ASU Barrett Honors Textbooks: Are They Different?

So You Got Into Barrett — What About Textbooks?

First, congratulations. Barrett, The Honors College at ASU is legitimately competitive and the experience is worth it. But there's a practical question that comes up: are Barrett-specific courses more expensive in terms of textbooks? Do honors sections require different books?

Short answer: sometimes, but not as dramatically as you might expect.

Honors Sections of Standard Courses

Many Barrett students take honors sections of standard ASU courses — HON versions of MAT 265, CHM 113, or PSY 101. In most cases, these courses use the same textbook as the regular section. The honors version is smaller, has additional discussion requirements, and usually goes deeper into the material — but it's often the same core text.

Before assuming you need a different book, check with your professor or a Barrett advisor. Sometimes the HON section syllabus lists supplemental readings on top of the shared textbook — those are often articles or book chapters, not full textbooks.

Barrett Unique Coursework: HON Colloquia

Barrett requires honors colloquia — small seminar-style courses. These are where the textbook situation gets genuinely different. Colloquia vary wildly by topic and instructor. One might use a single trade book you can grab for $10 used; another might assign three academic texts that run $60 each.

The good news: colloquia have small enrollment (often 15–25 students), which means students who took the same colloquium in a previous semester are a very targeted group to reach. Joining Barrett's Discord server or Facebook group and asking specifically about a colloquium often turns up someone with the books.

ASU List is worth checking — tag your search with the book title rather than the course number for colloquia, since course numbers vary.

The Barrett Creative Project and Thesis

The Barrett Creative Project (for freshmen/sophomores) and the Honors Thesis (senior capstone) are research-intensive. These don't have a textbook list, but they have research costs.

What that actually means in practice:

• Primary sources: Often found through ASU Library at no cost
• Specialized academic texts: Interlibrary loan through Hayden Library handles most requests
• Interviews and data: No cost, just time
• Research software: ASU provides access through your ASURITE account

For most thesis topics, your out-of-pocket research material costs are minimal if you use ASU Library effectively. Your thesis advisor can also often get specific books placed on course reserve.

Barrett-Specific Housing and Community

Barrett students living in the Barrett residential community on the Tempe campus (Honors College buildings near the MU and Coor Hall) have a built-in network for textbook sharing. Your dormmates are taking similar courses and have the same incentive to share costs.

Setting up a textbook-sharing arrangement with your floor or Barrett community group is genuinely effective — especially for gen ed requirements where multiple Barrett students take the same course.

The Real Additional Costs

Barrett students sometimes find that honors-specific costs come from:

• Study abroad or field research for thesis work
• Conference presentations in senior year
• Printing and binding thesis copies

None of those are textbook costs, but they're worth knowing about. Textbook costs for Barrett students are largely the same as their major peers, maybe 10–20% higher in the first two years due to colloquia reading lists.