Graduating from the Honors Program

University Honors Program students may graduate with Honors Degree or with Honors Distinction.

 * Please refer to your Undergraduate Catalog for requirements based on your catalog year

Honors Distinction

Honors students who complete 19 credits of Honors coursework, including a 1 credit Honors seminar (HONS 3391), graduate with Honors Distinction.

• The Honors Distinction requires:
  • 18 credits of Honors coursework and
  • 1 Honors Seminar (HONS 3391, 1 credit)
• The Honors Distinction is noted on the transcript and at commencement.
• The Honors Distinction can only be applied to one major, therefore, if you are double-majoring you will need to let your Honors advisor know which major you would like the Honors Distinction to be applied to.
• The Honors Distinction cannot be obtained with an Associate's Degree.

Honors Degree

Honors students who complete 32 credits of Honors coursework and an Honors Thesis earn Idaho's only Honors Degree, and therefore a unique diploma. 

• The Honors Degree requires:
  • 18 credits of Honors coursework achieved through the Honors Distinction
  • 2 Honors Seminars (HONS 3391, 1 credit each),
  • at least 6 credits of upper division Honors contract courses
    (3 of which may be thesis credits, HONS 4493),
  • additional Honors credits to total 32 credits,
  • and an Honors project or thesis (between 1-6 credits).
• The Honors Degree is noted on the transcript, diploma, and at commencement.
• The Honors Degree can only be applied to one major, therefore, if you are double-majoring you will need to let your Honors advisor know which major you would like the Honors Degree to be applied to.
• The Honors Degree cannot be obtained with an Associate's Degree.

Please Note:  UHP Students are not formally assigned to the Honors Degree track until the student has enrolled in HONS 3393 or reached Junior class level (58+ credits completed).

Honors Checklist

Student Progress

Students admitted to the Honors Program must show evidence of continuous progress toward their degrees in order to remain an active UHP Student with access to all of the UHP benefits (e.g., priority registration, eligibility to apply for additional Honors scholarships). Refer to the UHP Student Handbook for additional details.

Continuous progress includes, but is not limited to:

• Attendance at the Bi-Annual Honors Meeting (BAHM) every Fall and Spring semester.
• Attending at least one UHP endorsed event (Civic Engagement Requirement)
• First Year Honors students who accepted the Bennion/Leadership/Housing scholarships are expected to complete at least 12 Honors credits during their first two semesters in the UHP.  All other Honors students (e.g.; Transfer, Late Admit) are encouraged to complete Honors credits as their schedule and course requirements allow.

Example of a Map to Honors Degree

Year 1 and 2:

University Honors Program students are expected to complete 12 Honors credits during their first year in the program.

• HONS 1101 - Honors Humanities I (3 cr.) - Fall
• HONS 1102 - Honors Humanities II (3 cr.) - Spring
• Objective fulfilling Honors courses - Fall (3 cr.), Spring (3 cr.)

Additional courses commonly taken in years 1 and 2:

• CHEM 1111 H - Honors General Chemistry (5 cr.) - Fall
• CHEM 1112 H - Honors General Chemistry (4 cr.) - Spring
  (Above courses meet Objective 5)
• COMM 1101 H - Honors Introduction to Communication (3 cr.) - Fall and Spring
  (This course meets Objective 2.)
• ACAD 1111 H - Honors University Inquiry (3 cr.) - Spring

Years 3 and 4:

• HONS 3391 - Honors Seminar (1 cr.) - Fall and Spring
• Honors Contract Courses (6 cr.) - Fall and Spring
• HONS 3393 - Introduction to Honors Thesis (1 cr.) - Fall
• HONS 4493 - Honors Senior Project or Honors Thesis or Thesis/ Independent Studies Credit from the major department (1-3 credits) - Fall and Spring
  • (Please refer to your Undergraduate Catalog for requirements based on your catalog year).

Learn More about Honors Curriculum and Courses