Hobson Wildenthal Honors College
The Hobson Wildenthal Honors College at The University of Texas at Dallas, established in 2014, houses 12 programs dedicated to promoting excellence in undergraduate education.
Four programs offer a four-year cohort experience to participating students, with admission generally restricted to incoming college freshmen. The Collegium V Honors Program provides seminar instruction, personal mentoring and an enhanced academic environment. The National Merit Scholars Program provides personal mentoring and an intellectual framework in addition to a generous financial scholarship for National Merit Scholars attending UT Dallas. National Merit Scholars at UT Dallas are eligible for membership in the Collegium V Honors Program. Terry Foundation Scholarships at UT Dallas are awarded to top seniors from Texas high schools. Scholarship recipients take part in the Terry Scholars Program which provides a diverse array of extracurricular experiences with a focus on service and leadership. Liberal Arts Honors is a cohort experience for students interested in reading, writing, and the discussion of ideas. Students connect to faculty from a range of disciplines and engage with their peers in courses expecting a large amount of student participation and discussion.
The other eight programs in the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College enrich the academic experience of matriculated UT Dallas students. The Office of Distinguished Scholarships provides information, guidance, and mentoring to students applying for nationally competitive scholarship and fellowship programs. The Archer Program combines Washington D.C. internship experience with classroom instruction for an intensive semester of political and policy education. The Texas Legislative Internship Program provides opportunities for individuals to intern with State Legislators during the spring semester while the legislature is in session on odd-numbered years. The UT Dallas Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi is the local chapter of the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Undergraduate and graduate students are inducted to Phi Kappa Phi each year.
The Hobson Wildenthal Honors College is located in the Cecil and Ida Green Center at the heart of the UT Dallas campus. We invite visitors to stop by our lobby and review the senior research posters from last year.
Fall 2022 Honors Capstone Projects
Hobson Wildenthal Honors College in the News
Hobson Wildenthal Honors College Welcomes New Dean
Dr. Donal Skinner, who led the honors programs at Ohio University and the University of Wyoming, has joined The University of Texas at Dallas as dean of the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, effective Jan. 17
Skinner, an accomplished educator, researcher and academic administrator with more than 25 years of experience, had been the dean of the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University since 2019 and served as the inaugural dean of the Honors College at the University of Wyoming from 2017 to 2019.
National Merit Comet Keeps Reaching for the Stars as Phi Kappa Phi Award Recipient
A University of Texas at Dallas alumna has been awarded a fellowship from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Anja Sheppard BS’22, a Eugene McDermott Scholar, Goldwater Scholar and recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, was one of only 54 students nationwide to receive an $8,500 Phi Kappa Phi fellowship this year.
Record 4 UTD Undergrads Earn Prestigious Goldwater Scholarships
Each year, colleges and universities across the U.S. nominate up to four of their most talented undergraduates majoring in science, engineering or math for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation awards. The Goldwater scholarships support sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise to become the next generation of research leaders.
For the first time, all four nominees from The University of Texas at Dallas were named winners of the prestigious award, a significant accomplishment that outpaced the performance of other top-tier research institutions, said Dr. Douglas Dow, coordinator of the Office of Distinguished Scholarships and interim dean of the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College.
UTD Professor, Mediation Team Earn International Recognition
Veda Tsai, an interdisciplinary studies senior at The University of Texas at Dallas, served as team captain for the mediation team who won the advocate-client division of the International Intercollegiate Mediation Tournament held virtually in the fall.
Read the article.
From the Field: Lending a Hand After Hurricane Laura
Elizabeth “Tess” Helfrich, a biology and history senior at The University of Texas at Dallas, is no stranger to lending a hand during natural disasters and medical emergencies.
A certified emergency medical technician who serves with the
University Emergency Medical Response team, Helfrich also is a rescue diver and volunteers with Texas Search and Rescue, a first responder organization that helps with ground search, floodwater rescue and dive-team operations.
Read the article.
Political Science, Economics Graduate Earns Prestigious Urann Fellowship
Areeb Siddiqui, a May graduate in political science and economics at The University of Texas at Dallas, has received a prestigious fellowship from The Honor Society of
Phi Kappa Phi
that will further his goal of becoming an attorney specializing in civil rights.
Read the article.
EPPS Professors, Computer Engineering Senior Earn Recognition
Fiaz Bhuiyan, computer engineering senior in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, received the Outstanding Student Award for Region 5 from IEEE.
Bhuiyan serves as president of the UT Dallas IEEE chapter and was appointed this spring as Regional Student Representative for IEEE Region 5, which includes 12 southwestern states. In those roles, Bhuiyan organizes events, workshops and competitions, and works to help students find a sense of community. He also is an undergraduate research assistant in bioengineering.
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McDermott Scholar Receives Distinguished Truman Scholarship
Carla Ramazan, a senior at The University of Texas at Dallas, has been passionate about women’s health and reproductive freedom her entire life — and it stems from personal reasons.
Her family is from Romania, which for decades under Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu had outlawed access to abortion and contraception in a bid to boost the country’s population. Ramazan’s aunt died while getting an illegal abortion.
“I wanted to prevent that from ever happening to others,” Ramazan said.
Her passion and leadership in organizing students at UT Dallas and elsewhere to advocate for reproductive rights has now been recognized with the distinguished
Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
Read the article.
Neuroscience Researchers Earn Prestigious Goldwater Scholarships
Two undergraduates in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas have been recognized with awards from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
Neuroscience seniors Patrick Nnoromele and Jennifer Jenks have received the prestigious scholarship. Both are
Eugene McDermott Scholars
and
National Merit Scholars.
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UTD Goes to the Dogs
UT Dallas junior Aubrey Rowan has a constant companion while she pursues a degree in business administration.
Wherever she goes, she is shadowed by Colby, a 4-month-old Labrador puppy who is training to become an assistance dog for people with disabilities.
Colby lives with Rowan in her apartment on campus and even accompanies her to class. His service vest indicates he is officially on loan from Canine Companions for Independence.
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For Physics Groups, Love of Astronomy Was Always Written in the Stars
Victoria Catlett’s father bought The University of Texas at Dallas junior a telescope at the age of 9, thus igniting a love of astronomy that has continued since childhood. The two would spend evenings searching for constellations in the evening sky.
Now a physics
and
mathematics
double major, Catlett is the business chair and unofficial “astronomy officer” for the
Society of Physics Students
(SPS) at UT Dallas. As such, Catlett is part of a team of students who are instrumental in organizing star parties, telescope training and watch parties for events such as solar and lunar eclipses.
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Hobson Wildenthal Honors College’s Appeal Grows Brighter
National Merit Scholar Anu Emmandi BS’19 had already been accepted into an engineering college in Michigan when a friend told her about the honors program at The University of Texas at Dallas. On a whim, Emmandi decided to visit the campus.
She came away with a good feeling about being an honors student at a smaller school. As an out-of-state student, she especially looked forward to having a built-in peer group that was academically engaged and culturally diverse.
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Biomedical Engineering Grad Becomes First Phi Kappa Phi 1897 Fellow
Sydney Sherman BS’19 has been named the first 1897 Fellow of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. The new national award recognizes the highest-scoring applicant in a STEM discipline.
Sherman, a
Eugene McDermott Scholar
and a
National Merit Scholar, graduated in May from The University of Texas at Dallas’
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science
with a bachelor’s degree in
biomedical engineering. The 1897 Fellowship provides $35,000 to support her next step: pursuing a PhD through the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology.
Read the article.
McDermott Scholar Will Further Her Arabic Studies as Boren Scholar
Elizabeth "Tess" Helfrich, a biology and historical studies junior at The University of Texas at Dallas, hopes a distinguished scholarship will provide the next step in her journey toward practicing emergency medicine overseas.
Helfrich is the first
Eugene McDermott Scholar
to receive a
Boren Scholarship
from the National Security Education Program. She will spend the next year studying modern standard Arabic as well as the local Ammiya dialect at the Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman, Jordan.
Read the article.
Jonsson School Students Earn National Graduate Research Fellowships
Two University of Texas at Dallas students and two alumni will receive support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as they pursue their graduate studies.
Mechanical engineering
senior Jeanie Aird and
bioengineering
senior Sydney Sherman each were chosen this year for the
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
Read the article.
How UT Dallas Helped Emily Luth BS’17 Find Her True Passion
When El Paso native Emily Luth BS’17 first came to The University of Texas at Dallas for a soccer tournament during her senior year of high school, it was love at first sight. She fell for the close-knit feel of the campus, the many amenities and the esteemed
engineering program. When she was admitted and was offered the
Terry Foundation Scholarship
later that year, her bags were all but packed.
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Bees & Butterflies
Most people would be somewhat wary around a beehive buzzing with thousands of stinging insects. Scott Rippel MS’96, PhD’99 practically goes into Zen mode.
For Rippel, a senior lecturer in biological sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas, working with honey bees is more than a way to educate the campus community about the importance of pollinators — it’s an experience.
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Global Business and Marketing Senior Named Schwarzman Scholar
Global business and marketing senior Carlos Rodriguez-Cruz y Celis says he gained an "analytical lens" from the Naveen Jindal School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas that will help him develop policy solutions for global challenges.
His perspective will be further enhanced when he travels to Beijing in June as the second UT Dallas recipient of the prestigious international
Schwarzman Scholar
award.
Read the article.
Friendship Sustains Comets Pursuing Legal Careers
During an introductory course in 2009, freshmen were asked to lead presentations on topics in which they consider themselves experts. Aisha Noor BA’12, MPA’13 decided to demonstrate her method for wrapping a hijab and chose Monica Niewiarowski BA’13 to be her model.
This moment launched a friendship that has allowed Noor and Niewiarowski to push each other to excel along parallel life paths, including a move from UT Dallas to Washington, D.C., to law school and back to Dallas, where they are enjoying their first year of professional law practice.
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New Group of Terry Scholars Joins the University This Fall
The University of Texas at Dallas welcomed 22 new Terry Scholars this fall: 14 freshmen and eight transfer students.
Overall, the 99 Terry Scholars enrolled at UT Dallas will receive combined awards of more than $2.2 million this year. Since 2006, the
Terry Foundation
has given more than $17 million to the University’s 300 scholars.
Read the article.
