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Honors Program Requirements

Students who wish to graduate "with College Honors" must complete:

  1. The Honors Core (as defined by their college)
  2. Departmental Honors Requirements (as defined by their major)

Specific Departmental Honors requirements vary depending on the department; students should speak with their departmental advisers to obtain current Departmental Honors guidelines. To graduate with College Honors, students need a minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA, and each department may have additional GPA requirements.

College Honors requirements are available in downloadable, printable PDF files below. In order to view these requirements sheets you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Note: As of Autumn 2009, the "H A&S" course prefix has been replaced with "HONORS"

Honors Core Requirement Sheets

Policy

A 3.3 cumulative GPA is required to remain active in the Honors Program and also to graduate with an honors degree. Some departmental honors programs have even higher GPA requirements. It is very important to be aware of this policy as you pursue your honors degree at UW. Below are the guidelines around this policy for all College Honors students:

Incoming Freshmen

If your cumulative grade point average falls below a 3.3 in your first quarter at the UW, we will send you a reminder about the Honors GPA requirement. You will be encouraged to visit an Honors adviser to discuss your future academic plans and goals. If it remains below a 3.3 after your second quarter, you will be put on probation by the Honors Program. At this point you will be required to meet with an Honors adviser to discuss probation. If, at the end of your third quarter, your GPA is still below a 3.3, we will transfer you out of the College Honors program.

Second-Year Students (and beyond)

If your cumulative GPA falls below a 3.3 after any one quarter at UW, you will be put on probation for the following quarter by the Honors Program. We will send you an e-mail reminder about our GPA requirement and you will be required to meet with an Honors adviser to discuss your future academic plans and goals. If at the end of that probation quarter, your cumulative GPA has not risen above a 3.3, you will be transferred out of the College Honors program.

Low GPA?

There's Help!

We ALWAYS encourage you to come in and talk to an adviser if you are concerned about your GPA or if you are having trouble in a class. We can help point you to many different resources both within Honors as well as on the larger campus that can help with time management, study skills, tutoring services, and more.

If You are Transferred Out

If you are transferred out of the Honors Program, you will need to consult an adviser about completing the UW Areas of Knowledge General Education requirements as opposed to the College Honors Core requirements. All Honors courses you have taken previously will apply to the Areas of Knowledge, but you will be satisfying different general education requirements, and it is important to be clear about those.

Re-Instatement

Students may be re-instated in the Honors Program if they have been transferred out and their GPA rises above a 3.3. In this situation, they are required to meet with an adviser and submit a course plan showing how they intend to fulfill all of their honors core requirements before graduation as well as show that they are competitive candidates for their departmental honors program given their current GPA.

Students completing only Departmental Honors must satisfy the University's General Education Requirements in addition to specific Departmental Honors requirements to graduate "with Distinction".

Typically, students apply for departmental admission in their junior year of college, although some majors have earlier entrance options. For admission into a Departmental Honors Program, please speak with a departmental adviser. Students who complete their departmental requirements without completing the College Honors Core will graduate "With Distinction" rather than "with College Honors.

Visit these links to see the Departmental Honors options. If you do not see the department in which you are interested, take heart--not all majors have an Honors webpage. You just need to visit that department in person.