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Honors Program

Preparing to Launch '23-24

Preview Honors courses for next year and see tips for registration

Spring term started just a few weeks ago, but it’s already time to start planning for the upcoming academic year! Priority registration for classes begins on June 5, and registration for new freshmen starts on June 9—just days away. To get ready for the best academic year, we compiled some quick tips for registration, helpful hints, and a preview of upcoming Honors classes. Scroll down for tips and info about upcoming Unexpected Connections courses. You can see the full Honors course descriptions for both Fall '23 and Winter '24 semesters here.

Registration and scheduling tips


One of the best places to go for information is BYU’s registration info site. Here are a few more registration tips and reminders for Honors classes:

  • Complete your Commitment Interview! You must be an officially enrolled Honors student to be eligible for all Honors classes after HONRS 110 and 120.  Haven’t done that yet?  Schedule an appointment with an Honors advisor.
  • Plan ahead! Look ahead to the Honors classes being offered both Fall and Winter semesters.  Visit with an Honors advisor for help planning out your academic schedule. This is helpful if you’re not sure how you’re going to complete your major requirements and Honors, if you’ve recently switched your major/minor and want to make a new plan, or if you have any other questions about the program and when to complete requirements.
  • Make sure you have completed prerequisites.  Course descriptions list classes you must complete before enrolling.
  • Don’t wait for your registration date to start adding classes. Use the registration cart to choose the classes you want anytime beforehand. After adding classes, remember to submit your cart before the deadline. At midnight on that day, the cart will be processed automatically and you’ll be added to your classes depending on the available room.
  • Didn’t get added to the class you wanted? If you submitted your cart, you’ll automatically be added to the waitlist. If you want to join the class after the cart submission date and all the seats are filled, get on the waitlist ASAP! I was on a waitlist for a class with 50 seats and a 63 person waitlist and so many people dropped the class last minute that I got in. It doesn’t work every time, but it’s always worth a shot!
  • It can be overwhelming trying to plan what classes to take and when to take them. If you have a declared major, look up the Major Academic Plan and see what semester the program recommends you take required classes. If you don’t know what major you want to pursue yet, look at taking some General Education classes, especially those filled by Honors classes!

2023-2024 Honors Unexpected Connections Courses
As you plan your 2023-2024 academic year, take a look at the Unexpected Connections courses offered through the Honors program. These classes are available for committed Honors students (after completing the introductory courses). Each course counts toward two General Education requirements.

Unexpected Connections classes are taught by dynamic duos of amazing professors from completely different fields. Some favorite classes like “The Destruction of Atoms” or “Pandemics and Plagues” are returning. Students will be studying reality and deception in games and movies, the relationship of birdsong and human music, and neuroscience in both literature and science. We’re also looking forward to some new courses coming Winter semester. Here’s a sneak peek at the Honors courses coming this year. See full course descriptions here.

Fall 2023

HONRS 220: Biology & Letters
“Borges and the Brain: Neuroscience in Literature and Film”
What are the shocking truths about the brain and what long held beliefs are actually complete falsehoods? Learn about the least understood organ – the brain, and how literature and cinema have helped and hindered our understanding of it.

HONRS 221: Biology & Arts
"The Music of Birds and Humans"
How does birdsong connect to the music of humans? Learn bout birdsong and its relationship to human music from multiple traditions and cultures, and consider how birds are threatened by climate change, degrading habitats, and the conservation of bird populations.

HONRS 223: Physical Science & Letters
"Foodprints: Food, Sustainability, and Climate Change"
What we eat has a foodprint! Consider the relationship between food, sustainability, and global climate change and how your food choices matter for yourself, your family, your community, and the planet.

HONRS 226: Social Science & Letters
"The Art of Transformative Storytelling"
How do stories help us make sense of the world and our place in it? Learn how to learn from your experiences by developing the ability to tell transformative stories in a variety of contexts.

HONRS 226: Social Science & Letters
"Is Virtue the Same for Men and Women?"
Does virtue look different for men versus women? The term virtue is old. It comes from the ancient Roman word vir and originally meant man or manliness. Chart the winding path of virtue through the centuries to better understand why we still use it even though it has meant very different things over time.

Winter 2024

“Pandemics, Plagues, and Contagion: Literary and Scientific Perspectives”
How have human encounters with infectious disease influenced our understanding and cultural legacies? Explore the biological and cultural legacies of storied pandemics, plagues, and communicable diseases as we learn how to obtain and convey accurate information about infectious diseases to non-scientists or a general public.

HONRS 220: Biology & Letters
"Supernatural Creatures in Life and Literature”
Could fantastic and mythological creatures possibly exist? Explore fantastic and mythological creatures, from dragons to zombies, witches, and vampires, from both a literary/cultural and a biological/chemical angle as you learn the basic scientific ideas upon which the possibility of such creatures rests and falls.

HONRS 225: Physical Science & Global and Cultural Awareness 
"The Destruction of Atoms and the Creation of Modern Society"
How do science and societies impact, propel, or disrupt each other? Follow the interrelations between scientific progress and state struggles from the first convincing proofs that atoms exist, to harnessing the power of a splitting nucleus, and the development of nuclear weapons.

HONRS 226: Social Science & Letters
"Blessed are the Poor: Understanding Poverty through History and Theology"
What is poverty why does it exist, and what do we do about it? Learn about the societal and religious obligations to the poor and how have these changed over time as we explore sacred texts, historical and contemporary aid societies and governments, philosophers and novelists.

HONRS 227: Social Science & Arts
"Playing with Reality: Investigating Deception through Games, Film, and TV."
How do you know what’s real? Explore the nature of reality, truth, and deception through the lens of social science, games, film, and TV as you discover ways we intentionally and unintentionally deceive ourselves.

HONRS 290R: Various Topics
”The Experience of Wonder" (Languages of Learning & Arts)
How do we experience beauty, wonder, and awe and what do those experiences suggest about our sense of the world? Discover how very different pursuits across a variety of experiences can take on the appearance of beauty.

"Strong Bodies, Resilient Minds, and Healthy Relationships" (Biology & Social Science)
What does it mean to be healthy and how do we maintain wellness? Find fulfillment through physical health, individual wellness, and relationship success and apply scientific and practical approaches to your own life and relationships.

We hope you are as excited about these classes as we are! Remember that to enroll in Unexpected Connections courses, you must have completed HONRS 110 and 120 and committed to be in the Honors program. If you haven’t joined Honors yet, we can’t wait to have you! If you have any questions about registration, prerequisites, or Honors requirements, email an Honors advisor, schedule an appointment here, or stop by the Honors Program office (102 MSRB). Remember to submit your registration cart before the deadline!