Dig deeper into your interests by taking Frederick Honors College courses, which are both more challenging and more interesting. In these courses, you will engage in the material with richer analysis, cutting-edge tools, and through the lens of culture and society. Frederick Honors College faculty fellows, specialists from across the University, design and teach our courses with the intellectual needs of our students in mind. With the spring 2024 term around the corner, start looking at honors course options for your schedule!
Enrolling in Honors courses
Use PeopleSoft/Campus Experience (CX) to find the list of all Honors courses being offered. On the Class Search page, select Frederick Honors Course in the Course Attribute pull-down menu to get the list.
If you do not meet the enrollment requirements for an Honors course, you must contact the professor teaching the course to obtain their permission to enroll in it. When you email the professor, explain why you're interested in taking the course and offer details about any skills/experiences you will bring to the course.
If the professor is willing to waive the enrollment requirements to allow you to enroll in the course, the professor can direct you to someone in their department who can issue you a permission number, or the professor can send an email message to David Hornyak (hornyak@pitt.edu) with the following information:
- The course department and number (e.g., HIST 1234)
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your PeopleSoft ID number
You will be emailed a permission number in return.
Honors Course Enhancement Contracts
Honors course enhancement contracts allow David C. Frederick Honors College students the opportunity to earn course credit for Honors Degree or Honors Distinction program requirements in an undergraduate course that does not already fulfill an FHC requirement.
Examples of courses approved for FHC requirements that cannot have a course enhancement include:
- Courses with the Frederick Honors Course attribute
- Courses with the High Impact Attribute Values of Undergraduate Research, Undergraduate Internship, and Capstone Course
- Courses with the Civic Learning and Civic Learning + Engagement attributes
- Courses used to fulfill honors-approved certificates/programs
- Courses that have an honors version of it available (e.g., introductory biology, chemistry, physics, etc.)
Additionally, undergraduate courses with the writing intensive course (w-course) attribute cannot have an honors course enhancement contract associated with them.
Instructors are not obligated to agree to a request from a student to create an honors course enhancement contract for their class.
The experience and subsequent product(s) must engage the student beyond a more passive requirement, such as adding one additional paper for the class, although a paper may be one component of the deliverable.
Instructors and students are encouraged to be creative in their approach by considering:
- Presentations
- Individual research projects or assistance with instructor research
- Using innovative technologies
- Producing creative works
- Community engagement or service-learning projects
- Preparing and presenting class lectures or designing and testing lab projects
- Reflecting on intellectual development opportunities related to the course, such as visiting museums, galleries, archives, or attending guest lectures or seminars
An honors course enhancement may be designed for an individual student, or several students may work together under one contract.
A contract form (PDF) is submitted to David Hornyak no later than the end of the add/drop period of the semester in which the course is being taught. The contract form includes details of how the course enhancement provides greater depth to the course and a description of the deliverable product(s). The contract form is signed by the student and the course instructor. If several students are working on the same enhancement project together, separate contract forms must be completed for each student, although the details about the enhancement project can be the same for all students involved.
At the end of the semester, David Hornyak will provide the instructor with an evaluation form through Qualtrics to assess the student’s performance and success in meeting the requirements of the contract. The evaluation is due when course grades are submitted.
The evaluation of the honors course enhancement contract is separate from the grading for the course. Failure to complete the contract’s requirements will have no impact on the grade the student receives for the course.
If the student successfully completes the requirements of the honors course enhancement contract, they will be given credit for an honors course requirement as part of the Honors Degree or Honors Distinction.
For questions or assistance in developing an honors course enhancement contract, students and instructors are encouraged to discuss possible ideas with the Frederick Honors College by contacting Assistant Dean David Hornyak at hornyak@pitt.edu.
GSPIA courses for Frederick Honors students: 2024 spring term
Are you interested in public service and learning how our world works? Do you want to challenge yourself by taking a graduate-level course? Any Honors College student is welcome to cross-register and take a course from the Graduate School of Public & International Affairs.
To request a permission code that will allow you to register, please email rkidney@pitt.edu and specify which course you would like to take. You will receive a reply within 2-3 business days.
- PIA 2310 - Markets & States
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Professor Ilia Murtazashvili, Mondays 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Markets and States considers how governance explains why some countries are rich and others are poor. In the context of this course, "governance" refers to the formal and informal rules that liberate and constrain individuals and groups in their efforts to improve their economic situation. The course begins by considering the economic foundations of prosperity, including the role of competitive markets, private property rights, and foreign aid in the process of economic development. It then considers the role of the state in economic development, with emphasis on analysis of the political factors that create incentives for governments to do what is in society's best interests. Its empirical focus is on developing countries but will also consider some examples of the political economy of development in the U.S., including when the U.S. was a developing country. The course will also focus on evaluation of development policies, including understanding the logic of randomized impact evaluations and other methods used to analyze the causal impact of public policies seeking to improve prospects for economic development. The course is relevant for students in international development, public administration, and international affairs. - PIA 2502 - Environmental Policy: US and Global
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Professor Shanti Rabindran, Tuesdays 12:00–3:00 p.m.
The 1992 Rio Declaration on environment and development states that 'to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process.' We discuss the linkages between development and the environment, and the role of women, indigenous peoples, and the poor in achieving equitable development and environmental protection. Using tools from economics and policy analysis, we explore the conceptualization of environmental problems (market or government failure); various policy instruments to rectify environmental problems (regulations, voluntary programs, taxes, tradable permits, payments for environmental services and international treaties such as the Basel Convention, the Montreal Protocol, and the Kyoto Protocol), and the link between trade and the environment. Students' case presentations illustrate the challenges of environmental management in developing countries and the roles of civil society, NGOs, corporations, and international institutions such as the world bank, world trade organization, and united nations environmental program. Over the course of the semester, students are responsible for several policy memos and PowerPoint presentations. - PIA 2508 - NGOs Advocacy in International Politics
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Professor Lisa Alfredson, Wednesdays 3:00–6:00 p.m.
NGOs are increasingly respected and visible as political actors influencing a wide range of human security and international development issues. To what extent do they influence politics and policy globally, and what kind of impact do they have? How do they become influential; how do they get the work done? What are the challenges they both face and pose? In what ways is NGO advocacy changing international politics and institutions? In this course we examine NGOS as political actors whose influence extends to the global level. We begin by analyzing the nature of NGOS as political actors and their relationship to broader social movements, political institutions, and social goals in international settings. We examine how NGOS shape themselves and their work in relation to such broader contexts, and how they coordinate with other political actors to achieve change. We then learn how NGOS develop comprehensive and effective international advocacy plans, and we study core NGO tactics and their coordination in political actions. Throughout the course case studies demonstrate how theory, context, and practice are linked. Students also select their own case study for assignments, which are inter-linked as part of a term-long simulation in which the political strategies of real NGOS are evaluated, an original international coalition is formed, and a convincing global strategy of action on common political goals is developed. Students therefore learn to effectively analyze NGOS' international political action while gaining practical skills for international NGO influence. The course engages with theoretical concepts but is heavily skills oriented. It will enable students to (a) analyze and assess the work of nongovernmental actors in international politics, and (b) construct a comprehensive NGO political strategy through simulated governance of real-life NGOS. In the course of the simulation, we will develop specific skills in activities key to NGO political influence, such as analyzing lobbying opportunities, ensuring ethical responsibility, building an international coalition, and working with global mass media. Importantly, all NGOS, whether based locally, nationally, or internationally, can and often do have an influence on international politics, therefore the course does not focus exclusively on international nongovernmental organizations but rather adopts a framework for exploring any NGOS' international influence, for example through their participation in larger networks and coalitions. Examples of international NGO advocacy include: the international campaign to ban landmines, international child soldier campaign, jubilee and debt relief campaigns, campaign for an international criminal court, and many other human rights campaigns for example on health issues and gender issues. The inclusion of NGO advocacy in international politics is important for issues across a range of fields, from development to security to political economy and human rights. NGO advocacy is core to the very idea of human security, which is intended not only to address people's needs over those of states, but to make people's participation essential in addressing those needs. - PIA 2210 - Race, Gender, Law & Policy
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Professor Lisa Nelson, Tuesdays 12:00–3:00 p.m.
This course focuses on the definition, protection and conflicts of identity, gender, sexuality, race, religion, and ethnic, in law and policy in the United States. The course considers the historical and philosophical justifications that have been used to broaden the definition and protection of identity and engages in an analysis of how these efforts continue today. From desegregation of the past to race conscious admissions of today, the way we define, and remedy racial discrimination involves complicated considerations of our legal definition of equality and the institutionalization of policy in the public and private sectors with Constitutional limits in mind. Similarly, policy guarantees against gender discrimination and the broadening of LBGTQIA+ rights once relied on biological justifications, but now claims of gender fluidity alter the kinds of legal and policy protections we are able to seek. The landscape of expanding legal and policy accommodation of emerging forms of identity also includes a consideration of conflicts and intersectionalities with other existing protections for identity. Religious exercise and practice, for example, can clash with those seeking accommodation of LBGTQIA+ rights, while law and policy struggles to strike a balance. This course will engage legal analysis, case-based examples and structured student debates on emerging policy issues involving identity and its place in American society today. - PIA 2188 - Economic Development Strategies & Practices
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Professor Sabina Deitrick, Mondays 3:00–6:00 p.m.
This course focuses on sub-national, local economic development. This course will encompass theory, policy, process and practice in state and local economic development. Our focus will be largely in the North American urban context over the post-World War II period, with international comparisons. We will also use examples from Pittsburgh in furthering our understanding of local economic development practice. We will find that in the U.S. Context, there are different interpretations and meanings to economic development, both in theory and practice. These certainly differ at the international scale, as well. Specific topics include equity issues in economic development, economic cluster analysis, tax increment financing, brownfields revitalization, retail, and regional governance. The purpose of the course is to provide the student with knowledge of the approaches to economic development in theory and practice, techniques and methods of analysis, and debates ongoing in the field. Students will select one economic development policy or case to analyze in depth over the course of the term. - PIA 2224 - Reparations: Policy, Theory and History
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Professor Rashad Williams, Thursdays 3:00–6:00 p.m.
Against the backdrop of racialized mass incarceration, policing, and state surveillance, a chasmic racial wealth gap, racially disparate health outcomes, environmental racism, flagrant seizures of indigenous land, and a growing skepticism of liberal and corporate multiculturalism, a revitalized reparations movement has reemerged, challenging the intergenerational effects of white supremacy. However, demands for reparations, whether at the federal or municipal levels, remain encircled by technical, theoretical, and ideological debates. What is the moral basis for reparations? Does the history of racial exploitation, broadly conceived, explain present-day racial inequality? Who should pay for reparations and what group(s) should receive them? And, fundamentally, what constitutes "reparation?" In this course, we turn to these questions and more. - PIA 2449 - Humanitarian Intervention
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Professor Taylor Seybolt, Tuesdays 12:00–3:00 p.m.
Humanitarian intervention is the set of responses by international actors who assist people when they are deprived by a natural disaster or political conflict of the necessities of security, shelter, food, water, and medical care. Such crises typically occur in countries with weak governing institutions, involve large-scale population displacement, and attract a diverse range of international organizations and states. This course introduces the international humanitarian aid system; reviews ethical, legal, political, and pragmatic challenges; and, through a series of case studies, investigates the processes and outcomes of humanitarian assistance efforts by non-governmental organizations, inter-governmental organizations and governments. The class concentrates on politically induced crises and the controversial role of military actors in the humanitarian realm. - PIA 2096 - Capstone: Policy Analysis for the Local Environment: Deer Management in the City of Pittsburgh
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Professor Jeremy Weber, Wednesdays 3:00–6:00 p.m.
The capstone will serve a local government client (the City of Pittsburgh) to better understand deer management options and tradeoffs. The capstone team will work collaboratively to learn about management options, identify and quantify key costs and benefits of different options, and develop a public report and presentation for the City. Through it, students will grow in their ability to work professionally on a team, serve a client, hustle and learn from data, breakdown complex problems, and communicate so as to further understanding and build credibility. - PIA 2096 - Capstone: Genocide Prevention & Response
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Professor Taylor Seybolt, Thursdays 12:00–3:00 p.m.
This seminar is concerned with stopping large-scale, systematic violence against civilians. Regular and irregular fighting forces commit atrocities against civilians with disturbing frequency, despite legal prohibitions and moral arguments against attacking non-combatants. The course is built around the proposition that genocidal acts are the result of processes of escalation, usually in the context of war, that reach a threshold beyond which a triggering event can turn normal violence into extreme violence. The first half of the course covers theories of the causes of genocide and mass atrocities, illustrated with cases from the early 1900s to the present. In the second half of the course, we evaluate efforts to prevent and respond to mass killing. In particular, we will look at early warning, planning and training programs put forward by various governmental and non-governmental bodies in the U.S. and at the UN. The course objectives are: (1) to become familiar with key concepts, issues and institutions in the field of mass atrocity prevention and response; (2) to understand the opportunities and constraints associated with planning and implementing prevention policies; (3) to carry out academic analysis of the processes that lead to extreme violence, with a focus on a specific crisis; (4) to research, write and present an analytical study of the protection of civilians in situations of potential genocidal violence. Past seminars have produced individual research papers, a group research report on Cote d'Ivoire, submitted to the Center for Genocide Prevention at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and a group analytical report on the state of knowledge about protection of civilians, submitted to the Stimson Center program on the Future of Peace Operations. - PIA 2096 - Capstone: Nonprofit Clinic
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Professors Anna Marie Toccket & Jacob Seltman, Mondays 3:00–6:00 p.m.
The Nonprofit Clinic capstone seminar gives you the opportunity to serve as a management consultant to a nonprofit organization in the Pittsburgh region. You will work either alone or in teams of two people to provide professional-quality consultation to your nonprofit client, helping the client address the challenge or opportunity that they presented to us in the proposal they submitted to the Nonprofit Clinic in November. In addition, you will learn about the consulting profession, and you will practice many of the diagnostic, analytical, and interpersonal skills that are essential in a professional work environment. - PIA 2096 - Capstone: International Economics and International Affairs
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Professor Michael Lewin, Thursdays 12:00–3:00 p.m.
This capstone course aims to provide students with a real-world consulting experience in the intersecting fields of international economics and international affairs. Students will work in teams on issues of direct interest to U.S. Government Agencies (such as the GAO) and/or international financial organizations. Through this course, students will enhance and apply their knowledge and skills to address real-world policy problems and demonstrate mastery of theory and practice. In addition to gaining expertise on international trade, finance and international affairs, students will also gain valuable professional experience and practice key skills such as collaboration, analysis, and communication. The course will culminate in a final presentation and report, showcasing the team's research and findings.