Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College at Louisiana State University (LSU) is a focused program for high-achieving students. It is housed in the historic French House on LSU’s campus, a Renaissance-style building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The college began as the LSU Honors College in 1992 and was renamed in December 2014 after a $12 million unrestricted gift from alumnus Roger Ogden, honoring his father and son.

Campus within a campus
The Honors College forms a distinct campus-within-a-campus that includes the French House, the Laville Honors House residence hall, and the 459 Dining Commons. The Laville residence hall has East and West Wings and a central lobby; renovations completed in 2010 (West Hall) and 2012 (East Hall and lobby) cost about $14 million.

Academic program
LSU’s honors program offers three pathways to honors:
- HNRS courses: small, seminar-style classes labeled with the HNRS prefix.
- Honors Option: upper-level courses taken with an honors contract that adds requirements beyond the syllabus.
- Cross-department honors: honors credit offered in various departments.

A key capstone is the Honors Thesis, which culminates in completion of an undergraduate research project under faculty supervision. Distinctions include:
- Sophomore Honors Distinction: 20 hours of honors coursework by the end of sophomore year, a 3.5 GPA in honors and overall, plus one interdisciplinary honors course.
- Upper Division Honors Distinction: honors work in 3000-level or higher courses, 3–6 hours of research, and a defended undergraduate thesis.
- College Honors: 32 hours of honors credit, a 3.5 GPA, 12 hours of honors at the 3000/4000 level, and a Senior Honors Thesis.

Since 2005, Ogden Honors students have earned more than 100 national and international fellowships, including 18 Goldwater Scholarships, 10 Truman Scholarships, 36 NSF Fellowships, 17 Critical Language Scholarships, and 4 Udall Scholarships.

Admission and outcomes
Most incoming students enter as freshmen. For admission, typical targets are about a 1360 SAT (EBRW+M) and a 3.5 GPA, or a 30 ACT with the writing component. Today, the Honors College enrolls around 2,000 students.

History and leadership
Honors education at LSU began in 1967 with team-taught courses created by Charles Bigger and Edward Henderson. The college’s first dean was Bill Seay, who served until 2003, followed by Nancy Clark. Since 2014, the dean has been Dr. Jonathan H. Earle.

The French House story
The French House was dedicated in 1935 to mark LSU’s Diamond Jubilee. A cornerstone once included wood from Fort de la Boulaye, Louisiana’s first French settlement. It is the only non-Quadrangle building at LSU on the National Register of Historic Places, and it underwent a $5 million interior renovation completed in 2016.