Honors classes are led as small seminars. Faculty teach innovative and often interdisciplinary topics, and you'll engage in lively discussion with your fellow students. Hands-on learning, field trips, and other enrichment activities are hallmarks of Honors courses. 

Honors advisors are familiar with the challenges and opportunities that excellent students face, and provide superb support through advising and personal attention.  This includes advising on Honors requirements, career interests, and on graduate and professional schools, and preparation for prestigious graduate fellowships and scholarships.

Honors students often need more advising (not less!) because of the added complexity that having many academic and professional interests brings to the undergraduate experience.  Having an advisor who is there to help you navigate all the opportunities Syracuse has to offer (not just in your college or major) is a huge benefit.

A hallmark of the Honors Program is the completion of a thesis project in your senior year.  This project is the culmination of your academic or creative interests, and often lays the groundwork for your professional or educational path after SU. Students in the Honors Program often expand on their Thesis by attending or presenting at conferences, and taking on specialized internships or field research.  Honors also offers unique funding grants that offset the costs associated with doing independent research and participating in professional development opportunities.

In the Honors Program we are dedicated to supporting our students in their research endeavors, study abroad, and their overall professional development.  Through our generous donors and supporters, we have the privilege of extending these opportunities to students in the Renée Crown University Honors Program. Below are some of our opportunities. Please visit our Funding Opportunities page for more details and specifics of each program.

• Academic Enhancement Awards:
  • Professional Development
  • Research
  • Study Abroad
• Crown Thesis Funding Grants: Honors students may apply for up to $7,500 in grant funding for costs associated with conducting their thesis.

During your first year in Honors, you will live in the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC) or another LLC of your choice that you request on the housing application. The Honors LLC is located in Sadler Hall, which is next to the Stadium and close to the Barnes Center, our state-of-the-art health and wellness center. You may learn more about residential life via the Housing Office and the Office of Student Living.

A New Tradition- The First Year Honors Incoming Student Overnight Retreat began in Fall 2023 and is now in its third year.

After the excitement of moving in, unpacking, arranging, and re-arranging furniture in their rooms, and equally as important, socializing and getting to know each other, 90+ incoming Honors students will board buses to embark on the Honors Retreat! Held at the White Eagle Conference Center in Hamilton, the retreat provides some space for students to take a moment to reflect on the journey they are about to begin with the Honors Program and Syracuse University, and how they can maximize the benefits and resources provided on campus and contribute to the vibrant campus community.  

Students have a lot of fun, as they spend more time getting to know each other. During the day, they played volleyball, canoe on Lake Moraine, take nature walks in small groups, and form conversation circles. As night fell, we will light a campfire and share scary stories while making s’mores. Some students gather to play card and board games. Mafia is usually the most popular game, in which students turn detectives to find the killer in their midst. 

Honors peer mentors and advisors are available to share their experiences and to provide an overview of the program. Students reported they loved the retreat and the relationships they were able to form before classes started.  

“The Honors Retreat was a favorite Orientation Week event. The friends I made there are still the group of friends I hang out with on a day-to-day basis. I also see people I know from the retreat all around campus, and there’s at least one familiar face in each of my classes. I also got to know the Honors staff and made relationships with upper-class honors students, so now I feel comfortable reaching out whenever I need it, and I have a network of faculty and staff willing to help me. I recommend the Honors Retreat to anyone thinking about going!” 

Keira B 

The retreat was developed to help build a stronger Honors community and to offer Honors students lasting support systems with the Honors staff and peer mentors. It was a small part of ensuring that student experiences with Honors and Syracuse University continue to be meaningful. 

It is important to know that a very small portion of the incoming Honors class is able to participate in the retreat due to its limited capacity. If you are unable to attend the retreat, that is ok, and you will still have plenty of opportunities to engage with your peers once the semester, and Honors orientation, begins.

 Find out more about our retreat for the Honors class of 2029 here.