Application Prep Courses


Taking a full and challenging curriculum is an important part of your undergraduate education and makes you a better candidate. The University Honors Program regularly offers two courses that have proven particularly helpful for students pursuing competitive awards. Students do not need to be members of the Honors Program to participate in these courses. Information and the required course interest form are below.

Please email honors@ku.edu if you have any questions. Complete the interest form below if you would like to request permission to enroll.

Personal Writing and Advocacy Courses

HNRS 370 - Personal Writing Seminar

This seminar helps students develop their personal writing abilities. Students analyze language and rhetorical choices in the genre of the personal essay. Students demonstrate rhetorical flexibility within the genre, considering audience, purpose, and application of the material.

HNRS 380 - Critical Thinking and Advocacy

The focus of this class is on honing the two basic skills of critical thinking and advocacy. In this seminar, students develop a basic system for critical analysis that can be applied generally; test that critical analysis system in a series of practicums to develop the skills necessary to apply it; and develop a basic system for designing effective and ethical persuasive messages.

Priority access for these courses is as follows:

  • Students planning to apply for national fellowships in the next year
  • Students who may apply for national fellowships further out in their academic careers
  • Students applying for post-graduate programs, with completion of the form as a further weight.

HNRS 370/HNRS 380 Course Interest Form