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Some reminders about Honors
Program requirements:
§ Thesis/Project requirement
To graduate as a Commonwealth
Honors Program Scholar from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, a
student must complete a thesis or project worth at least 3 credits. The
student must give a public presentation of the thesis or project, preferably
at both the UML 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 member.
§ GPA Requirement
In order to remain in good academic
standing with the Honors Program, students must maintain an overall cumulative
grade point average of 3.25 or higher. The Honors Program staff reviews
student records each June. Students whose GPA falls below 3.0 are withdrawn
from the program, as are students whose GPA falls between 3.0 and 3.25
for two consecutive semesters. Students wishing to reapply to the program
may do so when the minimum GPA is reached. Remember that you can still
take honors courses even if you are not enrolled in the Honors Program.
§ The five ways to earn honors credit
1. By taking an honors course,
which is a course specifically designed for honors students, such as Honors
Physics I. All sections of an honors course are honors sections, and all
students enrolled in the course are trying to earn 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. By taking a dedicated honors
section of a regular course, which is an honors section of a non-honors
course, such as Economics I. 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.
3. By taking a concurrent honors
section of a course, which is an honors section created to run in the
same room at the same time as a regular section. Students who want to
earn honors credit register for the honors section, where they will be
required to complete additional or more substantive assignments than are
required for students in 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.
4. By participating in honors
by contract, which 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. 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.
5. By taking a graduate level
course.
Please note that you must
earn a grade of B or better to receive honors credit for a course.
Back to UML Honors Program Home Page
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