The annual award, offered through the Honors Program, has been established to honor the life of Timothy M. Smith.
Watch UT Honors Program video on YouTube.
The interdisciplinary Honors Program provides an enhanced learning environment for exceptional University of Tampa students. Led by a distinguished faculty, students are challenged to aim higher and go farther in their lives, communities and careers.
Honors Program students thrive in a close-knit atmosphere among the most inquisitive, intellectually spirited and enterprising students. They enjoy specialized classes on stimulating topics, attend symposia, conduct original scholarship for the Honors Thesis, and participate in state, regional and national honors conferences.
Honors students also have the opportunity to study at Oxford University in England, to apply for study abroad scholarships, and to conduct original scholarship and research under the guidance of UT faculty. Other benefits include access to a specially-equipped Honors lounge and an option to in the Honors-only residence hall. Students must be full-time to be eligible for these opportunities. Applications for all the Honors opportunities are online.
Honors Program Admission
First-year and transfer students are automatically considered for the Honors Program when they apply to the University, and, if accepted, are considered "Honors Eligible." A separate application for full enrollment in the Honors Program is required at the end of the first year for freshmen, after completion of their second semester for transfer students and after at least one semester at UT for all continuing students. Continuing students who wish to join the Honors Program should discuss scheduling with Honors Program directors by contacting honors@ut.edu.
The University of Tampa Honors Program is a selective and competitive program, requiring all students to complete a thesis prior to graduation. As is the case for all UT applications, the Admissions Review Committee at The University of Tampa reviews completed student applications holistically. We define holistic admission as examining the entire student application file, the whole person and the context of the student’s environment. Academic accomplishment is clearly the dominating factor when evaluating students and making admissions decisions. However, there are many relevant criteria that also contribute to academic factors when UT decides to accept a student to the Honors Program. We are particularly interested in student character, work ethic, leadership, community service and academic challenge. The following provides examples that will demonstrate what we look for with respect to a student’s academic potential and strength of character, the two main areas of review during the evaluation process:
ACADEMIC REVIEW:
- Quality of grades
- Quality of grades related to prospective major (e.g., chemistry grades for a forensic science major, etc.)
- Strength and performance of coursework completed (number of AP, IB, AICE or dual enrollment courses taken, and performance in these courses)
- Academic challenge (number of AP, IB, AICE or dual enrollment attempted, irrespective of grades)
CHARACTER REVIEW:
- Work ethic, as exemplified by balancing academic and extracurricular challenge (e.g., strong grades coupled with significant and meaningful extracurricular or work activity)
- Empathy and kindness toward others (e.g., community service, taking care of family in need, etc.)
- Extracurricular activity and accomplishment (e.g., orchestra, band, theatre, honors societies, club involvement, athletics, performing arts, etc.)
- Independence (e.g., travel, camps, after-school or summer employment, student-initiated communication with the University versus parents communicating, etc.)
- Leadership (e.g., president, treasurer, co-captain, MVP, first-chair instrumental, etc.)
The Honors Program at UT is also test optional. We do not require test scores for admission to the University. While a student may send test scores if they desire, such scores are not necessary during the application and admissions process at UT.
- Via ad Honores (HON 100)
- Earn 100 ACE (Academics, Community and Engagement) points per academic year
- Complete the Honors Curriculum
- Math requirement
- AWR 101 and AWR 201
- 3 Idea Labs - Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities
- 3 Dialectics - Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going?
- Complete an Honors thesis
