Urban Honors Community

Living: (Re) imagined

The Urban Honors Living Learning Community (UHLLC) provides students admitted to the Honors program with the opportunity to live in a dynamic community with other high achieving and highly motivated students.  As part of the Urban Honors hall, students can participate in the life of the city and also experience the benefits of a small learning community. Residents will cultivate a garden in the community garden across the street, attend art openings, concerts, volunteer for city projects, bring in lecturers and organize day trips to the weirder corners of Portlandia and the wilder edges of the metropolitan parks.

The program is housed in the Stephen Epler Hall. Built in 2003, Stephen Epler Hall has modern studio apartments with large windows, built-in appliances and bicycle storage. We've put a modern and revolutionary focus on sustainability, making this an ideal choice for the UHLLC.  The UHLLC is a state-of-the-art living learning environment that integrates classroom and experiential learning into the living area with peers to form a learning community.

There are many advantages to living in the Urban Honors Residential Learning Communities:

• Students develop a sense of community by residing with students who share similar interests and goals
• Honors Staff members are easily accessible for questions and advising
• The Urban Honors floor is supervised by an Urban Honors Resident Assistant who acts as a resource and peer advisor to new students
• First year students have the opportunity to be mentored by a junior or senior in the Honor’s Program
• Student leadership development opportunities
• Priority for Community Garden plots
• Open to all students in the Honors program

Urban education: (Re) defined

The University Honors Program centrally engages Portland State’s motto, "Let Knowledge Serve the City." University Honors builds on Portland State’s reputation as a leader in urban studies, its institutional commitment to community engagement and internationalization, and its location in downtown Portland. The program serves high-achieving, highly-motivated students by providing an engaged and challenging educational experience using the city of Portland as a living laboratory.

The Honors Program attracts top-tier students from Oregon and from out-of-state, students who are eager to be a part of the Portland experience. Students have the opportunity to work one-on-one with faculty on applied research projects, to network through internships and to take advantage of the resources of a large urban institution in the space of an intimate program. Students who participate in this unique and challenging curricular experience will graduate with University Honors in their chosen field.

Curriculum

The honors general education curriculum replaces University Studies requirements. Students will still meet the BA/BS requirements for their degree as well as the 180-credit degree requirement. All courses are reading, writing and research intensive.

First year: Foundations
The Global City
HON 101, 102, 103 (15 credits)

A year-long course that broadly examines ecological, economic, geographic, and political processes that shape globalization and an interdependent urban world.

Class size limited to 30.