PLEASE NOTE: This handbook is to be used by any student who entered the program in fall 2025 and any year after 2025. Students who entered in any year prior to fall 2025 should reference the other handbook linked on this page.
Click here to access the full 2025 and beyond Honors Handbook PDF
The information below is a general overview of the requirements of the program. Please consult the full handbook (linked above) for details and specifics regarding the programs guidelines, policies, procedures, and requirements.
Students complete the Honors Program by earning the equivalent of 15 credits of honors academic work and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 by the time they graduate, in addition to fulfilling annual complementary learning requirements. We use the word "points" instead of "credits" because there are ways to do honors-level work outside the classroom that are not credit-bearing. Students are required to complete at least 1 point each year until reaching a total of at least 15 points. While Honors Achievements A and B each have a specific focus, the other 9 points have a wider range of possibilities. A brief description of points, complementary learning, and associated requirements are included below - please refer to the handbook for additional details and examples.
Academic Requirements:
- General Education Requirement (3 points)
- Completion of the First-Year Honors Seminar, internal admission equivalent, or other general education course will fulfill this requirement
- 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 (see the handbook for more detail):
- Research in your discipline, supervised by a faculty mentor
- Complete a graduate course in your discipline
- Complete an upper-division Honors Course in your program (300-level or above)
- Complete an Honors Option in an upper-division course (300-level or above) in your program
- Additional Honors Achievements (9 points)
Students can earn the remaining 9 honors points by completing any of the options below (see the PDF handbook for more detail):
- Honors courses
- Honors options
- Graduate courses
- Faculty Mentored Research
- Professional experiences
- Non-Required Co-ops & Internships
- Non-Required Study Abroad or Study Away Experiences
Complementary Learning Requirements:
Some kinds of learning are best accomplished outside the classroom, so an important part of the Honors Program is participation in activities that complement traditional academic work. Complementary learning activities typically involve service to the community, participation in leadership roles on or off campus, and participating in events that expose students to new cultures or challenge their ways of thinking about their relationship to the larger society.
Students in the Honors Program are expected to engage in at least 20 hours of complementary learning in the first three years of the program, and at least 10 hours of complementary learning in years four and beyond. The three main categories of complementary learning are: Service and Volunteerism, Leadership, and participation in the Cultural and Intellectual Life of the University.
Visit the Honors Handbook for a full description of Complementary Learning, what counts and what does not count, and how to submit your hours.
