Ohio University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Honors Tutorial College
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 35 Park Place
Phone: 740.593.2723
Fax: 740.593.9521
honors.college@ohio.edu
www.ohio.edu/honors/tutorial-college
Kristina Bross, Dean
Overview
The Honors Tutorial College provides Ohio University students multiple options to achieve an honors and scholars education. Programs include the OHIO Honors Program (OHP), which serves students across any major and requires transcripted curricular and co-curricular experiences earned through a reflection process, honors-tutorial programs of study that allow for one-on-one and small group learning, and the 1804 Scholars Program, which has limited curricular requirements and focuses on the well-being of scholars outside of the classroom.
Mission
To provide one-on-one enrichment opportunities for undergraduates so that high-achieving students may customize their educational experiences, explore their scholarly and creative interests at their own optimum pace, and create professional relationships with accomplished scholars and artists in their fields.
OHIO Honors Program
The OHIO Honors Program (OHP) is an interdisciplinary community rooted in experiential learning, with a commitment to broadening students’ scope of understanding through personal reflection and collaborative work. OHP students develop a range of knowledge, skills, and relationships through meaningful experiences in and out of the classroom. These experiences reflect a shared vision toward informed, positive change within local and global communities.
OHP serves students in any major on campus (excluding the Honors Tutorial programs below). The student’s degree program typically resides in another academic college, and the student retains admission to OHP even if they change majors.
Each semester students take an honors course and complete an honors co-curricular experience and corresponding reflection process. Each OHP student also completes a capstone experience or portfolio. Students who complete the program and earn an overall GPA of 3.3 are awarded OHIO Honors at the time of graduation.
OHP also serves as an umbrella for major- or audience-specific honors and scholars programs. Known as OHP-designated programs, these include the Connavino Honors Program in the Patton College of Education; Copeland Scholars in the College of Business; Cutler Scholars; Entrepreneurship Honors Program; Law, Justice, and Culture Early Assurance Program; Mackenzie King Scholars in the Patton College of Education; Multicultural Scholars Programs; and the Scripps Innovation Scholars in the Scripps College of Communication.
The OHIO Honors Program affords participants exclusive academic resources. These include priority registration, special residence hall availability, research support, eligibility to undertake graduate work, and unique education-abroad opportunities.
Honors Tutorial College Degree Programs
The Honors Tutorial College (HTC) programs of study immerse scholars in highly individualized tutorial-based coursework that provides intellectual depth and customized exploration. Students develop meaningful professional relationships with faculty through one-on-one learning and mentorship. The tutorial education culminates in an honors thesis that showcases original research or creative work.
Students admitted to the tutorial degree programs in the college complete a substantial portion of the core curriculum in their respective disciplines through a series of tutorials. A tutorial consists of a full-time faculty member meeting with students either individually or in small seminars. In pursuing this method of instruction, HTC draws upon the rich educational traditions of British universities, such as Cambridge and Oxford. The success of the College’s approach to undergraduate education is evident in its distinguished history and the impressive achievements of its alumni.
Through flexibility, mentoring, and abundant academic resources, tutorial programs offer high-achieving students every opportunity to further their intellectual development. College requirements are kept to a minimum in order to allow students to explore a range of disciplines, engage in substantial creative and/or research work, acquire a high degree of proficiency in a particular subject matter, and participate in meaningful extracurricular activities. Tutorials allow individuals to work closely with accomplished scholars who take pride in helping Honors Tutorial College students fulfill their current and future ambitions. This special combination of freedom and guidance, which is one of the hallmarks of HTC, is enhanced by the number of exclusive academic resources made available to its students. These include priority registration, special residence hall availability, enhanced library privileges, research support, eligibility to undertake graduate work, unique education-abroad opportunities, and scholarship availability.
A tutorial-based curriculum requires highly developed academic abilities, but it also necessitates motivation, curiosity, maturity, focus, energy, and a combination of self-confidence and humility. To succeed in the Honors Tutorial College, a student must recognize that they bear the responsibility for understanding each week’s tutorial material. All tutorials are conversations—exchanges of thoughts, questions, and possibilities—not lectures. There are no back-row seats in a tutorial. At every tutorial, students are called on to participate in an intellectual exchange in which quality is measured by thoughtful mastery of the subject under consideration.
In addition to being comfortable with the expectations of the tutorial mode of instruction, students must also consider other characteristics of HTC. These include participation of all Honors Tutorial College freshmen in a seminar held during fall semester. The seminar plays a critical role in introducing college-level work, establishing camaraderie among students, and maintaining a vibrant, active community of young scholars.
Honors Tutorial College Programs of Study
Through formal arrangements with various academic departments in the University, the Honors Tutorial College offers majors in:
Anthropology
Art History
Astrophysics
Biological Sciences
Business
Chemistry
Classics and Religious Studies
Communication Studies
Dance
Economics
Engineering Physics
English
Environmental and Plant Biology
Environmental Studies
Film
Geography
Geological Sciences
Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences
History
Journalism
Mathematics
Media Arts and Studies
Music
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science
Social Work
Sociology
Studio Art (BA or BFA)
Theater (BA or BFA)
Translational Health
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Only these disciplines are available as programs of study at the present time.
Detailed descriptions of programs of study can be seen on the College website, www.ohio.edu/honors/tutorial-college.
Administration and Content of Tutorial Programs of Study
Programs of study are administered by full-time faculty members appointed by the College. These professors, known as directors of studies, act as academic advisors, work with their colleagues to arrange tutorials, conduct admission interviews, and coordinate other aspects of their particular programs of study.
Each program of study has its own set of specific academic goals. All programs involve tutorials, but some also ask students to complete a sequence of collateral studies, to participate in a seminar or a lecture series, to pass a set of comprehensive examinations, or to undertake laboratory, field, or studio work. All programs of study also require the completion of a thesis project.
Degree Requirements
To earn a bachelor’s degree in the Honors Tutorial College, students must fulfill all the academic requirements of their program of study, maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.5, satisfy the university’s general education requirements through an alternative pathway, and complete a thesis. Students also must participate in a freshman seminar.
If a student desires to earn a second bachelor’s degree in another college at Ohio University, they must also complete all the requirements established by the second college.
Placement of Graduates
The Honors Tutorial College has earned a reputation for graduate and professional school placement. To date, most students wishing to continue their educations have been placed in noted master’s programs, doctoral programs, law schools, and medical schools. Other graduates have found employment in fields related to their undergraduate work, particularly in journalism, theater, communication sciences and disorders, film, media, and business. The small size of the college and the nature of the curriculum allow faculty and the administrators of the College to be of maximum assistance in career planning and graduate school applications.
Housing Privileges
If you are admitted to the Honors Tutorial College, you will be eligible to live in honors housing. It provides an environment conducive to students who must master the academic challenges of Honors Tutorial College programs of study. The College provides detailed information about the specific characteristics of each residence hall to students who have been offered admission.
Application and Admission
The Honors Tutorial College and the OHIO Honors Program must restrict the number of students accepted each year. As a result, the admissions climate is highly competitive. A variety of elements play a role in admissions decisions. For complete application information, please visit The OHIO Honors Program website.
Education Abroad
For information about education abroad opportunities, refer to the Office of Global Opportunities website.
Office of Nationally Competitive Awards (ONCA)
For information about the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards (ONCA), refer to ONCA website.
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