez@austin.utexas.edu). At the meeting, you will review and discuss the guidelines for Special Departmental Honors.
Set up a meeting with the faculty member you want to be your Honors Thesis Supervisor (must be a SoHE faculty member in your major).
At the meeting, you will discuss possible thesis projects. You may be asked to spend a semester in the faculty member’s lab before beginning your thesis project. If the faculty member agrees to supervise your thesis project, you will need to complete the Special Departmental Honors Thesis Application Form/Thesis Proposal. See Honors Thesis Guidelines for details. Discuss a choice for a second reader with your supervisor before you approach your second reader (details in step 4).
Write a Thesis Project Proposal.
You will need to provide a Thesis Project Proposal when you submit your SoHe Honors Thesis Application. Once you have completed the proposal and the faculty member has approved the proposal, obtain the faculty member's signature of approval on the application form.
Set up a meeting with the faculty member you want to be your Honors Thesis Second Reader (any UT faculty member).
Provide the final version of your Thesis Project Proposal to the faculty member in advance of the meeting. Bring a copy of Thesis Project Proposal and the SoHE Honors Thesis Application (with all portions complete except the Second Reader signature section) to this meeting.
Turn in your completed SoHE Honors Thesis Application and the most recent version of your Thesis Project Proposal to Dr. Ladia Hernandez in GEA 30C by December 1 to start in the spring semester and May 1 for fall semester.
**Do not be discouraged by this deadline. If you are interested in earning Special Departmental Honors, but have missed this deadline, contact Dr. Ladia Hernandez to discuss your options.
Your application and proposal will be given to the Honors Faculty Adviser in your department for final approval.
You will be contacted if any changes need to be made to your project before beginning your work. If everything is approved, you will be allowed to register for the appropriate Honors Tutorial Course.

Honors Course Registration

The Human Ecology Honors Research & Honors Thesis courses are restricted to students who have permission to enroll. These courses do not have specific class meeting times listed on the Course Schedule, and the expectation is average ~9 hours/week for research activities and lab meetings. Your specific schedule will be discussed directly between you and your supervising professor. Instructions for gaining registration access are provided below.

Honors Research: HDF 355H, NTR 355H
Honors Tutorial Course (Thesis): HDF 379H, NTR 379H, PBH 379H, TXA 379H

Honors in Advanced HDFS (HAHDFS) and Honors in Advanced Nutritional Sciences (HANS):

Students pursuing the BS HDFS: Honors in Advanced Human Development & Family Sciences (HAHDFS) or Honors in Advanced Nutritional Sciences (HANS) are required to complete at least two semesters of 355H and two semesters of 379H. Students pursuing HANS are required to select any BS Nutrition option plus include these honors research and thesis courses.

Students typically begin 355H credit during the spring of Sophomore year or fall of Junior year at the latest. Therefore, it is important to begin looking into faculty research areas that may interest you throughout freshman and early sophomore year (see links to faculty research areas at the top of the page). It is also possible to begin volunteering with a lab before registering for 355H credit. Reach out to potential labs as early as possible!
In order to register for your 355H course, you must have a specific faculty member identified and confirmed. Registration procedures are detailed below.

Special Departmental Honors (available for all majors):

Students pursuing Special Departmental Honors typically complete at least one semester each of 355H and 379H depending on the major. Public Health students are required to complete two semesters 379H. See the Special Departmental Honors section above for more details about eligibility requirements.

Most students should plan for two semesters of 379H to complete the thesis regardless of the major, so plan accordingly.

Thesis Seminars:

Although these courses don't have a scheduled meeting time listed on the Course Schedule, there are seminars each Fall and Spring to help you with the research and thesis process. Students receive information about this from the SoHE Honors Coordinator each semester on the SoHE Honors Resource Canvas page.

Honors Course Registration Instructions:

355H Honors Research Registration & Checklist

355H Registration Instructions (available for NTR, HDF only):

1. Download the 355H Checklist for details on communicating with your supervising faculty member before and after registering for the 355H course.

2. A confirmation email from the supervising faculty member must be sent to the SoHE Advising Center, either by the supervisor or forwarded from the student. It is ideal that we receive this before the 4th class day of the semester the student hopes to enroll in the course. Note that you will not be able to register for the course until confirmation is provided, therefore you can plan to add a placeholder class and add/drop later as needed.

Email to Jill Lawler (copy or forward): jill.lawler@austin.utexas.edu
Subject Line: Class (ex. HDF 355H or NTR 355H) - Name & EID - Supervisor Name
Semester: Must include semester (ex. spring 2025) somewhere in the email to be able to confirm that you are approved for that particular semester.

3. The Advising Center gives the student registration access to add themselves to the course. Please allow 24-48 business hours to process.

4. The Advising Center emails the student notifying them that they have been given access to register themselves for the course. Expect this reply from our Administrative Associate or Human Ecology Advising email address.

If your confirmation is provided before registration, you can register during your first time slot. If confirmation is provided after registration, you can add the class later during the add/drop time.
If it is between the 4th and 12th class day of the spring semester: the advisor will manually add the student to the course and email the student confirming that they have been added.

*It is up the student to check their schedule online before the 12th class day of the semester to verify that they are in the right classes. The student must notify their assigned academic advisor if they have any concerns.

379H Thesis Course Registration & Checklist

First semester of 379H (thesis):

1. Download the 379H Checklist for details on registering for 379H and completing your thesis project.

2. The student must submit the Honor Thesis Application Form including a signed and approved thesis proposal to the SoHE Honors Coordinator. Note that you will not be able to register for the course until this step is complete. Therefore, you can plan to add a placeholder class and add/drop later as needed.

See Honors Thesis Guidelines for more information about the thesis and thesis proposal expectations.
The application and proposal should be submitted by the end of the semester before the student plans to be enrolled in 379H. If needed, it can still be submitted as soon as school is starting.

3. SoHE Honors Coordinator reviews the application and notifies the Advising Center that the student may enroll in 379H.

If it is between the 4th and 12th class day of the semester: the Advising Center will manually add the student to the course and email the student confirming that they have been added.

Second semester of 379H:

A confirmation email from the supervising professor is required to confirm they are still supervising you for the thesis. No application process is required to continue into a second semester of 379H.
Please forward a confirmation email to academic advisor, Jill Lawler:
- Email to Jill Lawler (copy or forward): jill.lawler@austin.utexas.edu
- Subject Line: Class (ex. HDF 379H or NTR 379H) - Name & EID - Supervisor Name
- Semester: Must include semester (ex. spring 2025) somewhere in the email to confirm you are approved for that semester.
The Advising Center will then email you back to let you know that you have registration access for 379H. Please allow 24-48 business hours to process, and expect a reply from our Administrative Associate or the Human Ecology Advising email.
- If your confirmation is provided before registration, you can register during your first time slot. If confirmation is provided after registration, you can add the class later during the add/drop time.
- If it is between the 4th and 12th class day of the semester: the Advising Center staff will manually add the student to the course and email the student confirming that they have been added.

**It is up the student to check their schedule online before the 12th class day of the semester to verify that they are in the right classes. The student must notify their assigned academic advisor if they have any concerns.**

Contact

Dr. Ladia Hernandez, Ph.D.
SoHE Honors Coordinator
Ladia.Hernandez@austin.utexas.edu
Office Location: GEA 30C
Phone: (512) 471-0890