Honors-Designated Courses (Contracts)

One of the requirements of graduation from the University Honors Program is the completion of 3 Honors-designated courses with at least one course outside the major.

Learn more about the requirements to graduate from the University Honors Program.

 

Criteria for Honors-Designated Courses

Honors work must extend beyond the normal coursework. In addition, honors work must place expanded intellectual demands on the student and be consistent with the highest standards of rigorous academic performance. To fulfill this standard:

  1. The honors work should be extra, yet related, work that is above the normal level of course work. It should be given with a greater expectation of performance on the part of the student. This might include but is not limited to, additional readings and/or additional assignments such as papers, speeches, presentations, research proposals, artistic or literary works, performances, computer programs, laboratory projects, case studies, etc.
  2. The honors work can either explore other dimensions and applications of the subject matter (e.g. the interdisciplinary nature of the subject) or delve into a narrow and specific area of the subject in expanded detail (e.g. work that is a preview of graduate school experience).
  3. The honors work should include additional faculty effort in supervision, guidance, and ongoing assessment, yet it should also require substantial independence on the part of the student.
  4. Honors work should not be considered "extra credit" in determining the student's course grade. Honors work is considered separate from regular course grading. Students receive the University Honors Course credit designation on their transcript if their work is completed at an acceptable level.

Honors credit will only be assigned upon completion of courses approved by the University Honors Program Director in which the student earns a "B" or better and completes an honors project to the satisfaction of the instructor of the course. University Honors Courses may be in the student's major or minor, as well as in General Education, and/or free electives. At least one course, however, must be taken outside the student's major and minor programs. University Honors Courses may not be taken "Credit/No Credit." Note: You will be limited to completing 1 Contract MAX per term!

To obtain approval for honors credit for a course, students must work with their professor to decide what his or her research or creative project will be. Then, the student must complete the Google Form linked here to propose the research or creative project to their instructor and to the University Honors Program Director. A contract form must be completed for each Honors-designated course. Once the form is filled out, the instructor will be contacted via BaySync to approve the project proposal. Then the UHP Director must approve the project proposal. Contract Forms are due by the end of the third full week of the semester. At the end of the course, the UHP office will contact each instructor to confirm that the student completed the honors work or project satisfactorily with a grade of B or better.


If you would like to see examples of projects students have done in the past, click here.

If you are a faculty member and would like to get more information, click here.