The Honors Program at UT is a member of three Honors Councils. At the national level, there is the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). At the regional level, there is the Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC). And at the state level, there is the Florida Collegiate Honors Council (FCHC). Each of these Honors Councils holds annual conferences (typically in the fall for NCHC and in the spring for SRHC and FCHC).
The current Honors Program Directors have decided to prioritize students attending disciplinary conferences with faculty members at UT where they can present their research and make contacts that will be helpful as they consider graduate school (like this and this). However, there are some benefits from attending the various Honors Conferences. The primary benefit is that Honors Conferences often have a focus on Honors education and have a number of sessions that can help Honors Program Directors and Honors Councils improve the Honors Program at UT. Additionally, presenting scholarship at an Honors Conference can also provide experience in how to present scholarship to a scholarly audience.
UT Honors Program students who would like to attend an Honors Conference have to do the following:
- Complete an application that details the scholarly work they would like to present at the conference.
- The Honors Program Directors will evaluate the application. Only high-quality applications will be accepted by the Honors Program Directors.
- If the application is accepted, the student will then have to apply to the appropriate Honors conference (i.e., NCHC, SRHC, or FCHC) through their website.
- If the application is accepted, the student will notify the Honors Program Directors so appropriate travel arrangements can be made.
- Prior to attending the conference, the student must present their research to the Honors Program Directors so they can provide feedback on the presentation.
Students who are selected to attend an Honors conference will be expected to professionally represent UT’s Honors Program when presenting their work.
Additionally, it is the expectation of the Honors Program Directors that the student will attend other sessions at the conference both in the interest of learning and also to find ways to improve UT’s Honors Program.