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 usually 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 BTC requirement aims to enrich and expand a student’s college experience and helps prepare Honors students for their future.
How to Fulfill the BTC Requirement
There are four main 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 2023 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 global classrooms around the world or right on the South Carolina coast.
Pictured: Group of Honors students in Venice, Italy during Honors Maymester study abroad course: Art, Design + Architecture in Venice: Drawing from The Past, Imagining The Future.
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Service Learning
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.
BTC Experiences Through Your Major
Honors students may be able to fulfill the Beyond the Classroom experience through research, internship, practicum or clinical rotation courses in their major.
Regardless of the number of credit hours a student is enrolled in during a single semester (credit hours can range from 3-12), only 3 hours of Honors credit (BTC or Honors elective) will be awarded. If program requirements include enrolling in a practicum/clinical hours/rotation for more than one semester, a student may be awarded additional Honors credit, up to 6 Honors credit hours total.
Students may not be awarded more than 6 Honors credit hours for a practicum/clinical hours/rotation, regardless of the number of credit hours a student must complete for the major. This ensures that most of a student's Honors electives are fulfilled through courses and experiences that are uniquely Honors.
For a list of departmental courses that will fulfill the BTC requirement, please visit our searchable database here.
Common Questions
The BTC requirement is typically a credit-bearing course (e.g., an Honors service learning course, an internship or study abroad course). In some exceptional instances, the BTC requirement may be fulfilled through another structured program in which a student works with a mentor or supervisor, receives regular feedback and takes part in structured reflection of the experience. Some structured programs, in which course credit is not awarded, have been pre-approved to fulfill the BTC requirement. In rare cases, an “alternative” activity can be approved to fulfill the BTC requirement, but all alternative activities must receive prior approval from the Honors College.
A non-credit bearing experience that has been approved to fulfill the BTC requirement may NOT be used to fulfill one of the seven Honors College elective requirements (a total of 19 credit hours).
There are other academic opportunities that fulfill the BTC requirement. These approved programs have been vetted by the Honors College and are structured programs in which a student works with a mentor or supervisor, receives regular feedback and takes part in structured reflection about the experience. Note that because these activities are non-credit bearing, a student may use these activities to fulfill the BTC requirement, but not an Honors elective.
Other approved experiences that fulfill the BTC requirement include:
- ROTC Summer Experience (required for ROTC students)
- Critical Language Scholarship
- Humanity in Action
- MedEX Academy Internships (Tier II, III and IV)
- NOAA Hollings Scholarship
- U.K. Fulbright Summer Experience
- Co-op education program offered through the USC Career Center
Upon completion of the above programs, the student will have the primary supervisor/instructor write an email or letter to the student’s advisor briefly describing the nature of the work and indicating that the student completed at least 150 hours of practical application. The advisor will upload this letter in EAB Navigate and submit an exception request in DegreeWorks to update Honors requirements.
There is no pre-approval required to have one of these approved programs fulfill the BTC requirement.
The following activities do not generally fulfill the Honors BTC requirement:
- medical job shadowing, physician assistant service
- completing the training to become a Certified Nursing Assistant, Emergency Medical Technician, Personal Trainer or Registered Dietitian
- serving in a campus leadership role
- Marching Band
This is because approved, non-credit bearing BTC experiences are typically structured programs in which a student works with a mentor or supervisor, receives regular feedback, and takes part in structured reflection about the experience.
If students have questions about an experience and whether or not it can count towards BTC, please talk to your Honors advisor.
Yes, as long as it is an 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.
Alternative BTC Experiences
On rare occasions, the Honors College will allow experiences, beyond internships, study away, service learning, research courses and other pre-approved programs to fulfill the Honors BTC requirement.
Students should talk to their Honors advisor about other experiences that may meet this requirement. Alternative BTC activities typically align in some way with one or more of the four areas of Honors BTC – internship, research, study away or service learning – and usually include a structured program in which a student works with a mentor or supervisor, receives regular feedback and takes part in structured reflection about the experience. If the advisor and student deem the activity to include the above criteria, the student should complete an Alternative Beyond the Classroom application.
If approved, the student may only fulfill the BTC requirement with this activity. It will not fulfill an Honors elective.