We are a community for intellectually engaged undergraduates eager to share their thinking and create knowledge, a residential college within the larger university where students from every undergraduate college and academic discipline live and study together, participating in cutting-edge research, engaging in innovative creative expression, and tackling pressing societal challenges.
We like to think of the Patrick Leahy Honors College as a place where “excellence meets opportunity.” Students who join the Honors College in their first and second years at UVM bring with them a broad diversity of intellectual and cultural backgrounds. Honors College students are English majors, engineers, and environmental scientists. They are also varsity athletes, ballroom dancers, and political activists. What they all have in common is a passion for learning, intellectual courage, and a willingness to take a deeper dive into the fields of inquiry that inspire them to make the world a better place. The faculty and staff of the Honors College strive to create an environment and cultivate opportunities in which students with these passions can excel.
The pillars of the Patrick Leahy Honors College are leadership, service, research, cultural engagement, and wellbeing. We promote these through our interdisciplinary curriculum, our emphasis on holistic advising, and our support for student achievement. One of the core parts of the Honors College is the office for Fellowships, Opportunities, and Undergraduate Research (FOUR). Whether you’re interested in traveling abroad, finding mentoring and financial support for your research, or participating in campus enrichment programs, the FOUR office is an invaluable—and fun—resource to help plan for what lies ahead. The FOUR office works with all UVM undergraduate students to translate their academic successes into exciting research collaborations, publications and presentations, and prestigious national and international awards. The FOUR office can assist in identifying what opportunities match your interests and help you do some long-range planning to achieve your goals. Check them out!
I have been at the University of Vermont since 2003, and the Honors College has been a second home to me throughout my UVM career. The opportunities I’ve had to teach and get to know Honors College students, to see the sparks that kindle groundbreaking research projects, and to witness how the pursuit of knowledge can take students on unanticipated and exciting new paths have been among my most-cherished UVM experiences. I’m proud and excited to be a part of your educational journey and to see where UVM and the Patrick Leahy Honors College will take you. Welcome!
David Jenemann
Dean
