Beginning in the fall of 1979, Auburn University established the college's first official Honors Program in the School of Arts and Sciences under the leadership of Associate Dean Leslie Caine Campbell. During its first year, the Program was limited to fifteen freshmen and twelve honors courses. In 1981, the Honors Program began offering courses in the schools of Engineering, Architecture, Business, Education, Human Sciences, Nursing, Agriculture, Forestry, and Biological Sciences. In 1998, the Honors Program became known as the Honors College, the first of its kind in Alabama. By 2024, the college included more than 1,700 students.