Honors Tutorial College

The Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio is the only degree-granting tutorial program in the United States. The tutorial program is modeled after Oxford and Cambridge universities in England, and is centered on the tutorial, in which students meet individually with a professor to study material.

The program generally accepts around eighty students per year from an applicant pool of around two hundred and offers programs in thirty-three disciplines, from journalism to astrophysics. Students benefit from their involvement with the college: they are the first to register for classes, can waive course prerequisites and general education requirements for graduation, can check out books from the university library for extended periods of time, have access to scholars' dorms, and develop good relationships with professors.

Bruce Burtch conceived this unique college while an undergraduate at Ohio University, after receiving a grant from the Honors College to return to England and study the Oxford/Cambridge tutorial system. Previously, Mr. Burtch had received an English Literature scholarship to study at Trinity College, Oxford, where he learned first-hand the benefits of the tutorial methodology and felt this system could work within Ohio University.

The college was officially founded in 1972, although an Honors College had existed previously since 1964. Famous alumni include Piper Perabo, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Joe Mahr, NPR correspondent Adam Hochberg, and Emmy Award winning writer and producer Matt Wickline.

The Honors Tutorial College is located at 35 Park Place Avenue near the center of the University. It is across the street from E. W. Scripps Hall, home of the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, and down the street from the John Calhoun Baker University Center. Since July 2009, Jeremy Webster has served as dean of the Honors Tutorial College.