Course Descriptions
Honors courses are just one way students can choose to earn their Honors credit. Below is a list of course descriptions for our current course offerings. No specific courses are required to graduate with University Honors. The Honors-only general education courses can also fulfill the base general education requirements for your degree. Confirm degree requirements with your academic advisor before enrolling.Fall 2026 Honors Courses
Biology H498WI & 498WI - Critical Analysis of Biological Issues
Dr. Jess Magaña, Online Asynchronous
Why do animals do what they do, and how do we know? This three-credit-hour course explores evolutionary influences on animal behavior and the challenges associated with developing and testing hypotheses. Students will develop critical analysis skills and effective written and oral communication skills by analyzing scientific articles, discussing methodology and implications, writing analytical papers, and communicating through oral presentations.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who enroll in H498WI will create an additional project that explores scientific writing as a discipline.
Communication Studies H110 - Fundamentals of Effective Speaking and Listening
Dr. Steven Melling, T/Th, 10:00-11:15AM
Dr. Sarah Jones, M/W/F, 2:00-2:50PM
An introduction to the dimensions of effective platform speaking with special emphasis on developing critical listening and successful public speaking skills. In this Honors-only section, students focus on speech creation as a recursive process and how to argue with data visualizations.
English H225 - Intermediate Academic Prose
Dr. Marcus Meade, T/Th, 1:00-2:15PM
This course extends the work of English 110 with an additional emphasis on research. This Honors section of English 225 uses a combination of book-length and shorter texts to focus on specific historical and/or cultural issues. As they learn to participate in scholarly conversations, students will find and evaluate library and Internet sources. As with English 110, this course emphasizes revision, editing, and proper academic documentation.
GECRT-AH H101 - Literacy in our Lives
Dr. Marcus Meade, T/Th, 2:30-3:45PM
So many of our experiences are influenced by our literate lives. Our schooling, our work, our fandoms, our community advocacy, all these domains rely on the ability to effectively utilize written language. The development of our own literacies will impact us throughout our entire lives, and yet, for many, literacy remains an opaque and misunderstood concept.
This course will support students in the development of critical thinking skills, research abilities, and a perspective of the arts and humanities through an examination of their own literate lives. By considering how literacy, literacy education, and literacy politics impact their experiences and the world around them, students will build knowledge and skills associated with arts and humanities work.
GECRT-SC H101 - How do I Live in a Changing World: Restoration Ecology
Dr. Jess Magaña, M/W/F, 10:00-10:50 AM
Students will investigate the natural and physical world through testable questions, models, hypotheses, or discoveries and evaluate different lines of evidence including observations and measurements. Students will apply natural and physical science techniques and use results and conclusions to explain and appreciate the natural and physical phenomena that impact our lives, our community, and the world in which we live. This Honors-only section in particular will explore the goals of restoration ecology and analyze the methods environmental scientists and land managers use to mitigate ecosystem damage.
GECRT-SS H101EUR - Cultural Experiences of Health and Illness
Dr. Susanna Donaldson, M/W/F, 2:00-2:50 PM
This Essentials course examines human behavior through the lens of health and illness by providing an in-depth exploration of the ways in which cultural beliefs, practices, and societal structures shape experiences of health and illness. Through the lens of medical anthropology, we will examine key topics such as medical pluralism; the complexities of end-of-life practices and beliefs across cultures; the intersection of health and social identity; and the social constructions of illness, focusing on how these factors influence individual and collective experiences of well-being and suffering. Special attention will be given to exploring how health disparities are informed by race, class, gender, and other intersecting social statuses. By the end of the course, students will gain a nuanced understanding of how cultural contexts shape both the perception and treatment of illness, and the ways in which power, social structures, and identity intersect within global health systems.
GECDV H202 - Investigating Identity, Power, and Change
Dr. Susanna Donaldson, M/W, 4:00-5:15 PM
Students in this Honors Essentials class will explore the complex, interconnected dynamics of and between race, (social) class, gender, and human sexuality. The course explores how these concepts are understood holistically and how they are constructed and positioned within society. This class emphasizes investigations, via critical thinking, about how these different systems of inequality interact with and through each other, while also being sensitive to different theoretical and methodological frameworks from several disciplines employed to analyze those systems.
GECUE H201 - Civic and Urban Engagement: Social Impact in America
Dr. Brent Never, T/Th, 10:00-11:15AM
This course introduces students to community development in urban America with a particular focus on Kansas City, Missouri. Students will learn how community development occurs with a focus on organizations, policy, economics, and politics. Students will work on designing and proposing solutions to current urban problems- particularly those that can be labeled wicked urban problems (usually defined as problems that are exceptionally difficult to solve due to conflicting perspectives and uncertainties in causal relationships). An explicitly multi-sector and interdisciplinary focus will inform urban policy analysis and solutions to wicked urban problems. As part of the course, students will participate in the Levitt Social Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Honors 230 - Honors American Government
Dr. Debra Leiter, T/Th, 11:30AM-12:45PM
The American political system is unlike any other, but is it truly unique? Sometimes complicated, always interesting, in this course we will investigate the structure of American government, with special attention to the way different people, groups, and institutions influence elections and policy outcomes. By the end of this course, you will have a better sense of why the American political system is that way that it is, how it has evolved, who has influence and why, and what we might expect for the future.
Honors 360C - Leadership and Ethics
Dean Tamara Falicov and Provost Jenny Lundgren, W, 12:00-12:50PM
Leadership is a necessary skill that continues to change as our culture and society evolves. To this end, the Honors Program seeks to build future leaders who are capable of making informed, ethical decisions. In this course, Honors students will learn how to assess the needs of a team, to adapt to diverse community and cultural standards, and to contribute when not in the lead. One credit hour.
Honors 490 - Professionalizing Research
Dr. Susanna Donaldson, Online Asynchronous
This Honors Leader course combines mini-lectures, readings, and discussion with students’ existing research experiences to guide them as they develop a research persona. Students will practice the professional skills required of academic researchers, e.g. writing abstracts, maintaining their CVs, applying for funding, etc.
To take this course, Honors students must be actively engaging in supervised research (e.g. working in a research lab, conducting research for or alongside faculty or graduate student(s), or doing individual research under the guidance of a faculty mentor). One credit hour.
Honors 496 & Honors 496A - Honors Internship
This course is an academic internship that requires written assignments in addition to the work performed in a professional workplace. Internships are individually arranged with the sponsoring organization, which may be a business, school, nonprofit agency or government office. Academic credit may range from 1 to 6 credit hours (0 credit hours for Honors 496A). There will be a Learning Agreement established in the first week of the semester that states the contractual responsibilities of the student, the workplace supervisor, and the internship coordinator. This Learning Agreement will outline the job responsibilities, workload expectations, assignments and anticipated learning outcomes of the internship experience.
Offered every fall and spring semester.
Honors 499 - Senior Thesis/Project Writing Group
Dr. Marcus Meade, TBD, Every Other Week (In Person)
This course is open to Honors students who are working on senior theses, projects, or capstone papers. The group meets twice a month to offer peer response to the work of members who set goals and deadlines for producing their theses or projects. One credit hour.
Pol-Sci H308 & Pol-Sci 308 - Parties and Interest Groups
Dr. Beth Vonnahme, T/Th, 10:00-11:15AM
Introduction to parties and interest groups in the United States and their important role in the political process. Topics include the formation, organization, activities, and impact of political parties and interest groups in American politics.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who enroll in H308 will complete an additional project.
Pol-Sci H316 & Pol-Sci 316 - Terrorism and Political Violence
Dr. Rebecca Best, T/Th, 4:00-5:15PM
This course explores terrorism and armed struggle from theoretical and historical perspectives, and analyzes a number of violent movements with nationalist, ideological, and religious motivations.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who enroll in H316 will complete an additional project.
Pol-Sci H434 & Pol-Sci 434 - Civil-Military Relations
Dr. Rebecca Best, T/Th, 1:00-2:15PM
This course considers the relationship between militaries and the civilian publics they serve. The course invites students to evaluate the rationale for and nature of civilian control of the military, assess the current state of civil-military relations in the United States and in select other countries, and analyze the implications of shifts in civil-military relations. The course will focus particularly on civil-military relations in the United States, however, it will also consider civil-military relations in other countries, including democracies, non-democracies, and autocracizing countries. Within the U.S. context, special attention will focus on implications of the shift to an all-volunteer force. Within the context of non-democracies, special attention will focus on coups and the relationship between military elites and political elites.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who enroll in H434 will complete an additional project.
Spring 2026 Honors Courses
Biology H333 & 333 - Invasive Species
Dr. Jess Magaña, T/Th, 1:00-2:15PM
Invasive species are of concern to the public, scientists, and governments as invasive species can negatively impact native ecosystems, economies, and human health. Students in this 3-credit-hour, online course will study the biological traits that contribute to successful invasions, the ecological and economic impacts of invasive species, and the legal and cultural responses to invasions. Students will develop critical analysis and communication skills by analyzing scientific literature, discussing implications, and presenting arguments in written and oral platforms.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who wish to earn Honors credit for this class will give a 10-minute presentation from the point of view of a stakeholder dealing with an invasive species, followed by a class discussion in which presenters will answer questions “in-character.”
Biology H498WI & 498WI - Critical Analysis of Biological Issues
Dr. Jess Magaña, Online Asynchronous
Why do animals do what they do, and how do we know? This three-credit-hour course explores evolutionary influences on animal behavior and the challenges associated with developing and testing hypotheses. Students will develop critical analysis skills and effective written and oral communication skills by analyzing scientific articles, discussing methodology and implications, writing analytical papers, and communicating through oral presentations.
Offered every fall and spring semester.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who wish to earn Honors credit for this class will create an additional project that explores scientific writing as a discipline.
Communication Studies H110 - Fundamentals of Effective Speaking and Listening
Dr. Stephen Melling, T/Th, 10:00-11:15AM
An introduction to the dimensions of effective platform speaking with special emphasis on developing critical listening and successful public speaking skills. In this Honors-only section, students will compose a research-based asynchronous presentation—a video essay.
Offered every fall and spring semester.
CJC H384 & 384 - Mock Trial
Professor Lynnette Lockhart, M/W, 5:30-8:30PM
Mock Trial at UMKC is a fast-paced, hands-on program where students take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses to present full courtroom trials. Topics include the rules of evidence, persuasive legal argument, and the roles of attorneys, judges, and witnesses. Mock Trial is a space to develop skills in legal analysis, public speaking, and thinking fast under pressure. Students meet with the instructor/coach twice a week for engaging lectures, trial prep, and in-depth practice rounds. This course is available to all majors, regardless of experience level, and serves as an excellent opportunity to preview (and prepare for) the rigors of law school.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who wish to earn Honors credit for this class will participate in an additional project, serving as student-coaches for local high school Mock Trial teams and Youth Court initiatives.
CJC H390 & 390 - New Dimensions in Criminal Justice: Moot Court
Professor Alexandria Serra, TBD
Students learn appellate advocacy by analyzing a case and representing a client on appeal before a simulated Supreme Court. Working individually and in teams, students research authorities, draft a brief and deliver a timed argument on two constitutional questions.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who wish to earn Honors credit for this class will do an additional project.
GECRT-AH H106 - Kansas City as Text
Dr. Marcus Meade, T/Th, 11:30-12:45PM
In this class, you will learn about the arts and history of Kansas City by going to places such as the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the 18th and Vine Historic District with Dr. Meade and your peers. Then you will choose a topic, problem, or issue relevant to the arts and history of Kansas City for your individual research project. For example, you might explore how the city can preserve the cultural and historical value of the 18th and Vine District while responsibly revitalizing that area. Or you could consider how First Friday, the monthly public gathering in the Kansas City Crossroads, should be altered to better serve the needs and interests of artists, merchants, and guests. In the process, you will develop the important skills of posing a research question; conducting research using methods appropriate to the humanities, such as observation, archival research, and expert interviews; taking a position on your topic; and sharing your findings in a multimodal presentation and an essay.
Offered every fall and spring semester.
GECRT-SS H102 - Culture Through the Camera Lens
Dr. Susanna Donaldson, M/W/F, 2:00-2:50PM
This course provides an introductory survey of documentary film making as a distinct form of social research that has the ability to reflect, critique, reshape, and impact society and culture. We will consider how documentaries critically examine various aspects of society and culture (violence, race, class, gender and sexuality, environmentalism, etc.) in order to address questions such as: what is human behavior? How do humans influence and are influenced by the world around them? How can we study the “why” behind human behavior in a meaningful way?
Offered every spring semester.
GECUE H202 - Social Action
Dr. Susanna Donaldson, M/W, 4:00-5:15PM
Social Action will introduce students to concepts and strategies that will enable them to enact social change. We will explore the various methods that can be used to implement social action, we will examine activist groups in Kansas City that have led successful campaigns for change, and we will use what we learn to address a social problem on the UMKC campus. In this course you will collaborate with classmates on two different projects: (1) examination of and collaboration with a local activist group and (2) analyze a social problem at UMKC, develop a solution to that problem, and implement the solution.
Offered every spring semester.
Honors 330 - Senior Honors Thesis/Project Practicum
Dr. Marcus Meade, T, 2:30-3:20PM
This graded, one-credit course will prepare Honors students to undertake a Senior Honors Thesis or Project. In this class, students will explore different options for theses or projects; identify a topic and faculty advisor; plan the production of the thesis or project; produce a component of the thesis or project; and collaborate effectively with other honors students to develop their plans. (This course counts towards Honors Scholar Requirements)
Honors 360B - Environmental Sustainability
Dr. Jess Magaña, W, 12:00-12:50PM
Climate change affects all of us. In this Honors Leader course, students will learn about environmental policies and practices, the implications of these policies and practices for various groups of people, and the disproportionate adversity that environmental degradation has on already disenfranchised communities. (This class is part of the Honors Leader Program but can be taken alone if students are interested. It is offered once every two years.)
Honors 496 and 496A - Honors Internship
This course is an academic internship that requires written assignments in addition to the work performed in a professional workplace. Internships are individually arranged with the sponsoring organization, which may be a business, school, nonprofit agency or government office. Academic credit may range from 1 to 6 credit hours (0 credit hours for Honors 496A). There will be a Learning Agreement established in the first week of the semester that states the contractual responsibilities of the student, the workplace supervisor, and the internship coordinator. This Learning Agreement will outline the job responsibilities, workload expectations, assignments and anticipated learning outcomes of the internship experience.
Offered every fall and spring semester.
Honors 499 - Senior Thesis/Project Writing Group
Dr. Marcus Meade, TBD, Every Other Week (In Person)
This course is open to Honors students who are working on senior theses, projects, or capstone papers. The group meets twice a month to offer peer response to the work of members who set goals and deadlines for producing their theses or projects. One credit hour.
Offered every fall and spring semester.
Sociology H302WI & 302WI - Social Stratification
Dr. Susanna Donaldson, Online Asynchronous
In Social Stat, students will examine the distribution of power, privileges, and prestige from historical and comparative perspectives, exploring how these systems shape everyday life and social opportunities. There is a prerequisite of ENG 225. This course counts toward Sociology and Anthropology major and minor requirements.
*This is not an Honors-only seminar. Students who wish to earn Honors credit for this class will present their research at the UMKC Symposium of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship on April 23, 2026.