Program Requirements | Honors Program

The Honors Program includes both academic and non-academic activities

The Honors Program requirements are designed to promote both professional and personal growth. They provide a loose framework in which you have a great deal of choice, so your honors experience can be tailored to your interests and fit easily in your degree program.

Incoming students are expected to complete at least 3 honors points in their discipline, at least 3 points in general education, and at least 9 additional honors points, for a total of at least 15 points. (What is an honors point? Click here.) Click on your entry term, below, to see your particular set of requirements.

Requirements for students who enter through the Internal Admission process are determined by their first full academic year in the program. For example, candidates accepted in the spring of 2022 are considered part of the cohort that enters in the 2022-2023 academic year.

2021-2022 Academic Year or Later

Students complete the Honors Program by earning the equivalent of 15 credits of honors work, and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 by the time they graduate, in addition to annual complementary learning requirements. However, we use the word "points" instead of "credits" because there are ways to do honors-level work outside the classroom (see below). Please make a note that we expect at least 1 point of Honors work each year. Honors Achievements A and B are set in place for you and must be completed in a certain way. However, you have another 9 Points worth of Honors Achievements that can be filled in a combination of different options as is noted below:

Honors Achievement A: General Education (3 points)
- Completion of the First-Year Honors Seminar or internal admission waiver

Honors Achievement B: Honors in the Discipline (3 points)
Students in the Honors Program develop an extra layer of depth in their chosen fields by doing honors-level work in their home programs, accelerating themselves toward the frontiers of knowledge, culture, and technology while engaging in positive, collegial relationships with faculty mentors. This should be completed in your final two years in the Honors Program.

Students can fulfill this requirement in several ways:
- Research in your discipline, supervised by a faculty mentor
- Complete a graduate course in your discipline
  - Such a course must carry at least 3 credits, and cannot be on the list of excluded courses.
- Complete an upper-division Honors Course in your program (3 or more credits)
- Complete an Honors Option in an upper-division course in your program
  - Such a course must carry at least 3 credits and must be at the 300-level or above
  - You must give a public presentation or exhibition of your work, and produce a high-quality written report about it, approved by your faculty mentor as demonstrating the substance and quality expected of undergraduate, honors-level work in the discipline. Written reports that are otherwise unpublished will be posted at RIT Scholar Works.
Additional Honors Achievements (9 points)
Students can complete the rest of their Honors points in a number of ways. Students can complete any number of these options, provided that they earn a total of 9 Points from some combination of the below options. For more information, please click on the following links which contain information about the options:
- Honors Courses
- Honors Options (add-ons to standard courses)
- Professional Experiences
  - Non-Required Co-ops & Internships
  - International Experiences
- Research (once your Honors in Discipline has been completed)

2020-2021 Academic Year or Before

Students complete the Honors Program by earning 15 points and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 by the time they graduate, in addition to annual complementary learning requirements. The points must be earned in the following way:

3 POINTS: Completion of the First-Year Honors Seminar
3 POINTS: Completion of Honors Research
6 POINTS: 6 points can be earned in a number of ways depending on how you want to complete the program. For more information, please click on the following links which contain information about the options:
- Honors Courses
- Honors Options (Contract Courses)
- Graduate Courses
- Professional Experiences
  - International Experiences
  - Honors Leadership Trips with an Academic Component
  - Non-Required Co-ops & Internships
  - Research (only once your requirement has been completed)
3 POINTS: Completion of the Honors Senior Seminar (or approved substitution)

Annual completion of 20 Complementary Learning Hours
Maintain a cumulative 3.5 GPA by graduation

Please download our full handbooks with more details about all requirements and policies for each entry term:

What is Complementary Learning?

Complementary Learning is about growth that happens through out-of-class experiences in leadership, service, volunteerism, and critical thinking. By participating in activities within the larger community, students integrate knowledge, practice problem-solving, exercise leadership skills, and develop the soft skills that are needed in their future careers.

New students are asked to complete 15 hours in the first year. Returning students complete at least 20 hours each year.

See the requirements >

The deadline for complementary learning submissions for the 2022-2023 Academic Year is on Friday, January 27, 2023!

For December 2022 (2221) graduates, submissions are due on Friday, December 2, 2022.

Complementary Learning Testimonials

Thanks to [my complementary learning], I knew and talked to a lot more people. During training, I met other new and returning OLs and Orientation supervisors to talk about specific scenarios that may happen during orientation week. By interacting with them, I gained more confidence in socializing with other students because it was ultimately necessary as I went into orientation week to meet my group of students, let alone the leadership around the students. In the week, as days go by, I gain more and more confidence talking to other people, which in the end really changed me. I am very grateful that I challenged myself to do Orientation because I know myself very well that I would not do it unless there was some drive to push me.

Anh Nguyen

GCCIS '25

Even though the year 2020 was a difficult year for me, I know it hit many others much harder. It felt good that I was able to offer my time and efforts though complementary learning to help those in need. Overall, complementary learning shifted my focus in 2020 from feeling bad for myself, to wondering how I could help others who needed it much more than I did.

2020 was a difficult year

[My complementary learning] made me remember that not every project is well-enough funded to have all of the manpower it needs. The progress being made on Zooniverse from volunteers is invaluable to the smaller-scale work in the environmental field, and it was incredibly special to be a part of something that could greatly affect the outcome of one of these ventures. I strongly believe that coming out of this year's volunteer work, I am a harder and more dedicated student, as well as a more efficient worker. Not only was I able to help these organizations out through volunteering, but I learned valuable working habits and got to contribute to something much bigger than I am.

Ryan Keller

GCCIS '24

The best description for how completing the complementary learning hours this year impacted me is to use the quote; “This is an unprecedented time. It’s time for unprecedented kindness.” Despite there being a world pandemic it did not cease to amaze me at the way people still found ways to help each other even from a distance or the number of people that we’re able to and still came out to help despite the new circumstances. Seeing people come together and find new ways to make each other feel connected and ground from a distance was not only exciting to be a part of but also inspiring to see. Teaching me that when it comes to helping others there is no one right way, but simply a million little right ways that can add up to one big positive impact.

Complementary Learning Impacted Me

Throughout my different activities, I believe I helped put some goodness out into the world that wasn't there before. Overall, I think that I got a good variety of different types of activities done; attending lectures, painting a mural, and delivering food are all very different, yet equally productive activities when it comes to the overall good of the community. I'm thankful to have been able to help out, especially with the mural painting, which was the largest project I worked on. It's a good feeling to know that your actions are going towards making the world a better and more accepting place.

Abby Doskey

GCCIS '25