NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF HONORS COURSES

Honors Scholars must take a total of 11 Honors courses in order to graduate with an Honors College diploma (exception: a total of 8 for B.Arch. and Industrial Design students), divided among the four groups A-D as follows:

A. Eight Honors courses (four for B.Arch. students) can be chosen from any Honors courses offered. See also Part IV. Alternatives below. Honors Freshman Seminar does not count toward any of these course requirements.

B. All students (including B.Arch. students) must select, in addition to Group A, at least one Honors course at the 300 level. The following 300-level honors courses are frequently offered:

Science, Technology and Society Honors - various courses
History Honors - various courses
Principles of Management Honors (MGMT 390)
Engineering Management Honors (IE 492H)
Philosophy 334 Honors

These courses are normally taken in the third year. The Honors STS, History and Philosophy courses also satisfy the General University Requirement (GUR) for a 300-level Lit/Hist/Phil/STS elective. The Management courses fulfill the GUR in management. 300-level courses in your major also fulfill this requirement.

C. All Honors students (including B.Arch. students) must take at least one Honors Capstone Seminar in the Humanities (HSS or HIST 491H, or other HSS 400-level Honors Humanities capstone), normally taken in the 4th year (accelerated students will take this in their third year). These are special topics courses in History, Literature, or Philosophy, and fulfill the GUR for a 400-level capstone seminar in HSS or History. Several topics taught by different professors are usually offered each semester. Since these topics vary from one semester to another, a student may elect to take more than one Honors humanities seminar for Honors course credit. The second such course is credited in Group A.

Note: Students whose first language is not English may apply to their Honors Advisor to take a substitute Honors course for this requirement.

D. At least one Honors course must be the Honors version of the major department’s special project, design project, seminar, independent study, or interdisciplinary course (e.g. 491, 492, 495) taken in the senior year.  B.Arch students are required to complete 483 Honors (given only Spring of 4th year) and 583 Honors (given only Spring of 5th year). Students majoring in one of the few departments that do not offer such courses must substitute another Honors course, by agreement with their Honors advisor.

NOTES:

• Honors sections are identified with section numbers that begin with H and with the word Honors in the title.
• Honors lab sections in Chemistry and Physics count as separate Honors courses, but Computer Science labs do not.
• If you take Honors Chemistry or Honors Physics lecture, you DO NOT have to take the Honors lab section. It is optional, but is a good way to get in another honors course.
• You may NOT take Honors labs without also taking Honors lecture sections, except by permission of the instructor.

STUDENTS WHO ENTER THE HONORS COLLEGE AFTER THEIR FIRST SEMESTER ("transfers") are given a contract that specifies the number of Honors courses to be taken in each group.

SATISFACTORY PROGRESS IN COMPLETION OF HONORS COURSES

Honors students are expected to complete between 6 and 8 Honors courses in their first two years (3 to 4 for B.Arch). Students are expected to take two Honors courses each semester during the first two years (one per semester for B.Arch majors).  When this is not possible, because of placement or other good reasons, you must consult with your Honors Advisor.

If you have difficulty fitting two Honors courses into your schedule, you must consult your Honors advisor.

GRADES

You must obtain grades of no lower than B in all courses taken to fulfill this requirement, except that one grade of “C” or "C+" is acceptable if balanced by an “A” in another Honors course.  In no case will a grade below C be accepted as Honors. If a student obtains a grade below B without a compensating A - even if still a passing grade - the course cannot be used to satisfy the honors requirement. The course may be retaken as an Honors course, and if the grade is B or higher the course will be counted as Honors. If retaken as non-Honors it will not count as an honors course.

Some accelerated medical/dental programs have grade requirements that are higher than these.

ALTERNATIVES

Part of the course requirement may also be fulfilled through the following alternatives:

• Minor, second major, and graduate courses: Non-Honors courses taken specifically to fulfill a minor or second major, and all graduate courses, are counted toward the Honors Group A course requirement if such courses are not being used to fulfill a General University Requirement or a major requirement. However, such alternatives may not substitute for Groups B, C, and D. To count as a substitute, the grade must be at least a B. The minor or second major must be officially declared through the Registrar's office. A student does not have to be enrolled in the BS/MS program to take graduate courses, but such registration is encouraged. If you declare a minor or second major after taking courses that satisfy this requirement, please inform the Honors College so that these courses can be counted as Honors.
  
• Limits: No more than four such alternative courses (total of minor, second major, and graduate courses) may be used as Honors substitutes.
  
• Project Option: In exceptional cases, and only with the prior permission of the Associate Dean, students majoring in certain programs may earn credits toward fulfillment of this requirement by completing Honors research or professional projects within their disciplines. Obtain permission in advance from the Associate Dean.
  
• Converting a course from non-honors to honors: Please see the Substitute Course Policy for rules on converting a regular course to Honors.