Current Students

Spring 2025 Sarasota-Manatee Courses

The Judy Genshaft Honors College offers courses on all three USF campuses, as well as off-site locations. Honors courses are open to students from any home campus, but may require a permit. Unless noted specifically in the course description, Honors courses require in-person attendance. 

Click here for information on how to register through Student Self-Service (formerly Student OASIS). For information and advice on courses, meet with your Honors advisor.

IDH 2930: Special Topics in Honors

Honors Music Ensemble
IDH 2930-501
Instructor: Cayla Lanier
T | 8:00  - 9:00 AM

Did you play an instrument in high school, or were you a member of your local youth orchestra or band? Have you been looking for an artistic outlet for your creative personality? Then you are in the right place! Join the Honors Music Ensemble this semester and explore the world of classical and popular music. The HME will aim to offer one concert during the semester and may perform at other events as needed. Participation in two semesters of CME may count as one Experiential Learning activity. This flexible and inviting group of musicians is open to all levels. 

IDH 3100: Arts & Humanities

Literature of Climate Change
IDH 3100-501
Instructor: Su Senapati 
T | 2:00 - 5:00 PM

As Planet Earth hurtles through space, are we speeding towards a sixth extinction? Find out how writers are imagining dystopic ends to the world and composing post-apocalyptic fiction to construct narratives of climate change. Learn about literature and climate change, through the new genre cli-fi that attempts to bridge the gap between the science of climate change and the art of storytelling. Some of the key questions the course will address are: How can something as complex as climate change be treated in literature? Can fiction help alter our conceptions of Earth, Earth systems, and climate change? Does literature matter in the context of climate change? If so, how, and why? To pursue such investigations, the course will analyze formal and stylistic conventions of literary and cultural texts and situate these texts within broader debates and discourses鈥搒cientific, historical, and political鈥揳bout climate change. 

IDH 3400: Social Sciences

The Terrorist Playbook: Ideologies, Strategies, and Countermeasures
IDH 3400-501
Instructor: Zacharias Pieri
T | 5:00 - 7:45 PM

The 21st century has seen a dramatic rise in extremism and terrorism, ranging from the global reach of jihadist movements like the Islamic State to the violent tactics of far-right and far-left groups, as well as the growth of environmental radicalism. This course uses case studies of a diverse set of terrorist and extremist groups and individuals to examine their methods, organizational structures, and impact on national and global security. Students will engage with primary source material such as ideological tracts, manifestos, and cultural products to gain foundational knowledge of how these groups form, recruit, and execute their strategies. In addition to understanding these movements, the course will devote some time to counter-strategies, including ways to disempower, challenge, and delegitimize extremist and terrorist organizations. Students will take on the role of intelligence analysts and participate in a dynamic simulation to predict the future trajectories of violent extremism, anticipating their development over the next 5 to 20 years, much in the same way that governments do. This course provides students with the critical insights and analytical frameworks necessary to understand, evaluate, and respond to the evolving threats posed by extremism and terrorism in today鈥檚 world. 

IDH 4200: Geographic Perspectives

Culture, Identity, and Migration in the Dominican Republic (DR)
IDH 4200-502
Instructor: Cayla Lanier
TR | 2:00 - 3:15 PM, Hybrid

Who are you? How do you communicate that to others? Culture and identity are two concepts that guide our everyday lives and interactions with others, and help us to understand ourselves and the world around us. But what happens when we move, by choice or by force? How does that understanding change? This course will explore these ideas, grounded in the history and culture of Haitian migration within the north coast of the Dominican Republic, with particular attention to notions of health and healthcare. After discussing conceptual perspectives, we will travel to the DR to volunteer in mobile medical clinics with the Kerolle Initiative to gain first-hand knowledge as well. 

NOTE: This is a study abroad course; you must be accepted to the program prior to course registration. 

IDH 4950: Honors Capstone

Student Consulting
IDH 4950-501
Instructor: Gregory Smogard
TR | 9:30 - 10:45 AM

Student Consulting
IDH 4950-502
Instructor: Gregory Smogard
TR | 12:30 - 1:45 PM 

In this high-impact, experiential learning course, student teams will be paired with a real company located in another country to learn about, research, and address a real-world business problem. The consulting projects are based on specific client needs and will address a wide range of business, industry and/or organizational issues in a global context. Each client will have a unique focus and will 1) provide students with an existing business challenge 2) require applying multi-disciplinary concepts, data collection and analysis, critical thinking, dynamic collaboration, fact-based decisions, and high-performance teamwork and 3) conclude with the consultants presenting actionable recommendations to the client and faculty advisor. Student teams will meet with the faculty advisor weekly for coaching and problem-solving sessions, while working on their own to research issues and develop recommendations. The culminating project will be presented to the client鈥檚 management team. Teams will determine their weekly meeting time after the first week of class. 

NOTE: This class requires a permit. Please email Dr. Greg Smogard at gsmogard@usf.edu for a permit.

IDH 4970: Honors Thesis

Honors Thesis I
IDH 4970-501
Online, no days/times
Instructor: Cayla Lanier

Honors Thesis II
IDH 4970-502
Online, no days/times
Instructor: Cayla Lanier

The Honors Thesis is a two-semester program where students will conduct an independent study under the guidance of their own thesis chair selected by each student. The thesis process mirrors a mentorship system common in graduate schools (e.g., dissertation for a Ph.D. program). By closely working with your own chair, you will come up with a research topic, develop research methods, and produce your own creative work such as a research paper, artwork, a business proposal, etc. It is a great opportunity to create your own unique research project, learn from faculty about the research process, and gain research skills. We recommend that students who are interested in the Honors Thesis prepare early.