Honors Sections

Honors sections are versions of regular UF courses, typically with a smaller class size and with variations in assignments and expectations.

Quest 1

Quest 2

UnCommon Arts + Writes

UnCommon Arts

1 credit discussion-based courses centered around notable artists, artistic performances, and exhibits

IDH2952 - Film Salon: Reframing the Doc

Perhaps no art form is as commonly shared across cultural, geographic, ethnic, and other boundary lines as film. In theaters, homes, and other public spaces people of all kinds gather in the dark to take in this consummately modern form of storytelling. Of course, there is high entertainment value in movie watching, but also films often involve rich stories that take our minds to places beyond the film itself. Indeed, the ideas conveyed through film frequently create an internal reflective mindset, sometimes resulting in casual conversations with others. And yet, rarely do we make room for a collective intentional conversation to discuss a movie we’ve just watched. This class seeks to do exactly that: to watch films together and then to talk about their relevance to our lived experience. Specifically, we will explore a reinvisioned version of documentary films called creative non-fiction. These films, based in reality, offer imaginative and creative crafting of compelling storytelling rooted in some vision of the real. Creative non-fiction films are centrally driven by the complex stories that lead to curious questions about life in the world, so they become opportunities for talking about subjects that are sometimes difficult, sometimes thorny, sometimes joyous, sometimes restorative, and often something else! The class will begin with some introductory readings and lecture to equip students with adequate tools and conceptual frameworks for our film discussions, then lead into viewing films together and talking about them.

This class will seek to do three main things:

1) teach students how to read a film, considering the technical structure, the story itself, and the story beyond the story in the mind of viewers
2) watch films in the creative non-fiction genre
3) discuss films in a context of community learning

 

• Course: IDH2952
• Class Number: 18446
• Day/Period: T/5-6
• Instructor: Todd Best

UnCommon Writes

1 credit themed writing workshops taught by University Writing Program faculty

UnCommon Reads

1 credit discussion-based courses centered around books of all genres.

History + Biography

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Science (Non-Health) + Science Fiction

IDH2930 - Exploring Purpose and Identity in Becky Chamber's A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Embark on an intellectual adventure where speculative fiction meets profound philosophy. In this one-credit honors seminar, we journey into the imaginative worlds of Becky Chambers’s A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy. Explore a universe where the quest for purpose and the mystery of identity challenge our deepest assumptions about what it means to be human. Through dynamic online discussions and lively Zoom sessions, you'll dive into conversations that question whether life’s meaning is predetermined or something we create for ourselves. Join us for a thrilling exploration of human existence in a post-scarcity future, where every page invites you to rethink purpose and discover fresh perspectives on what it truly means to live a meaningful life.

 

• Course: IDH2930
• Class Number: 16924
• Day/Period: W/5
• Online
• Instructor: Jessi Aaron

 

 

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Health

IDH2930 - The Nature Fix: Mapping Healing Nature on the UF Campus

This course explores the growing research base that supports engaging in and prescribing nature for all- including and especially college students, and this year's class will focus on how individuals can find those campus spaces that are particularly salubrious. They also will map these spaces, using a medium that speaks to them. These maps will be shared with others and if students are willing, will be made available for others to experience. In general, and through discussion, the reading and on-campus field trips, it will research how individuals can find a way into, and a place in nature that is essential to their well being.

 

• Course: IDH2930
• Class Number: 15808
• Day/Period: T/3
• Instructor: Nina Stoyan-Rosenzweig

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Society + Culture + Politics

IDH2930 - 1984 in the 21st Century: Power, Surveillance, and the Politics of Truth

This discussion-based seminar uses George Orwell’s 1984 as a critical lens for examining contemporary global events. Through close reading, guided discussion, and analysis of current news and media, students will explore themes of power, surveillance, propaganda, truth, and resistance. The course emphasizes how political language, the media, information systems, and technologies shape public understanding and democratic life. Students will develop skills in critical reading, information evaluation, and civic analysis by connecting Orwell’s dystopian framework to modern political, social, and technological contexts.

 

• Course: IDH2930
• Class Number: 18579
• Day/Period: W/3
• Instructor: Patricia Takacs

IDH2930 - Examining Texts on Embodied Listening to Understand Methods of Creative Change

This course will look deeply into a wide range of methodologies for communicating in an embodied state and ushering in the essence of lasting change that transforms stagnancy into sustainable global community. Mindfulness, while a popular practice in the temporality of 2026, must be grounded in culturally affirmative approaches and creative pizzaz. Embodied listening and relevant texts of evidence-based methodologies will help foster liminal states of awareness within the context of academic language and ecological experience.

Seminal texts of this course will include and focus mainly on “Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds,” by Adrienne Maree Brown and The Embodied Mind, Revised Edition: Cognitive Science and Human Experience, by Varela, Thompson & Rosch.

Participants of this course can expect to engage regularly in directive, creative activities of embodied and cultural discussions and directly learn from assignments in mindful communication.

 

• Course: IDH2930
• Class Number: 18490
• Day/Period: M/4
• Instructor: Elizabeth Lunior

 

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Business + Economics

Literature

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Other

Interdisciplinary Courses

1-3 credit courses that are interdisciplinary in focus and typically not offered elsewhere on campus.

Professional Development

1 credit courses focusing on leadership, career development, and other professional development topics.

Advanced Pro Dev Topics

Signature Courses

Signature Seminars and Course-based Honors Signature Experiences

UnCommon Classrooms

UnCommon Classrooms are 1-credit Honors courses designed around unusual topics with cities, places, and natural landscapes serving as experimental classrooms. 

These courses are application-based. Students selected to participate will be registered for the course by the Honors office and are responsible for tuition (financial aid may apply). Additional fees associated with each course are provided in the description. Unless otherwise stated, students must arrange transportation to and from the course location. A substantial portion of the cost of UnCommon Classrooms is supported by private funding to the Honors Program for experiential learning.

IDH3931 - Windy City Wonders: Behind-the-scenes at Chicago Museums

Summer Term, May 4-6, 2026

Join Dr. David Blackburn, Professor and Curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History, to explore museums in Chicago. During the trip, we will visit the Field Museum of Natural History, Shedd Aquarium, Griffin Museum of Science & Industry, Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, and more. We will meet with leadership and staff of these important national institutions, including behind-the-scenes tours. Students will gain an understanding of the important work that goes into carrying for and using scholarly collections from preserved snakes to cuneiform tables, important works of art, and even living collections of animals. We’ll also explore the different audiences that these museums serve, including researchers and the public. We will confront the challenges faced by modern museums and discuss the opportunities in the 21st Century for museums to reach even broader audiences.

Cost in Chicago is estimated to be $1,510 including a double-occupancy hotel room from May 3rd - May 7th, breakfast, one dinner, and museum entrance fees. Travel to/from Chicago is not included. Students are expected to arrive May 3rd. The course will conclude late in the day on May 6th. Travel to/from Washington DC is not included. All Honors students enrolled in the course will be eligible to apply for a Wentworth Travel Scholarship to subsidize a portion of the course cost. 

Students who wish to enroll must complete this form by 4/19. Space is limited. 

 

• Course: IDH3931
• Class Number: 15888
• Instructor: David Blackburn