Program Requirements

• Thesis/Project Requirement
• GPA Requirement
• Five Ways to Earn Honors Credit
• Academic Requirements

Thesis/Project Requirement   

To graduate as a Commonwealth Honors Program Scholar, students must complete a thesis or project worth at least three credits and give a public presentation of the thesis or project, preferably at either the UMass Lowell Student Research Symposium and the Massachusetts Undergraduate Conference on Research, Scholarly, Creative and Public Service Activities. The thesis or project is subject to final approval by the student's thesis committee, which shall consist of the student's thesis advisor and preferably two, but at least one, other faculty members. For more information, please download the Honors Project Handbook.

GPA Requirement   

Five ways to earn honors credit  

1.  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 should be 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.


2.  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 that meet separately.  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.

3.  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.) 

4. Honors-by-Contract

Honors-by-contract is a way for students to obtain honors credit for a course that does not have a dedicated honors section or a concurrent honors section.  This option is open only to students enrolled in the Honors Program.

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. 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 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.

5. 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.

Some things to remember about honors courses and sections:

•  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. Note that, a B- does not qualify for Honors credit (though any grade of D or above still earns regular credit).
•  A student who wishes to change from an honors section to a non-honors section of the same course or who wishes to withdraw from an honors-by-contract agreement must do so by the fifth Wednesday of the semester

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Academic Requirements    

All students are required to complete a minimum of 18 credits of honors coursework and complete the following courses:

Honors Workshop (HON.310): Generally taken sophomore or junior year. Course emphasizes critical thinking, interdisciplinary communication, and preparation for Project or thesis. 3 credits

Honors Project or Thesis (course number depends on department): An independent research or creative project completed in collaboration with a faculty advisor and additional faculty committee for support. 1-2 semesters; 3-6 credits.

FYSH: Text in the City (HON. 110): The First Year Seminar in Honors (FYSH) uses Lowell as its text.  Rich in history and culture, and the students' home for the next four years, the City of Lowell offers a perfect topic to promote connections while learning how to view the city through the lends of the Humanities.  Students will develop library research skills, including facility with primary and secondary sources, and an appreciation for the narratives that lie in buildings, objects, and what people leave behind.  Activities include field trips, readings, writing, and an artistic interpretation.  As important, students will have the opportunity to form strong connections to each other, to the faculty, and to the community.