How Joining an Honors Program Can Lead to Career Success

Honors programs reward a university’s top-performing students with exclusive opportunities and innovative learning experiences, but that comes with a more demanding courseload and higher expectations. Many students wonder: is it worth it?

When you accept a position as an Honors student, you sign yourself up for an extra challenge beyond the typical college experience. That shows the university that providing you with extra resources and opportunities is a wise investment. Honors students have the same responsibilities as other students and attend many of the same classes, but Honors adds enriched experiences that enhance learning and bridge the gap between understanding and action.

“We want to make their educational experience the best that can possibly be,” explained Dana Taylor, director of communications and marketing for the Judy Genshaft Honors College at USF.

Here are some of the ways Honors programs try to maximize learning for their students.

Embracing Diverse Perspectives

Honors courses stand out because they are interdisciplinary. In a typical degree progression, after general education classes, an engineering major will have few chances to share a classroom with a pre-med student, humanities major, or education major, but in Honors, that’s a daily occurrence.

This results in a diversity of perspectives and approaches, all working together to solve problems. It’s a supportive environment that’s focused on learning how things work and exploring possibilities. On every classroom topic, Honors students are encouraged to share their views and remain open to the question, “Why do you see it that way?” That approach gives students a chance to think about where their opinions came from and challenge their biases.

“Honors students develop courage and confidence through these deep conversations,” observed Dr. Cayla Lanier, assistant dean of the Judy Genshaft Honors College on the Sarasota-Manatee campus. “By talking through ideas and opinions as they are forming, our students learn to take academic and personal risks.

“This is a very special environment for that reason. The Honors College is one of the few places that it’s okay to not have the right answer already memorized. It’s where true learning and growth happens.”

“Before, I would just keep ideas to myself, but now, I often work with others in my field to begin initiatives and projects to improve our practice and patient outcomes,” said Casey Farrell, who graduated from USF as president of the Honors College Student Council in 2018. Today, Farrell lives in the United Kingdom, working as a physical therapist.

She confirmed that the more robust concepts she picked up in her Honors courses come into play at her job today. “I took an Honors course about change-making and wicked problems that introduced me to concept and system mapping, which I still use to push for change in my organizations.”

Establishing the Importance of Critical Thinking

The climate of relentless curiosity and mutual respect among Honors students makes them willing to grapple even with sensitive topics. Small class sizes and a tighter faculty-to-student ratio keep these profound discussions manageable; for example, the Judy Genshaft Honors College caps courses at 19 students.

More than encouraging students to step outside their comfort zones, though, Honors courses also instill good learning habits. “We’ve embedded all Honors courses with critical thinking and the ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-world settings,” said Dr. Reginald Lucien, assistant dean for student success at the Judy Genshaft Honors College.

After laying the groundwork for high-level analysis, Honors students are equipped to navigate problems throughout their academic journey and beyond. From there, they can explore many Honors pathways before finishing with a major research experience — either a thesis, working closely with a professor; or a capstone project in a group environment, which builds a student’s portfolio, tangibly proving their abilities.

Learning by Doing

Honors courses also go beyond mere discussion and into hands-on learning, incorporating experiential components. Learning by doing helps students build valuable skills. Experiences can cover a wide swath of interests and disciplines, from artistic and creative endeavors to working side-by-side with experts in the field, completing projects that have real-world impact.

As an example of this concept in action, consider USF Honors’ Rooted in Place course, where students learn about the prevalence of food deserts and explore potential solutions to that problem. While they soak up the concepts, students in the course also soak up the sun: they practice community gardening, growing vegetables that are shared with USF’s Feed-a-Bull Food Pantry. That’s a direct, local impact that can boost a student’s confidence. The course may also spark ideas for a future career path: Dr. Lanier pointed out direct connections to urban planning, public policy, community engagement, and non-profit management. The key idea is that students from a variety of disciplines can each take something valuable away from the experience.

In Honors, participation in research is usually required, which results in a buffet of options for internships and research experiences for undergraduates (REUs). These can help Honors students jump ahead of others in their discipline. In a major like Computer Science, most students don’t get much experience with coding until their third year, but those in Honors can get early opportunities to learn directly from experts.

An Environment that Nurtures Exploration and Growth

Direct experience is further emphasized through the specialized spaces many colleges provide for their Honors programs. For example, the new Judy Genshaft Honors College building on the USF Tampa campus provides students with even more opportunities for hands-on learning. Within this impressive facility, Honors students have access to a wealth of specialized spaces, including an professional kitchen, multimedia production studio, and maker lab. When a school invests in resources like these, their Honors students can practice their technical skills early and often. Faculty members may be eager to incorporate the new tools into the curriculum, too.

Honors students join a supportive community of like-minded peers who prioritize their studies, applaud success, and carry discussions from the classroom into lounges, dorm rooms, and beyond. Honors students feed off the enthusiasm and ambition of the students around them.

“There’s a sense of iron sharpens iron,” said Dr. Lanier. “Ambitious and motivated students share what they learn, what they’re doing, and which resources and opportunities they take advantage of, and everyone benefits from it.”

Farrell looks back on the experience fondly. “I was surrounded by such talent,” she remembered. “While at first it was intimidating, I realized how honored I felt to work alongside these brilliant minds. I learned about the beauty of collaboration, recognizing that every individual brings something to the table.”

Every facet of the Honors experience is designed to graduate well-rounded, motivated students who are conscious of themselves and conscientious to others, set up for later success. They get to take ownership of their learning. Instead of unfamiliar territory, when an Honors student enters the workforce, they find ground they’ve tread before.

Honors Students Are Already on a Career Track

You now have a foundational understanding of Honors methods, but we’re here to look at results. In real terms, what have Honors students gained that makes them career-ready? How do the expectations match up to reality?

Let’s explore some of the strengths that might set an Honors student apart when they enter the workforce.

Extraordinary Soft Skills 

Soft skills are extensions of a person’s personality or character. It can be difficult to precisely define soft skills, but examples include leadership, public speaking, and problem solving. They are critical to career success. While soft skills are commonly viewed as innate to each person, like all talents, they can be improved through practice and testing.

If there’s one thing an Honors program excels at, it’s pushing students beyond what they thought possible. It’s a constant proving ground, asking students to learn more and do better. This has an undeniable impact on soft skills.

Public Speaking and Debate

Within Honors classes, the ability to present your ideas effectively is paramount, and the ability to defend them is similarly ranked. Most Honors classes demand some degree of public speaking, and students who choose to write a thesis are responsible for presenting their findings at a research colloquium in front of faculty and peers. Honors courses also demand a huge amount of quality writing, sharpening that skill, too.

Honors programs may facilitate extracurricular programs for students who want to go even further. At USF, the Honors College Student Council gives future leaders a chance toserve on committees, voice student concerns, and contribute to college-wide initiatives.. Their responsibilities mimic the job requirements students will take on in their careers, like planning to use college resources properly and collaborating with community partners. By living up to that level of trust, students understand how to step up and lead in the workplace.

Many Honors colleges offer another golden opportunity for personal growth: the ambassador program, a team of students who greet visitors and contribute to daily operations. Taylor explained that he sees many Honors student ambassadors at USF start as shy, awkward kids and evolve into assertive advocates.

Teamwork and Balance

The interdisciplinary classes that Honors students attend help them understand how practitioners of different fields can contribute to a common goal. Experiential learning gives students real exposure to impactful work, driving the point home: knowledge is a tool to be honed and wielded, not just a prerequisite to graduation.

“Their ability to think through issues and problems from multiple perspectives, to provide creative solutions, and to apply their talents in multiple arenas ensure their success no matter what career they enter after graduation,” Dr. Lanier concluded.

Developing strong soft skills can take years or decades, but the Honors experience is set up to accelerate that growth for students who have already demonstrated a high aptitude for hard skills. It all adds up to a balanced person who is prepared to face the world. 

A Higher Baseline of Experience 

The Honors experience helps future professionals nurture the skills they will need to perform specialized tasks later in life.

It starts with next-level learning: “You're problem solving like a professional, where you don't get paid to press the button — you get paid to figure out, ‘We need a button here,’” said Taylor. “We’re dealing with those kinds of problems and solutions.”

“When they have the opportunity to work within a research setting, it is honestly life-changing for a lot of our students,” Dr. Lucien added. “It gives them that tangible experience to add to their resume.”

A typical college experience doesn’t offer much opportunity for research—maybe a term paper here and there, or a capstone at the very end of senior year. Students may not be exposed to real research until graduate school! It’s a rare skill, and Honors students can start developing it from their very first semester, putting them way ahead of their peers and future coworkers.

“We're able to accomplish a lot in our classrooms,” said Dr. Catherine Wilkens, associate dean of the Judy Genshaft Honors College on the St. Petersburg Campus. “Not only in terms of intellectual growth, but often — because we're doing project-based learning — in terms of the deliverables that we're able to produce for partners in the community.”

The organizations that participate in these service-learning projects are usually treated as clients, and deliverables must meet their specifications to be useful. Later, when young Honors graduates enter the workforce, they’ve already embraced client satisfaction as a worthy goal, worked under precise expectations, and participated in discussions that lead to actionable solutions. Any employer would raise an eyebrow at someone so young having that level of experience! 

A Deep Understanding of Career Pathways 

The modern job market can be difficult to navigate, especially for a college graduate fresh off the dais. Honors programs prepare their students to meet those challenges in a number of ways.

Breaking Down Preconceived Notions

Honors students are intensely focused on their goals. As star students, they may have spent years fielding career suggestions from adults in their lives and fixated on one prescribed path.

“Sometimes that comes at the cost of making time for intentional reflection, self-discovery, personal development, and even career exploration,” Dr. Lanier observed. “Honors courses, which are intentionally interdisciplinary and require students to take an active approach to exploring course topics, push against their initial conceptions about career options and expose students to a variety of ways of thinking about the world and their role in it.”

Just by participating in Honors, their certainty is tested. “I can’t tell you how many students have come to Honors orientation saying, ‘I want to be a doctor,’ then discovered a passion for medical anthropology, public health policy, epidemiology, cancer research, pharmacy, or any number of health-related topics,” she added.

Personalized Guidance That Gives Permission to Ask, “What If?”

Many schools also connect their Honors students with an Honors advisor in addition to the usual academic advisor. Honors advisors foster a student’s curiosity and suggest new pathways to explore, building a strong, one-on-one relationship that lets the advisor customize their guidance to fit each student they work with.

Dr. Lucien offered an example of the impact this can have on students. “Our advisors are challenging them: ‘Consider starting research, or maybe try out this lab to see where that interest of yours goes. It may reaffirm why you want to be a doctor — or it might give you a new perspective on what it's like to work in public health.’”

Better Prepared to Face an Uncertain Future

It’s very common now to jump from job to job throughout your career, sometimes even changing careers later in life. Dr. Lanier has noticed that Honors students have an “increased level of ambiguity tolerance,” helping them thrive in this new environment.

People with higher ambiguity tolerance have a greater ability to commit to decisions and feel comfortable with the results, even when they know that the information used to make a decision might be incomplete. In an ever-changing career landscape, this is an indisputable psychological advantage.

Learning from the Experiences of Real Professionals

There’s also a push to connect Honors students with young professionals, who can describe their experience finding employment in a particular field and offer advice. At USF, this is called the Honors Career Panel Series, but similar programs exist at other schools. Their value is unmistakable.

These programs aim to show Honors students that a career is rarely ever a straight line, and your college major may not have as much of an effect on that path as you might think. “In Honors, we try to show students that people take all kinds of circuitous routes to the jobs that they end up loving,” Dr. Wilkens explained.

A student’s Honors advisor may play a key role in their career readiness, too, by:

• Performing mock interviews.
• Reviewing applications.
• Curating a selection of opportunities customized to each student’s needs.
  
  

All of this is on top of the resources that may already be provided by a school’s career center.

Each of these policies is designed to give Honors students a leg up when it’s time to interview. “We hear many stories where the student has a job offer before graduation and they credit us for helping them get the experience and professional development that ended up landing them that job,” recalled Dr. Lucien. A review doesn’t get better than that!

Recalling her first job interview for physical therapy, Farrell said that her Honors experience gave her an enviable level of comfort in a normally high-stress situation. “Going into my interview, I knew I wasn't the average new graduate; I was taking my education immediately to the next level.”

Connections with Professionals in Their Field

An Honors program’s drive to generate opportunities for its students results in an array of strong connections with professionals who are just as eager to see young talent succeed. Honors programs frequently host guest speakers and panel discussions aimed at helping students understand the work done by different fields, as well as networking mixers with local professionals and alumni.

Students who attend these events can mingle with enthusiastic adults who may later prove to be valuable contacts — a future boss, perhaps, or a reference. “We’re helping to create a community of learning that extends beyond the boundaries of our campus,” Dr. Wilkens remarked. “We introduce students to folks who will help them grow their skills and abilities so that they can be successful once they graduate.”

Honors students also benefit from an active and engaged faculty who love to connect with students in one-on-one and small group settings outside of class. If a student’s next step is graduate school, these faculty connections will be even more of a boon, helping with applications and reference letters.

Farrell recognized the importance of the connections she made in Honors College. “I met some incredible people. Some became lifelong friends. I also found mentors in the Honors College faculty and staff who helped me prepare to get into my doctoral program.” Even her decision to live overseas was informed by the international Honors experiences that her mentors pushed her to pursue.

According to Forbes, “For many individuals that have succeeded in their career, the causes have largely been attributed to the strong networking channels they have created over time.” As the saying goes, “Who you know matters more than what you know.” Joining an Honors program helps you start making connections early so you can achieve early success.

Set Up for Success

The academic rigor, innovative learning approaches, exclusive resources, and professional connections that are central to an Honors program become instrumental to the success of its graduates, setting them apart from other job candidates. When alumni find a good opportunity, the thought processes and soft skills practiced throughout their Honors experience help them succeed and advance. Beginning a career can be tough for anybody, but Honors Colleges can help make it so much easier.

Farrell reported that her Honors experience taught her to embrace curiosity and helped her gain the confidence to reach for higher goals without fear of failure. Her involvement with the Honors College Student Council developed skills like leadership, public speaking, and social engagement, too — skills which she now uses daily. If you ask other Honors alumni about the impact the experience had on their professional lives, you’ll hear the same story, again and again. There’s no doubt that joining an Honors program can lead to career success.

If you’re a star student looking for a university that will prepare you for success, USF is the right home for you. Not only are we a Preeminent Research University, offering boundless opportunities for our students to make impactful contributions, USF is also a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), which makes USF a more attractive destination for high-achieving students from across the world. Our three campuses encourage students to choose a college environment that fits their personality and priorities. On each of these campuses, you’ll find the Judy Genshaft Honors College, offering the same high-quality experience we’ve discussed in this article.

Are you ready to become a Bull? Reach out to our admissions team about the application process. They are eagerly awaiting your questions! Email admissions@usf.edu or call 813-974-3350.