A lot can be learned in a classroom. But the precise details of a properly prepared microscope slide? The best way to talk to an at-risk teenager?
That has to be learned in the field. You know what else happens in the field? The great experience of exploring the world for yourself, answering questions, and making discoveries that change the way people think. This is why, at UAB, the world is our classroom.
Research
Your curiosity burns brighter than magnesium. To keep it burning, we get you into the lab or out into the field as early as your freshman year. You’ll be working elbow-to-elbow with UAB researchers, guided by a faculty mentor and learning how to work, think, and analyze the way researchers do. Many Honors College students have proposed their own research project, executed it using pro-quality equipment and facilities, and presented their work to the world in peer-reviewed journals and national conferences. Every spring semester, the Honors College sponsors a delegation of honors students to attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), an annual event that allows students from various institutions of higher education across the nation to present original research. During the summer, the Presidential Honors Fellowship program allows selected students from different majors and disciplines to engage in research or creative activity focused on their majors or academic interests. Make no mistake: This is real-world work, and it requires real-world processing and problem-solving. But you wouldn’t be in the Honors College if you couldn’t handle it, and we’ll be with you every step of the way.
Service Learning and Outreach
When you have insight, intelligence, and compassion — and the fire to use them — you also have a responsibility to share those qualities with the world. From the very first service project during your New Student Retreat, the Honors College will put you out in the world for service learning and outreach to make connections and make a difference. Students have worked teaching and mentoring students as local as Woodlawn, Alabama, and addressing public health concerns as far away as the Dominican Republic. It’s not just about the education — it’s about the experiences that change lives. Their lives are better, and your life will definitely never be the same.
Study Abroad
There’s no better place to understand nutrition in developing nations than in those nations. There’s no better place to explore Antarctic biomes than in Antarctica. And there’s no better way to learn Arabic than to surround yourself with Arabic speakers. UAB researchers love having honors students along to learn and assist, and UAB Education Abroad offers educational opportunities with more than 400 programs in 40 countries (and one cruise ship). See the world. Change it. Expand your world. And then Set It On Fire.
Each spring the Honors College offers a signature study abroad experience.
Prestigious Awards
Organizations around the globe are eager to give funding for research, study abroad, and graduate education to promising students. The UAB Office of National and International Fellowships and Scholarships is a stellar resource that has helped our students apply for dozens of prestigious fellowships, and helped them track down even more that aren’t on most people’s radar. And an impressive number of students pursuing the Personalized Path and each of our Specialized Programs have been awarded Rhodes, Truman, Goldwater, Udall, Marshall, Fulbright, and other national scholarships. That could be you — if you’re up to the challenge.
Student Leadership
Change doesn’t just happen — it’s made to happen, and it’s made to happen by people with the confidence and drive to lead the way. (Sound like anyone you know?) UAB Honors College students start with motivation and energy, and we help them shape that into leadership qualities. Maybe you’re ready to start a student organization, seed a service project, contribute new scientific discoveries, or bring a new approach to an old problem. You want to be at the front, and we’re ready to help you lead the way.
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Student Mentor and Retreat Team (SMART) Leaders
We want every student to feel safe, secure, and at home. These specially selected upper-class Honors students know all the ins and outs of UAB. SMART Leaders serve as a first point of connection for first year students, helping to ensure that they have the resources to find their place at UAB and in the Honors College. They work directly with incoming Honors students to welcome them to the Honors community and assist new students in becoming acclimated to university life. In the first semester of your freshman year, you will be a part of a small group of students, led by peer mentors, who will help you keep engaged with the school and ensure you have access to any resource you need.
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Honors College Leadership Council
We know that our accomplished, motivated students are their own best advocates. That’s why our student representatives have come together in the Honors College Leadership Council (HCLC). They work to foster a sense of community within the Honors College, promote the best interests of the college as a part of the larger university, and raise the profile and visibility of the college on and off campus. Their work helps our students, and our college as a whole, get the visibility and support that they need and deserve.
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Honors Ambassadors
The best representatives of the UAB Honors College are our students — people who are passionate about what the college does and what the students are capable of doing. Our Honors Ambassadors are that kind of passionate. They connect with community members, university administrators and staff, current students, and prospective students like you — because no one knows the college like the students who are in it, and no one knows what the college can do like the students who are becoming who they’re meant to be, one extraordinary experience at a time.
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Honors Resident Assistants
We make it our mission to foster an inclusive, close-knit community — in the classroom and outside of it. Our Honors RAs are essential — and outstanding — partners in our community-building efforts. They live on the honors floors of the freshmen residence halls, help our honors students navigate collegiate life, and collaborate with our honors advisors to offer fun and informative programs each month. In short, they make sure all of our new students feel at home at UAB and in the UAB Honors College.
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Mental Health Ambassadors (MHA)
The Mental Health Ambassadors (MHA) is a peer-to-peer mental health promotion and leadership program, which is open to all honors students through a continued partnership with the School of Public Health and Student Counseling Services. Launched in fall 2019, Robin Gaines Lanzi, Ph.D., professor and director of the Graduate Program in the School of Public Health, developed the program as an Honors College Faculty Fellows initiative to address the growing need for mental health education. Along with Dr. Lanzi, Angela Stowe, Ph.D., director of UAB Student Counseling Services, and Juhee Agrawal, an Honors College alumna and former president of Active Minds at UAB, helped spearhead the project.
