Definition of Honors Beyond the Classroom
An Honors Beyond the Classroom (BTC) experience should focus on one of the four areas considered for Honors BTC – internship, research, service learning or study away – and is a credit-bearing experience in which a student is enrolled and receives course credit, such as an internship course, independent research course, a study away or service learning course. The Honors BTC requirement aims to enrich and expand a student’s college experience and helps prepare Honors studentsthem for their future.
How to Fulfill the BTC Requirement
There are four Beyond the Classroom paths, or pillars, to fulfill the Honors BTC requirement.
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Internships
Receive Honors College credit while participating in public service or working for a company or organization of your choosing.
Pictured: Lana Sukkar hosting a vaccination clinic during summer internship with Walgreens.
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Research
Participate in groundbreaking research in any field with a personal research mentor.
Pictured: Biochemistry student Lydia Pless in Dr. Nicholas Truex’s lab researching Therapeutic Delivery of Zinc Finger Proteins into Mammalian Cells.
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Study Away
Learn in exciting cities in the U.S. and around the world.
Pictured: Group of Honors students in Venice, Italy during Honors summer study abroad course: Art, Design + Architecture in Venice: Drawing from The Past, Imagining The Future.
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Service Learning
Through an Honors service learning course, students connect meaningful community service with academic coursework and purposeful reflection.
Pictured: Khufu Holly Jr. during Honors Pride, an event organized through the SCHC Coming Out in Primetime service learning course.
Fulfilling Honors BTC Through Your Major
Honors students may be able to fulfill the Honors Beyond the Classroom experience through research, internship, practicum or clinical rotation courses credit-bearing opportunities in their major.
Non-Honors BTC experiences must be pre-approved by the Honors College. Students may use up to 9 hours of approved non-Honors departmental BTC coursework to fulfill the BTC requirement and up to 2 Honors electives.
For a list of departmental courses that will fulfill the BTC requirement, please visit our searchable database here.
Common Questions
Starting in August 2025, the Honors BTC requirement is fulfilled by a credit-bearing course (e.g., an Honors service learning course, a research course, an internship or study abroad course).
Non-Honors BTC experiences must be pre-approved by the Honors College. Students may use up to 9 hours of approved non-Honors departmental BTC coursework to fulfill the BTC requirement and up to 2 Honors electives.
Yes, as long as your study abroad experience adheres to these guidelines:
- The course must be at least 3 hours of USC credits
- The course is taught entirely away from campus, not including pre-departure meetings (this means that courses featuring Fall or Spring Break trips will not fulfill the Honors BTC requirement),
For a list of approved departmental courses that will fulfill the BTC requirement, please visit our searchable database here.
Yes, as long as it is a approved BTC course which appears on a student’s transcript. Approved, non-credit bearing BTC activities can only fulfill the Honors BTC requirement and no course credit is awarded.
Approved BTC courses that may fulfill an Honors elective include any SCHC or departmental internship course (and many departmental practicum experiences), any SCHC or departmental independent research course, any SCHC or USC-approved study away course (short-term summer, semester or year away) or an SCHC service learning course.
For a list of departmental courses that will fulfill the BTC requirement, please visit our searchable database here.
We encourage students to experiment with beyond the classroom experiences, however, only 9 credit hours of pre-approved major BTC will count. Regardless of the number of credit hours a student is enrolled in during a BTC experience, no more than 9 hours of Honors credit (BTC and/or Honors elective) will be awarded.
This ensures that most of a student's Honors electives are fulfilled through courses and experiences that are uniquely Honors.
Students may use up to 9 hours of non-Honors BTC experiences to fulfill SCHC requirements (BTC and two electives). There is no limit for SCHC courses (ex. SCHC 300, SCHC 400, SCHC service learning courses, SCHC 497).