Honors College Requirements

Honors certification for graduation is earned by successfully completing at least 25 hours of honors courses, two approved Honors Experiences and achieving a 3.25 or higher cumulative GPA at the time of graduation. Students may pursue one of two tracks leading to graduation with honors: University Honors or University Honors with Thesis.

Honors College Student Handbook >

Honors Student Responsibility

It is the responsibility of members of the Honors College to keep track of their progress of meeting requirements for "good standing" and to graduate with "University Honors." However, the Honors College staff is readily available to assist students in meeting requirements.

Maintain Honors Standing

To maintain good standing, Honors students must meet the following criteria:

• Take at least one 3-credit hour honors course per academic year
  • It is recommended to take two honors courses per year to stay on pace to graduate with “University Honors” (see below)
  • Please note: completing service hours does not count as Honors credits or experience
• Freshman and Sophomores must maintain a minimum 3.00 GPA
• Junior and Senior must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA
• First semester: take a 3 or 4 credit hour course and a Honors Forum UNHP 1100

Recommended Course & Experience Sequence

The following is the recommended honors course and honors experience sequence for students. It is not required that students follow this exact sequence and is meant to serve as a guide on how many honors credits and honors experiences students should have completed at certain points in their degree program.

Honors Course Sequence Guide Sheet >

Graduate with University Honors

Students who  successfully complete the Honors College program will graduate with the "University Honors" or "University Honors with Thesis" designation on their diploma and transcript. 

University Honors

To attain "University Honors," with transcript/diploma notations, students must complete the following:

• 25 credit hours of honors courses
• Honors Forum - UNHP 1100
• Two approved Honors Experiences
• Achieve a cumulative 3.25 GPA or higher at the time of graduation and make a "B" or better in all honors courses

University Honors with Thesis

The highest honor a student can achieve is "University Honors with Thesis," with transcript/diploma notations. To attain this honors designation, students complete the following:

• 25 credit hours of honors courses
• Honors Forum - UNHP 1100
• An approved Honors Experience 
• An Honors Thesis in the senior year (3 semester hours)
• Achieve a cumulative 3.25 GPA or higher at the time of graduation and make a "B" or better in all honors courses.

Request Honors Requirements Update

It is the responsibility of members of the Honors College to keep track of their progress of meeting requirements for "good standing" and to graduate with "University Honors." However, the Honors College staff is readily available to assist students in meeting requirements. Honors students can submit the following form to request an update on the Honors Requirements they have completed. A member of the Honors College staff will respond to your request within 1-3 business days.

Probation & Removal from the Honors College

Probation

A student whose cumulative GPA falls below the minimum requirement will be placed on probation.

• Freshman & Sophomores: 3.0
• Juniors & Seniors: 3.25

Students on probation may remain in the Honors College as long as each semester’s GPA is at least a 3.0, until the cumulative GPA is raised to the minimum requirement, at which time the student returns to good standing.

Suspension 

• A student on probation whose semester GPA is less than 3.0 will be suspended from the Honors College and lose all the privileges of membership. 
  
  
• Students who do not complete an Honors course/contract or participate in an Honors Experience for two consecutive semesters (not including summer semester) will be removed from the Honors College due to non-participation.

Please note: Membership in the Honors residential community in the Living Learning Complex (LLC) may be suspended for students who are removed from the Honors College, though suspension of a living arrangement in the LLC will generally not occur between semesters of an academic year (i.e., suspension of a living arrangement will not take place between fall and spring semesters).

Special Circumstances 

Students who believe that their individual circumstances warrant special consideration may petition for an exception to the cumulative GPA/enrollment requirements for continuation in the program.  The student must submit a written statement outlining any extenuating circumstances to the Director of the Honors College within fourteen days of being notified of ineligibility.  The professional staff of the Honors College will carefully consider the petition and promptly notify students of the decision.

Reinstatement of Membership

Students who have been suspended from the program may request reinstatement to the program at a later date if their cumulative GPA meets the Honors College requirements.  Requests for reinstatement must be made in writing, and may be granted if the student meets the following criteria:

• Has achieved the requisite 3.0 GPA (for freshmen and sophomores) or 3.25 GPA (for juniors and seniors)
• Has completed a sufficient amount of Honors credits to be on track to graduate with University Honors  

Grievances

The Honors College follows all campus policies regarding academic and other grievances. In general, we advocate for individual meetings between student and instructor as the most important and first step. In any situation where you feel that step was not helpful or is inappropriate, be sure to schedule an appointment with the Director, who can assist with additional procedures. The Director is also available to assist you with campus policies for any other types of grievance concerns.