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• Honors courses are distinguished from regular courses by a "300" section number.
• A student must earn a grade of B or higher in order to obtain honors credit. (Any grade of D or above still earns regular credit, however.)
• A student who wishes to change from a concurrent honors section to the non-honors section of the same course or who wishes to drop an honors by contract agreement must do so by the end of the fifth week of the semester

Honors Course

An honors course is a course specifically designed for honors students, such as Honors Physics I (95.161). All sections of an honors course are "300" sections, and all students enrolled in the course are striving to achieve honors credit. The class size is usually smaller than that of a traditional course: typically there are no more than 20 students in an honors course.

Dedicated Honors Section Of A Regular Course

A dedicated honors section of a regular course is a "300" section of a non-honors course, such as Economics I (49.201 section 301). A dedicated honors section is similar to an honors course in that all students in that section are striving to earn honors credit. However, there are also non-honors sections of the course. The differences between an honors section and a regular section of the same course are that the size of the honors section is smaller and the course content is "enriched" in some way.

Concurrent Honors Section Of A Regular Course

In a concurrent honors section of a course, a "300" section is created to run in the same room at the same time as a regular section. Students striving to earn honors credit register for the "300" section, where they will be required to complete additional assignments or projects above and beyond what is required for the regular section. In concurrent sections the class size may be larger than in a dedicated honors section, but the honors students will nevertheless have opportunities to meet with the professor to discuss the material related to the honors component of the course. Faculty should create a separate syllabus for those students in the honors ("300") part of the section indicating what alternate assignments they must complete and how those assignments will be counted toward their course grade. (Sample syllabi are available from the Honors Program Office.)

Honors By Contract

Honors by contract is a way for students to obtain honors credit for a course which does not have a dedicated honors section or a concurrent honors section. The professor and student agree on a required project or set of assignments that must be completed in order to obtain honors credit. Students are responsible for filing the honors by contract form with the Honors Office before the end of the Add/Drop period. (This form is included in Appendix A of this guide.) The Registrar's Office is then notified of the contract agreement for the course and a "300" section is created for that individual student. Faculty should create a separate syllabus for the honors-by-contract student indicating what alternate assignments must be completed and how those assignments will be counted toward the course grade. (Sample syllabi are available from the Honors Program Office.) The student and professor meet periodically throughout the course of the semester to evaluate the student's progress. Honors by contract differs from a concurrent section in that there is usually only one student in a section of a course who is executing honors by contract.


Graduate Courses

A student may earn honors credit by completing a graduate course as an undergraduate. Any student who earns a B or better in any graduate course while still an undergraduate may use that course for honors credit.