Program Requirements

The Honors Program includes both academic and co-curricular 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.

Students 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.) 

Students also engage in at least 20 hours of complementary learning annually which includes activities like service and volunteerism, leadership, and participation in the cultural and intellectual life of the university. (What is complementary learning? Click here.)

To learn more about the program requirements open the section below that aligns with the year you entered (or will enter) the program. You will see a broad overview of the program requirements, and can access the handbook which provides a more detailed look at what is required of an Honors student. 

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.

Program Requirements and Handbooks

Click here to access the full Honors Program 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:

  • Honors Achievement A: General Education (3 points)
    • Completion of the First-Year Honors Seminar, internal admission waiver, or other general education course
  • 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 (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 complete at least 20 hours of complementary learning each year until they have both…

  • completed at least 15 points of honors academic work
    and
  • recorded a total of at least 70 hours

Visit the Honors Handbook for a full description of Complementary Learning, what counts and what does not count, and how to submit your hours. 

Click here to access the Honors Program Handbook (PDF)

Students complete the Honors Program by earning at least 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
  • 3 POINTS: Completion of the Honors Senior Seminar (or approved substitution)
  • 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
      • Non-Required Co-ops & Internships
      • Research 
  • Annual completion of 20 hours of complementary learning
  • Earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 by graduation