Many departments across campus partner with Honors and offer select sections elevated for Honors students in some type of capacity. Since these are mostly offered through a specific department other than HONR, we call them “departmental Honors courses.”  All honors students must take between 6-18 credits of these “departmental” Honors ourses to fulfill program requirements (Track 1 students = 6 credits; Track 2 students = 15 or 18 credits).

There are many different ways to obtain Departmental Honors Course credit.  There are stand-alone courses that some departments offer; there are breakout sections that accompany department-offered courses; and you may create a contract with an instructor of any upper-division course for honors credit.  Additionally, you may elect to take an HONR 397 (Structured Mentoring Opportunity) variable credit offering (you may “stack” these to obtain your desired number of program-fulfilling credit), an independent study, or a 500-level graduate course.  Feel free to make an advising appointment if you need help determining what might be possible.

Many students seek Honors Contracts to fulfill these program requirements.  

Departmental Honors Courses Offered

Many departments across campus partner with Honors and offer select sections elevated for Honors students. Since these are offered through a specific department, we call them “departmental Honors courses.”  These sections further enrich the content provided in traditional curriculum. This can involve additional research, added case studies, or more discussion. These are not “accelerated” courses; rather, the goal of these sections is to dive deeper into the content while establishing a relationship with faculty experts beyond the typical student experience in a classroom.  

There are three major types of departmental Honors courses: the standalone Honors section, the Honors breakout section, and the non-standard section. These can be easily identified as having a section number that begins with 2xx (i.e. BUS 479.220).

Departmental Honors courses for the upcoming semester are released during CSU’s Plan Ahead period, which is approximately a month prior to registration for honors students. Planned course offerings listed below are subject to change. Always check RamWeb (Aries) for final details, especially right before you are slated to register.  A good rule of thumb to identify these courses is to look at the section number–if it begins with a “.2xx,” you’re likely in the right place.

Fall 2026 Honors Stand-alone Sections

An Honors standalone section is just what it sounds like: it stands alone. You do not need to sign up for any extra breakout components to receive Honors credit for these courses. These Honors standalone sections are smaller than typical sections, and are comprised only of other Honors students. 

SUBJECTCOURSESECTCRNTITLEDAYSTIMENOTES
BUS26022067698Social-Ethical-Regulatory Issues in Business - HonorsT R03:30 PM - 04:45 PM
CHEM112LH167589General Chemistry Lab I (GT-SC1) - HonorsM03:00 PM - 05:50 PM
ERHS22020169015Introduction to Environmental Public Health (GT-SC2)T R12:30 PM - 01:45 PM
ERHS32020169016Environmental Health--Water Quality - HonorsT R11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
FIN30022067586Principles of Finance - HonorsM W08:00 AM - 09:15 AM
MGT32022470531Contemporary Management Principles/Practices - HonorsT R08:00 AM - 09:15 AM
MIP302LH967576General Microbiology Laboratory - HonorsT R03:00 PM - 04:40 PM
PSY10022067580General Psychology (GT-SS3) - HonorsM W F12:00 PM - 12:50 PM

Fall 2026 Breakout Sections

An Honors breakout section requires you to sign up for another component in addition to the lecture in order to receive Honors credit for the course. You will typically be in the larger lecture with other students, but you will sign up for a “breakout” course as the extra component. Be extra careful when registering to ensure that you are enrolling in the correct breakout; use the color bands below to group the correct selections.  In the breakout, you will work with the instructor and a small group of Honors students for an hour each week on an enrichment component. Again, this requires that you register for an extra hour/credit in order for the course to count towards your Honors requirements.

SUBJECTCOURSESECTCRNTITLEDAYSTIMENOTES
BC40123167587Comprehensive Biochemistry I - HonorsM W F04:00 PM - 04:50 PMMust also register for BC496.201
BC49620167588Group Study - HonorsF01:00 PM - 01:50 PMMust also register for BC401.231
BMS496A20169338Honors: Human Gross AnatomyR09:00 AM - 09:50 AMMust also register for BMS301
BMS301AnyAnyHuman Gross AnatomyMust also register for BMS496A
BZ33023176465MammalogyR03:30 PM - 04:20 PMMust also register for BZ496. Department will contact with override.
BZ33023176465MammalogyT R02:00 PM - 03:15 PMMust also register for BZ496. Department will contact with override.
HDFS10123169190Individual and Family Development (GT-SS3) - HonorsM W F10:00 AM - 10:50 AMMust also register for HDFS497F. Contact instructor for override.
HDFS10123269191Individual and Family Development (GT-SS3) - HonorsM W03:00 PM - 04:15 PMMust also register for HDFS497F. Contact instructor for override.
HDFS10123369513Individual and Family Development (GT-SS3) - HonorsT R02:00 PM - 03:15 PMMust also register for HDFS497F. Contact instructor for override.
HDFS497F20169396Group Study-Honors Human DevelopmentW11:00 AM - 11:50 AMMust also register for HDFS101.231, HDFS101.232, or HDFS101.233
LIFE10222067582Attributes of Living Systems (GT-SC1) - HonorsT R11:00 AM - 12:15 PMMust also register for Honors lab (LH1 or LH2)
LIFE102LH167584Attributes of Living Systems (GT-SC1) - Honors LabR05:00 PM - 07:50 PMMust also register for Honors lecture (LIFE102.220)
LIFE102LH267583Attributes of Living Systems (GT-SC1) - Honors LabR02:00 PM - 04:50 PMMust also register for Honors lecture (LIFE102.220)
LIFE21023170591Introductory Eukaryotic Cell Biology - HonorsM W F12:00 PM - 12:50 PMMust also register for LIFE 211
LIFE21023267585Introductory Eukaryotic Cell Biology - HonorsM W F02:00 PM - 02:50 PMMust also register for LIFE 211
LIFE21123167860Eukaryotic Cell Biology Recitation - HonorsR11:00 AM - 11:50 AMMust also register for LIFE210.231 or LIFE210.232
LIFE32023167993Ecology - HonorsM W F08:00 AM - 08:50 AMMust also register for BZ496. Department will contact with override.
LIFE32023167993Ecology - HonorsT11:00 AM - 11:50 AMMust also register for BZ496. Department will contact with override.
LIFE32023267994Ecology - HonorsW11:00 AM - 11:50 AMMust also register for BZ496. Department will contact with override.
LIFE32023267994Ecology - HonorsT R09:30 AM - 10:45 AMMust also register for BZ496. Department will contact with override.
MIP30023166821General Microbiology - HonorsM W F12:00 PM - 12:50 PMMust also register for MIP303
MIP30023267622General Microbiology - HonorsM W F02:00 PM - 02:50 PMMust also register for MIP303
MIP30023371618General Microbiology - HonorsM W F10:00 AM - 10:50 AMMust also register for MIP303
MIP30323068489General Microbiology--Honors RecitationM04:00 PM - 04:50 PMMust also register for MIP300.231, MIP300.232, or MIP300.233
MIP42022167699Medical and Molecular Virology - HonorsT R01:00 PM - 02:50 PMMust also register for MIP496.221
MIP45023167700Microbial Genetics - HonorsM W F11:00 AM - 11:50 AMMust also register for MIP496.231
MIP49622167701Group Study - HonorsR12:00 PM - 12:50 PMMust also register for MIP420.221
MIP49623170526Group Study - HonorsF03:00 PM - 03:50 PMMust also register for MIP450.231

Fall 2026 Honors Non-Standard Sections

In non-standard sections, you do not need to sign up for an extra component.  You will still be in the larger lecture with students who are not in Honors; however, the instructor will work with you on a non-scheduled, enriching component relating to the class.  

SUBJECTCOURSESECTCRNTITLEDAYSTIMENOTES
ECE31123168356Linear System Analysis I - HonorsT R12:30 PM - 01:45 PM
ECE34123168357Electromagnetic Fields and Devices I - HonorsT R03:30 PM - 04:45 PM
ECE45523179428Introduction to Robot Programming/SimulationT R03:30 PM - 04:45 PM
MECH34223068207Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Flow Processes - HonorsM W F01:00 PM - 01:50 PMMust also register for MECH495.230
MECH49523071930Independent StudyMust also register for MECH342.230. Contact department for registration.
MU21720170135Music Theory III - HonorsM W F09:00 AM - 09:50 AM
PSY48422068827Supervised College Teaching-HonorsR12:30 PM - 01:45 PMContact department for registration.
SPCM40723179014Public DeliberationM W02:00 PM - 03:15 PMContact department for registration.