Established in 1975, the Helen Hardin Honors College boasts the brightest students on campus and has grown to become among the largest honors colleges in the state of Tennessee — with currently 1,494 students enrolled.
This year’s freshman class saw an increase geographically, with students representing 21 states, including Tennessee. With the incoming 334 freshman class having an average weighted GPA of 4.08 and an ACT of 27 and the current enrolled class with a mean GPA of 3.67, the Honors College is poised to continue to strengthen its track record of high-achieving graduates, most of whom pursue advanced degrees, through its enriched curriculum.
“What I enjoy most about being the director of the Honors College and the most rewarding thing for me is getting to meet the students that are coming in as freshmen and trying to help them along the way and encouraging them to study abroad, get involved in research and to take advantage of all of those opportunities available to them at the UofM,” said Melinda Jones, PhD, director of the Helen Hardin Honors College. “I’m always amazed when I see what our graduates are doing 10 years later. I honestly have the best job on campus because I get to work with this group of students.”
“Without the Honors College, my college experience wouldn’t have been as fulfilling.”
– Cierra Dennis, Honors College Alum
Graduates currently work for FedEx, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, First Horizon, Smith & Nephew, Medtronic, Hilton, Capgemini, Valero Energy Corp and more.
“Without the Honors College, my college experience wouldn’t have been as fulfilling,” said Cierra Dennis, a May 2025 graduate who triple majored in World Languages and Literatures, International Business, and Asian Studies and International Trade. “By being a part of the Honors Student Organization outside of class, I was able to make the connections and network that make college come to life. Also, by taking part in experiences like the Works in Progress Symposium and study abroad, I’ve been able to put my passions into practice both inside and outside of the classroom.”
A significant endowment in 2008 from philanthropist Helen Hardin gave the college its namesake and has transformed the resources provided to students who enter the program every year, providing private scholarships upwards of $50,000 each year to students.
Offering a unique experience for its members, the Honors College’s top benefits for students include undergraduate research access with the University’s top research faculty in 200 plus fields of study, funding to pursue undergraduate research studies, early access to study abroad starting freshman year, priority class registration and smaller class sizes.
“Being involved in the Honors College afforded me so many amazing opportunities, like being able to present my research, ‘Insights: Mandarin Chinese & Dyslexia,’ at the Student Research Forum alongside my honors thesis advisor Dr. Leah Windsor (UofM associate professor and director of the Institute for Intelligent Systems). I’ve also had the honor of being awarded the Gilman Scholarship, which completely covered my experience to be able to travel abroad for the first time and study in France,” Dennis said.
Another benefit is the opportunity to be part of the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC), which are specialized programs in residence halls on the first and second floors of the Living Learning Complex geared toward honors students where they get to live in an engaged community with their peers. Currently, 120 Honors students live in the Honors LLC, which has the potential to grow to about 200.
“The LLC provides our students a more intimate environment where we plan fun activities,” said Jones. “We bring in different units from across campus, including Career Services, to give workshops on resumes, interviewing and we also plan for enriching activities and community service projects partnering with Audubon Park and local veterinary offices.”
Dennis said through the Honors College she was able to be a part of a distinct and unified community of students and be intentionally connected to a group of bright minds across various fields of study, different backgrounds of life and all types of community pursuits.
Now, Dennis has her sights set on earning her master’s degree at a university abroad and is applying for the prestigious Fulbright Program and the Rhodes Scholarship Program.
“If I could offer any advice, I’d say to externalize your passions, take advantage of the opportunities around you and don’t reject yourself from anything,” she said.
