Message from the Director
Welcome to the Liberal Arts Honors Program!
The Liberal Arts Honors Program is a learning community populated by ambitious students and outstanding faculty, all of whom are digging deeper into the UTEP experience. This community of scholars includes undergraduates in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts, all of whom are striving to enhance their educational experiences. We invite you to join us as we expand the reach of our program. Your participation in the LAHP meshes with the UTEP EDGE goals and opportunities available across campus.
The LAHP is foremost a rigorous academic program, one that demands more of its students and rewards them with more meaningful scholarly experiences. Students who are accepted into this interdisciplinary program complete a minor called Liberal Arts Honors, one that fits onto any major and many of the minors in the College of Liberal Arts. Our students satisfy their major’s electives with four courses of their choosing from a long list of challenging classes bearing the LAHP designation. In addition, they take two Methodologies Courses that give them a chance to learn about the research foundations in two other disciplines. Finally, students work closely with a mentor in their major discipline to produce an independent research project and present their findings at the LAHP Culminating Showcase. All of these academic experiences distinguish Liberal Arts Honors students as some of the highest achievers at UTEP.
The program offers many other extracurricular opportunities for its students. UTEP brings many interesting speakers to the university to discuss their cutting-edge scholarship and cultural productions and LAHP brings its students into contact with these far-flung visitors in small-group settings. And speaking of far-flung opportunities, the LAHP has access to scholarship funds to help support our students’ travel for study-abroad and study-away opportunities. LAHP students travel to scholarly conferences and workshops and our program has funds to support that work as well. Many LAHP students find ways to connect their academic interests to genuine independent research projects (through COURI), establishing relationships with mentors among the university’s active research faculty.
Plus, the LAHP is a lot of fun! As a community of diligent students, members of the LAHP enjoy the informal atmosphere of the Honors Lounge, with study space, computers, lockers, a coffee and snack bar, all in a relaxing environment for the sorts of conversations about life, the universe, and everything that students crave. LAHP students form study groups and work together on projects, rooting for each other as they strive to excel in their studies. The LAHP student organization offers students ways to develop their leadership skills and creates opportunities for community outreach as well as entertainment.
As our students reach the end of their undergraduate careers, they look back on these experiences and take pride in their accomplishments. Their transcripts reflect their high grades and their designation as Liberal Arts Honors Students. Their future prospects, including graduate school or meaningful employment, are bright as they move on from UTEP, having gotten more out of the experience than many others will have.
It’s important to start the Liberal Arts Honors Program early, in order to get the most out of your time here. We welcome all ambitious UTEP students who have completed at least two semesters on campus (one semester for transfer students) with the requisite academic performance to apply for this challenging and rewarding opportunity. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the LAHP’s opportunities and requirements.
Dr. Andrew Fleck