The Honors Curriculum is unique and designed to encourage interdisciplinary and divergent thinking.
Fundamentum
Hon 100
Idea Labs
HON 253 Natural Science
HON 255 Humanities
HON 257 Social Science
Dialectics
HON 220 Where have we been?
HON 230 Where are we now?
HON 240 Where are we going?
THESIS:
HON 490 Thesis (6 credits)
Breakdown
Idea Labs are courses in thought experiments that seek to solve a problem in Tampa Bay and/or the world. Students take one Idea Lab in the Humanities, one in the Social Sciences, and one in the Natural Sciences. Students can transfer in (via college credit or AP tests with a 5) up to two Idea Labs. (See here for AP course equivalencies).
Dialectics are team-taught courses that examine interdisciplinary issues in the past, present, and future. They’re each taught by 3 professors, simultaneously, with each professor representing the College of Arts and Letters; the College of Natural and Health Sciences; and the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Education. Some social science courses are also taught by faculty in the College of Business. These courses are the only ones of their kind at the University of Tampa.
An Honors Thesis is an original research project appropriate to the student’s field of study. Theses can be traditional research papers; plays; poems; books; business proposals; experiments; or anything a student wants to explore. A thesis is completed by taking a minimum of 6 Thesis credits, and these credits can be thesis courses in your major (if they exist) or HON 490 (the Honors Thesis independent study designation). You can break up thesis credits however you like. Some students take 1 credit at a time, spaced out, while others take 3 thesis credits per semester; these are distributed at the student’s discretion. More about the thesis can be found here.
Course Schedule Offerings
Fall 2026 Course Schedule
HON 220: Where Have We Been? – Florida and the Caribbean: Its People and Its Stories
(Friday | 10:00 AM – 1:50 PM, taught by Professors Kendal Jackson, Sarah Juliet Lauro, & Patrick O’Brien, )
This class explores the greater Caribbean region, including Florida, through its stories, people, and history to better appreciate the complex place we call home. Students will demonstrate their mastery of the material in a culminating, interdisciplinary project that analyzes one aspect of the region’s development from a variety of angles.
HON 230: Where Are We Now? – Cubans in Tampa: Yesterday and Today
(Friday | 10:00 AM – 1:50 PM, taught by Professors Adolfo Lagomasino, Denis Rey, & Shanda Vereen)
What binds Tampa and Cuba across revolution, migration, and memory? This co-taught, interdisciplinary honors seminar traces the transnational Cuba–Tampa connection through political history from the Ten Years’ War forward and the cultural exchanges that shaped Ybor City’s identity, while examining how immigrant communities confronted public-health challenges intensified by these very political and cultural flows. Through political, historical, cultural, and epidemiological perspectives, the course equips students to analyze how these intertwined worlds transformed both places.
HON 240: Where Are We Going? – What the Century Will Bring: Crime, Communication and Cyber-Security
(Tuesday/Thursday | 2:00 PM – 3:50 PM, taught by Professors Chris Gurrie, Anthony LaRose, Angela Ramos)
This interdisciplinary honors course explores the complex intersection of Criminology (CRM), Sociology, and Cybersecurity, with a focus on understanding how digital innovations are reshaping both criminal behavior and societal responses. Students will analyze the evolving nature of fraud, the rise of deepfakes, and the dual threats and benefits posed by artificial intelligence (AI) within contemporary society.
Drawing on criminological theory, sociological perspectives, and technical insights, the course examines how cybercrime challenges traditional understandings of law, deviance, and control. Topics include the use of AI in committing fraud, the social impact of synthetic media and deepfakes, and the ways digital tools can both facilitate and prevent criminal acts. Emphasis will be placed on understanding how trust, identity, and power dynamics are negotiated in increasingly virtual environments.
Students will engage with real-world case studies involving AI-driven scams, misinformation campaigns, and data breaches, alongside critical discussions on the ethical use of AI for crime prevention, surveillance, and social control. The course also considers how marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by both cybercrime and heavy-handed security responses.
By the end of the course, students will develop an integrated understanding of how technological advances intersect with criminal behavior and social structures, equipping them to critically analyze emerging risks and policy debates at the forefront of crime and cybersecurity.
HON 253: Idea Lab: Health Science/Natural Science – Human Genetics
(Tuesday/Thursday | 10:00 AM – 11:50 PM, taught by Professor Sarah Wilson)
This course addresses the major concepts and advances in the field of genetics with an emphasis on human genetics, including inheritance of traits, pedigree analysis, DNA structure, and replication. Additional topics include ethical implications of gene manipulation and modern DNA technologies. You will learn how genetics knowledge and technology can impact individuals and society.
HON 255: Idea Lab: Humanities/Fine Arts – Media History & Theory
(Monday/Wednesday/Friday | 10:00 AM – 11:10 PM, taught by Professor Jeremy Lakoff)
We live in an age of mediated experience, where instantaneous communication has seemingly become second nature. Caught in the rapids of information flows, we often lose sight that media are social constructions, sets of conventions and protocols that are neither natural nor predetermined. Rather, their place in our culture and society is shaped by institutions, inventors, consumers, governments, corporations, intellectuals, and many other agents who nudge communication technologies towards different aims and possibilities. This course explores the field of media theory (the academic study of media cultures) and the historical inflection points that predate, and prefigure, our present media landscape. It will trace some of the key interdisciplinary debates of this field and connect those concepts to exemplary texts so that students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for how media shape history and are shaped by it.
HON255: Idea Lab: Humanities/Fine Arts – Romantasy
(Monday/Wednesday/Friday | 11:30 AM – 12:40 PM, taught by Professor Kacy Tillman
This course will examine the romance fantasy or Romantasy genre. Although romance writing has historically been dismissed as being too overwrought – excluded from the literary canon because it was written and read primarily by women and centered on matters of the heart – it has mobilized abolitionist movements, served as a spring board for feminism, and provided readers escapism from the trauma of oppression and marginalization. The newest iteration of this genre has been dismissed as “fairy smut” because it includes open-door sex scenes. But what is smut? And why are books that women read and write so often dismissed as smut? We will approach these questions and more through books like A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas; Legendborn by Tracy Deonn; The Adventures of Almina al-Sarafi by Shannon Chakraborty, and Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, among others. By exploring this new iteration of the Romance genre, this course will reveal its enduring cultural significance and challenge the notion that stories of love and desire are mere frivolity rather than powerful reflections of societal change.
HON 257: Idea Lab: Social Science – International Business and Sustainable Development Goals
(Monday/Wednesday | 4:00 PM – 5:50 PM, taught by Professor Ru-Shiun Liou)
This course investigates the intersection between business and society in the global business environment. We will examine the economic, social, and environmental impacts of foreign firms in relation to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a local community. Students will conduct a semester-long team project to identify a practical solution for a foreign firm to take part in contributing to SDGs in the Tampa Bay community.