During Years 1 and 2 (On-Campus Admits complete one year) students complete two requirements. The requirements are listed below with further details on each at the bottom of this webpage.

1. Attending Group Advising during Fall Quarter.
2. Completing one UHP course per quarter (3 total in an academic year). 

Notes for Current UHP Students:  

1) Successful completion of these requirements is required to earn UHP transcript notation at the end of the academic year.  2) You are encouraged to find more details about the UHP requirements on the UHP Canvas Page.  

Group Advising

During Fall Quarter the University Honors Program advising team hosts Group Advising sessions to review the UHP curriculum and professional development content. These advising sessions will focus on helping you become familiarized with year-specific UHP curriculum, strategies to maximize your academic potential, and exercises to develop your individual professional goals.    

UHP Courses

For their first two years at UC Davis, UHP students take small, interactive classes with superb faculty that may fulfill University General Education (GE) and/or Major requirements.

UHP students are required to take six Honors courses in the first six quarters, one course per quarter. These courses allow students to build connections with professors and study in a group setting with like-minded students while completing university requirements for graduation.

One of the primary benefits of these courses is their small size: Honors GE courses are capped at 25 students, and Major required courses like Math and Biology have between 40 and 60 students.

While past syllabi of certain courses have been provided to help with students' decision making, please note that these are past syllabi and there is no guarantee that this syllabi will match the upcoming course's syllabi. In addition, not all syllabi have been uploaded, as the professor may not have sent a copy to UHP. We apologize for any inconveniences. 

Browse current honors program courses

Browse previous honors program courses

2025-2026 Honors Courses

• Fall 2025 Honors Courses
• CDM 189: Topics in CDM: American Neorealism (Andrew Smith)
  CHI 10: Introduction to Chicana/o Studies (Lorena Marquez)
  CHN 009: Introduction to Chinese Language and Culture (Yutian Tan)
  ECH 1: Design of Coffee (Tonya Kuhl & Bill Ristenpart)
  EDU 120: Philosophical & Social Foundations of Education (Kevin Gee)
  EDU 142: Introduction to Environmental Education (Heidi Ballard)
  ENL 149: Topics in Creative Writing (Cindy Ok)
  HNR 194: Transfer Seminar (Eleftheria Arapoglou)
  HUM 10/10D: How to be a Critic: Fashion (Claire Goldstein)
  IST 8A: Hormones and Cancer (Maria Mudryj)
  IST 8A: Unlocking the Secrets of Veterinary Research: From PICO Questions to Publishing in Veterinary Evidence (Cecilia Giulivi & Erik Fausak)
  IST 8B: Exploring Indian Spices: Cuisine, Culture, and Culinary Traditions (Shagufta Fatema)
  JPN 10H: Masterpieces of Japanese Literature (Joseph Sorensen)
  Reading Circle: The Leaders of Star Trek (Kate Stephensen)
  SPA 169: Migracion y la Ley (Robert McKee Irwin)
• Winter 2026 Honors Courses
• AMS 10: Introduction to American Studies
  CHN 011: Great Books of China
  COM 1: Major Works Ancient World
  ECH 1: Design of Coffee
  ECN 110B: Global Economic History
  EDU 100:   Introduction of Schools 
  EDU 154: Languaging in Chicanx & Latinx Communities & Schools
  HIS 147A: A Cultural History of Science Fiction
  HIS 173: U.S Immigration History
  HNR 90X: Research preparation (Sciences)
  PHI 10: Introduction to Cognitive Science 
  IST 8A: Introduction to Cancer Biology and Prevention
  IST 8A: Women in STEMM
  IST 8B:  Exploring Indian Spices: Cuisine, Culture, and Culinary Traditions
  NAS 110A: Quechua Language and Society
  NPB 10: Elementary Human Physiology
  SOC 2: Self and Society
  STS 11: Science on Trial: Law and Science in America 
  STA 13: Elementary Statistics
  STS 115: Data Sense & Exploration: Critical Storytelling with Analysis Part I
  
  Course-Based Research Seminars (Counts as Third-Year Project) 
  HNR 98: Climate Change, Misinformation, and Impacts on Emotional Well-being
  HNR 98:  Academic Peer Review 
  HNR 98: Equitable and Just Research in Education & Social Sciences
  DES 128A: Biodesign Challenge Part I
   
• Spring 2026 Honors Courses
• CHE 118A: Organic Chemistry for Health & Life Sciences (Mark Mascal)
  DES 128B: Biodesign Challenge Part II (Christina Cogdell)
  ECH 1: Design of Coffee (Tonya Kuhl & Bill Ristenpart)
  EDU 100: Introduction to Schools (Shannon Pella)
  EDU 185: Learning in a Digital Age (Cynthia Ching)
  HNR 90X: Research Frontiers in Materials under Extreme Conditions (Mingwei Zhang)
  HNR 98: Disease Theory and Cellular Disease States (Kenneth Kaplan)
  HNR 98: Predictive AI for Human Diseases (Gerald Quon)
  HNR 98: Diet-Mircobiome-Metabolic Health and Disease Leading to Drug Discovery (Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan)
  IST 8A: Hormones and Cancer (Maria Mudryj)
  IST 8A: Introduction to Breast Cancer — epidemiology, risk factors, and treatments (Sanchita Bhatnagar)
  IST 8A: EEG Studies in Anesthesia and Cognitive Science (Zhibin Zhou)
  IST 8A: Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Life Processes (Alexei Stuchebrukhov)
  IST 8B: Zionism: Social and Intellectual History 1882-1948 (Itay Eisinger)
  IST 8B:  Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Pop Culture (Beenash Jafri)
  IST 8B:  Exploring Indian Spices: Cuisine, Culture, and Culinary Traditions (Shagufta Fatema)
  IST 8C: Ethics and Modern Healthcare (Mark Fedyk)
  PHR 156: In Vitro Embryo Production (Alejandro De La Fuente-Lara)
  RST 119: Life, Meaning, and Identity (Naomi Janowitz)
  SOC 5: Global Social Change (David Mccourt)
  SOC 124: Education & Inequality in the U.S (Jacob Hibel)
  SOC 195: Introduction to Knowledge Discovery: Data Mining and Machine Learning (Xiaoling Shu)
  STS 195: Adventures In Data Science: Research in Data Studies