Where Your Curiosity Can Flourish 

The Duquesne University Honors College provides opportunities for students with exceptional academic talent to enrich their education. For 40 years, honors students have accepted Duquesne's challenge to demand more of themselves intellectually, academically and morally.

Here at the Honors College we embrace the Catholic Intellectual Tradition—an unmitigated search for truth with openness to mystery. If this appeals to you, welcome home. We seek no less than to liberate every human person from injustice, poverty and ignorance.

Dr. Kathleen Glenister Roberts, executive director of the Honors College

At Duquesne, we say Spiritus est qui vivificat. May your search for future academic and intellectual challenges be an inspired one!

In the Honors College, you'll have access to funding for research projects and become more sought after in graduate programs around the world.

Students must complete the University Honors College Bridges curriculum, which includes a minimum of six classes in honors-designated courses (HONR), and must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.30 in order to secure the "University Honors College" designation at graduation.

By Invitation

If you are a prospective Duquesne student who meets the academic requirements of the Honors College, you will be recommended by the Office of Admissions and will automatically receive an invitation to join.

The "criteria" for an invitation to the Honors College is fluid, based on SAT or ACT scores, high school GPA, and other admissions data. Students must also demonstrate a commitment to our humanities curriculum when accepting the invitation to join the University Honors College.

We begin sending out invitations in early October and continue on a rolling basis throughout the spring.

We require a response to our invitation by May 1 of the year you plan to enter Duquesne University. After May 1 we cannot guarantee a place for a student who does not respond by the deadline.

By Application or Reapplication

If you do not receive an invitation to join but would still be interested in joining, fill out an application form. For fall incoming freshman only.

If you are not initially invited or accepted into the Honors College, you may reapply following the completion of your first semester at Duquesne. Deadline for current Duquesne students is the add/drop week of the spring semester. For current students, please submit the Honors College Admissions Application. Email for application.

  • The application should be mailed/emailed to the office of the Honors College. Required supporting documentation includes:
    • An "endorsement" via email (from an academic advisor or a faculty member)
    • A statement of intent, in the form of an essay

We will review your complete application and contact you with a decision within a reasonable period of time.

Course description packets are emailed out before early Honors College registration. Opportunities to get your six HONR courses:

Custom Table - Vertical Headings
Bridges requirement HONR course Important notes
On-Ramp: Intro to Bridges HONR 001 Students take this the summer BEFORE their first fall semester at Duquesne 
Information Literacy HONR 100 Offered starting Fall 2025
Writing and Analysis HONR 101 Required unless AP transfer
Writing and Literature HONR 102 Required unless AP transfer
Essential Questions HONR 154 Required
Foundations in Ethical Reasoning HONR 155 Required
Communication and Creative Expression (BRCC) 

August Wilson House course (HONR 203, spring only)

Steel Pan Band (HONR 208)

HONR 210-216 varies by semester.  Look for BRCC

 
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving  (BRCT) HONR 210-216 varies by semester. Look for BRCT  Philosophy tutorials include BRCT
Cultural Fluency and Responsiveness (BRCF)

August Wilson House course (HONR 203, spring only)

Study Abroad (HONR 205)

Steel Pan Band (HONR 208)

HONR 210-216 varies by semester. Look for BRCF 

 
Ethical Reasoning Moral Responsibility (BRET) HONR 210-216 varies by semester. Look for BRET   
Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning (BRQS) HONR 210-216 varies by semester. Look for BRQS    
Social and Historical Reasoning (BRSH) HONR 210-216 varies by semester.  Look for BRSH  
Theology and Philosophy courses (1 each)

Some HONR 154 (Essential Questions classes) are either Philosophy or Theology.  

Some HONR 210-216 sections are either Philosophy or Theology (varies by semester). 

Required
Special Honors Course: Speed Trap HONR 299, summer only, 0-credit Take the summer before your third year
Experiential Learning (BREL) August Wilson House course (HONR 203, spring)   
Capstone (BRCP) Honors Fellows courses (HONR 395, 450, 495, 499) Check your major for capstone requirements

Honors College students gain unique, tangible opportunities to merger their professional goals with creative work in the humanities and liberal arts. Regardless of your major, you will delve deeper into literature, history, philosophy, theology, music, arts and other humanities fields.

Students are happiest and most successful in the Duquesne University Honors College when they understand and are inspired by profound questions.

We've found that the humanities offer us the beginnings of answers to why students choose their professions, and how they will best serve other human beings—whether that be lawyers, pharmacists, speech therapists, educators or any other career.

Our Traditions

Dig Deep into Your Passions

All Honors College students have the opportunity to become an Honors Fellow, pursing an independent project that deepens their knowledge about something they care about. We provide financial support to these pursuits when needed. 

Gordon C. Honors Fellows in Ghana
Gordon Cortney, an Endowed Honors Fellow, learning the gyil in Ghana.

There are three ways to pursue your project:
- Research
- Creative Arts
- Community Engagement

Those whose project require more resources and time can apply to become Endowed Fellows, with financial support up to $5,000. 

Global Perspectives

During the dinner, international students and staff from a particular part of the world will speak informally about their culture and experience while attendees enjoy authentic food from the speakers' home country.

Students dishing a meal

 

 

Faith and Fantasy Literature

An Honors College tradition since 2012, Harry Potter Week separates the art from its author and celebrates the fandom of Harry Potter for the whole campus.  Escape rooms, scavenger hunts, Honeydukes parties, and trivia contests all culminate in one big Harry Potter carnival with games and prizes galore.  Students in our long-standing honors tutorial course, Theological Worlds of Harry Potter, transform spaces on campus to transport us all to Hogwarts and beyond.

Honors College students enjoying Harry Potter Week.

Community Engagement

Based in the Honors College since 2011, the partnership between Duquesne University and August Wilson House is dedicated to continuing the literary, historical and artistic legacy of Pittsburgh playwright and poet August Wilson. Since its founding, the partnership has engaged in a variety of activities including student-created business plans, communications and events.

The partnership between Duquesne University and August Wilson House is dedicated to continuing the literary, historical and artistic legacy of Pittsburgh playwright and poet August Wilson. This benefits students as a course which approaches social justice issues such as community trauma, poverty, and inequity head-on by working side-by-side with community partners in the Hill District. 

Picture of August Wilson

Registration Information Session

Fall semester program, geared towards freshmen, occurs about a week before early registration begins. This program entails inviting successful upperclassman in every program to attend and share their knowledge of courses, registration, professors etc. to first-year students and new members of the Honors College.

Registration Info Session

Break From Your Devices

Students are challenged to take a daylong break from phones and social media to focus on solely reading books in this all-day competition. Meals are provided to students as they try to outlast each other and take part in discussions about their reading selections.

Get to Know Faculty and Staff

This weekly event offers Honors College students a free breakfast with various faculty and staff around Duquesne, providing an intimate setting to get to know other departments outside of the classroom.

Food Items for Extra Perk

Honors College Student Organization

The HCSEE provides a vibrant social outlet and helps students hone leadership skills. The HCSEE organizes service projects and academic interest programs, including Race to the Campus and the Duquesne University Academic Challenge (DUAC). Through HCSEE, students build friendships, explore new ideas, and expand their networks. Members may hold various elected positions and offices within the society.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you meet SAT or ACT requirements (1360 or 30 minimum), you will automatically receive a letter inviting you to join. If your scores are lower, you may fill out a separate application.
No. You need six HONR courses for graduation, but they replace six courses that are already part of your normal schedule – the university Bridges curriculum (BRDG)
No.
No. All financial aid is handled through the Office of Financial Aid. The Honors College provides financial support for special projects you may wish to do, though, such as Honors Fellows
No, but they’re different. They are much smaller than regular BRDG classes at Duquesne – typically around 15 students or fewer. Therefore there is a lot of interaction between students and faculty, and the learning is discussion-based. Honors classes carry much less “busy work” than regular BRDG classes, and focus on special topics. See our curriculum page for more information.
Not because of the Honors College. If you’re invited to join the Honors College, and you appreciate liberal arts and humanities, you’ll like these classes and you will do well. However, if you don’t see the connection between your future life and the benefits of in-depth humanities study, you should say no to our invitation.
Past experience says no. We have had many student-athletes in the Honors College: basketball, soccer, lacrosse, swimming, and many more. You handled high school athletics and academics very well, and you’ll do that in college as well. As a general rule, if you’re invited to join the Honors College, you can handle it.
That’s not the best route to take. It would be better to start, and then withdraw if you don’t feel the benefits of membership. If you wait, you’ll have missed at least one honors course you should have taken – and then you’ll be playing catch-up
No, it’s optional.
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