College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program
The goal of the CAS Honors Program is to enhance the undergraduate curriculum by providing high performing students with challenging classroom experiences and first-hand exposure to scholarship and research.
Honors students participate in intensive, disciplinary and interdisciplinary courses and may chose to work closely with a faculty member on high quality scholarship or research projects within their major field of study.
Depending on the respective department, honors students might be required to complete a Written Thesis, Oral Presentation, and Thesis Defense. Upon fulfilling the honors criteria of the department and of the CAS honors program “Honors” will be indicated on the graduating transcript.
There are two “tracks” in the Honors Program, a Research Honors Option and a Scholastic Honors Option. The Research option includes significant research, scholarship or creative activity under the direction of a faculty member as well as taking four Honors courses. The Scholastic option entails taking eight Honors courses but does not contain any research thesis or scholarship requirement.
Departments may have additional requirements, please consult the respective department Honors guidelines.
Joining the Program
Students can join the program and become an “Honors student” by maintaining a GPA > 3.50 (or higher, see respective department honors guidelines), and completing the sophomore research seminar, HONR180H. Students also need a faculty sponsor who signs the Honors application form, indicating that he/she thinks the student is suitable for the program and is likely to succeed.
By submitting the Honors application form students indicate that they qualify, which track they are planning to take (scholastic or research), and commit to fulfilling all the requirements to graduate with Honors.
Scholastic Honors Option
Completion of at least eight Honors courses with grades of “B” or better, together with an overall GPA of at least 3.50*, will result in granting of Honors at graduation.
These courses can be taken at any time during a student’s career at UNE although they are advised to take at least one course per semester. One of those Honors courses must be the Sophomore Honors Research Seminar, HONR180. Several department will offer Honors sections of courses. Honors students have priority to register for these courses. If additional seats are available non-Honors students with a GPA of at least 3.50, or by permission of the instructor, can enroll and will be expected to complete all the work and meet the same standards as Honors students.
Honors courses will move at a faster pace, there will be higher expectations and a greater workload than non-Honors courses. Enrollment in all Honors courses is no more than 20 students. Departments may decide to require an additional capstone course, thesis, paper, or other work to fulfill the departments’ Honors criteria or might decide to not offer this scholastic honors option. Please consult the respective department Honors guidelines.
*: Departments may decide to require a higher GPA. Please consult with your respective department.
Research Honors Option
Students in the Honors Research track are required to complete a minimum of four honors level courses with grades of “B” or better, together with an overall GPA of at least 3.50* and to complete a research thesis. Two of those Honors courses must be the Sophomore Honors Research Seminar, HONR180, and the Senior research seminar. The details of the research project are outlined in the respective departments’ honors guidelines.
Departments are encouraged to require a thesis proposal and a public thesis defense. Additionally, students need to present their research at the Arts and Sciences Research Symposium, which is held at the end of the semester. Departments might decide to not offer this research honors option.
Please consult the respective department’s Honors guidelines. Upon completion of the thesis a paper copy and an electronic copy (preferably as a pdf file) needs to be submitted to the chair of the CAS Honors Committee.
*: Departments may decide to require a higher GPA. Please consult with your respective department.
- You can find out more about undergraduate research here.
- The official CAS Honors guidelines document can be downloaded here
Links to forms:
For questions, please contact the chair of the CAS Honors Committee Markus Frederich, Ph.D. (mfrederich@une.edu)