Thematic Option is the University's general education honors program. Each year just under 200 freshmen participate in this interdisciplinary core curriculum. "T.O."-- as it's commonly called around campus -- offers small classes with some of the University's best undergraduate teachers and a hand-picked group of writing instructors. The T.O. program is challenging, yet still manageable for students invited to participate.

To qualify for an invitation to the program, students admitted to the University must have a high school GPA of around 4.0 and a combined SAT I score of at least 2100. The classes are stimulating and the faculty are brought together with students for a variety of evening events including films, dinners, and speakers. The intellectual community fostered by common coursework and evening events helps bright students find their peers and a sense of their own place during those crucial first few freshman weeks.

The Thematic Option curriculum is organized according to themes rather than by discipline. Students take four Core courses, two writing courses, and two additional Theme courses selected from departments all over the campus. The four Core classes are Core 101, Symbols and Conceptual Systems; Core 102, Culture and Values; Core 103, The Process of Change in Science; and Core 104, Change and the Future. The T.O. writing program includes both small writing classes and individual writing tutorials, in which students have an opportunity to refine their writing styles while discussing issues raised in the core curriculum. The program is structured so that the number of units required for students who choose T.O. is never more than the number of units required for students who complete regular general education requirements.

T.O. has been cited by several college guides as one of the best undergraduate honors programs in the country, and student evaluations generally echo that assessment. Invited students are encouraged to give the program a try. Students who have not been invited but seem genuinely ready for serious intellectual challenge may apply as exceptions. Such students on campus should be referred to the T.O. Office for brochures and advisement.

You can find out more about the Thematic Option Program by requesting our brochure.

Interim Director - Pennelope Von Helmolt, Ph.D.
Associate Director - Richard Edinger
Program Advisors - Allison DeRaad and Jonathan Kuhn