There is not a single path to exploration

Honors programs at UT boast of shaping tomorrow’s leaders and being tailored for the most ambitious students. According to an introductory webpage, honors is “where excellence meets community.” Such high standards can be daunting, especially for students who may not know yet which career path to follow.

Because of their rigorous, energy-intensive coursework, honors programs at UT carry prestige but may also evoke apprehension. Labeling honors students as “high-achieving students” is already a form of academic pressure. 

Tanushree Duggirala, a Canfield Business Honors Program senior, said that the competitive environment is one of the most challenging parts of her program. 

“You are surrounded by people (who) very much have a certain idea of what is successful and what is not,” Duggirala said. 

That competitive atmosphere may also be because some programs are harder to get into in the first place. Plan II Honors in the College of Liberal Arts, for example, requires a separate application and has a long list of graduation criteria that must be met in a specific order. 

The high expectations and heavy workload of honors classes can be overwhelming, leaving students with less flexibility to join clubs, hold a job or internship on the side and explore future career interests. 

Still, it’s an interesting trade-off: honors programs cultivate exploration in their own way. 

Meenu Meyyappan, a Canfield Business Honors Program junior, chose the program for its smaller cohort. She said it allowed her to build stronger connections with her peers and broadened her horizons.  

“I came across careers that I never would have if I hadn’t been a part of this honors program,” Meyyappan said. 

Even though honors programs are particularly demanding and often have more rigid course requirements, they still provide students with opportunities to explore their interests. They are not only for those who already have a clear career goal in mind. 

Asian studies professor Chiu-Mi Lai, who supervised over 35 students on honors projects in Asian Studies Honors, Plan II Honors, Natural Science Scholars and Polymathic Scholars, said that the smaller class sizes allowed her to go more in-depth with the material. Because Plan II honors students are required to write a senior thesis, some develop new research interests and potential areas of specialization during the course of their degree.

“It’s an academic journey, but it’s also a really personal journey of self-discovery for the students,” Lai said.

It’s important to remember all honors programs differ across schools, and the same benefits and drawbacks may not apply equally to each. Therefore, it’s important to consider all of one’s options carefully. 

However, through deeper connections between students and professors, honors classes leave just enough room for self-exploration and are as valuable as any other on-campus opportunity to add to your resume. No matter how scary they seem, honors programs can allow you to explore in their own way.

Doat is a journalism and media master’s student from Versailles, France.

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