Honors Adviser Role and Information

Guiding Scholars

As an honors adviser, you are your advisee’s primary point of contact for meeting major-specific honors requirements and maximizing opportunities as a Schreyer Scholar. You are also a key resource for Scholars as they plan their thesis. For more information about your role in the thesis project, visit our Faculty Thesis Roles & Responsibilities page.

Primary Responsibilities

General Advising & Mentoring

As an honors adviser, we ask that you have:

An understanding of Schreyer Honors College requirements
An understanding of major-specific honors requirements for your department/college
Enthusiasm to work with Schreyer Scholars to identify and cultivate their interests within the major

While you are often a Scholar’s first point of contact, we encourage you to connect Scholars with other supporters as needed, including Schreyer staff and academic advisers. It is always appropriate to refer a student to department or college staff advisers for non-honors matters. Schreyer’s Academic Affairs Office is always available to answer Schreyer-specific questions, and students are encouraged to schedule a meeting with us.

Many departments and colleges have more specific policies for Schreyer Scholars, such as required courses or additional thesis guidelines. Schreyer does not maintain a list of these local policies. As honors adviser, it is your responsibility to ensure your advisee knows these expectations. We recommend departments and colleges make these additional guidelines available on their website.

Form Approvals

Honors advisers are responsible for reviewing and approving student forms through the Schreyer Honors College Student Record System (SRS). You'll receive an email prompt when you have a form pending review. Visit our Academic Deadlines page to review student deadlines for each form.

: This form outlines a student’s course plan for each academic year and asks them to reflect on Schreyer’s mission and values. We encourage you to meet with your advisee before they submit the form. The plan is meant to serve as the basis for discussion between you and your advisee at least once a year.

After the plan is submitted, your role is to review the form to ensure it reflects appropriate progress toward major honors requirements as well as thoughtful free response answers. You can disagree with the plan and send it back to the Scholar with notes. After they revise and resubmit it, please review and agree.
: As thesis honors adviser, you have three approvals related to the thesis project: Thesis Proposal, Thesis Check-in, and Final Thesis Submission. The first two are submitted and approved via Schreyer's Student Record System (SRS). The final submission is submitted via the library’s  Electronic Honors Thesis (eHT) website.

More information about your role in the thesis project can be found on the Faculty Thesis Roles & Responsibilities page.
: Scholars who wish to honors option a course must submit the Honors Option Request via SRS. As honors adviser, your role is to review the proposed honors option as it relates to your advisee completing honors credit. The Schreyer Honors College ensures the instructor is eligible to supervise an honors option. Any course, including 100-level courses or general education courses, can be honors optioned. If you are unsure about an honors option request, please contact us at SHCAcademics@psu.edu.

If you are an adviser at a Commonwealth Campus with its own honors option request process, your advisee must also submit the Schreyer request through SRS in order to receive credit.
: As an honors adviser, you are a valuable resource for Scholars when it comes to identifying research topics, understanding the major in a scholarly context, and appropriately reaching out to faculty to identify a thesis supervisor. If you also serve as a thesis honors adviser, you have additional responsibilities, such as communicating department timelines and expectations, monitoring progress, and approving the final submission. Your role as an honors thesis adviser is further described on our Faculty Thesis Roles & Responsibilities page.

Adviser Assignments and Changes

Colleges and departments assign honors advisers via LionPATH, which is then reflected in Schreyer’s Student Record System (SRS). Schreyer then displays an honors adviser roster on our website. Changes to the honors adviser roster should be sent to SHCAcademics@psu.edu.

This includes:

Removing an honors adviser
Adding an honors adviser
Assigning a new primary honors adviser
Marking advisers as temporarily inactive (including sabbatical or leave)

Campus and Eligibility Information

Students in any four-year (baccalaureate) program of study may be Schreyer Scholars, with minor exceptions that our office monitors. Students may enter the Schreyer Honors College at any undergraduate campus, but to graduate as Schreyer Scholars they must complete their degree at University Park or another approved campus: Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, or Harrisburg.

All campuses except University Park have local campus honors programs, with their own admissions criteria and program requirements. The campus honors coordinator runs the local program and serves as the Schreyer Honors College representative. Students may be in the campus honors program and the Schreyer Honors College, but there is no articulation agreement: campus honors students can only join the Schreyer Honors College through the current student application.

World Campus is not an approved Schreyer Honors College graduation campus, and because World Campus students do not have “2+2” access to complete at other campuses, Schreyer Scholars may not start at World Campus. Scholars can, however, take classes or entire semesters of World Campus coursework towards a University Park or other honors-eligible campus degree with appropriate permissions.

Second- or Third-Year Entrance to Schreyer

Schreyer has a current Penn State student application. If you serve as the sole or principal honors adviser for a major, you will review these applications for your major. Second- and third-year entry Scholars are admitted for a specific major and campus. They may not complete a thesis in another area without additional permission.