Honors Contracts
Developing an Honors Contract
To apply for admission into the Upperclass James Scholar Program, a student will work with a departmental honors advisor to develop an individualized honors contract. This is normally done during the third or fourth semester. This contract will define and justify a coherent plan of special academic work to be carried out during the student's course of undergraduate study. Honors contracts that broaden a student's general or technical education are strongly encouraged. An honors contract must be comprised of a minimum of twelve (12) credit hours of academic work. As much as possible, this twelve-hour package will be created from elective opportunities that exist in all curricula of the college, namely technical electives, free electives, and social science and humanities electives. Some students will choose to create an honors program consisting entirely of technical work, others will choose twelve hours of nontechnical work, and others a combination.
Two basic rules govern items admissible in an honors contract: all honors activities must receive a grade, and all must contain at least two advanced-level courses (normally 400-level). An honors contract may be formulated completely with courses or with courses and a bachelor's thesis, laboratory project, or design project. An honors contract comprised completely of course work inside or outside the department of a student's major discipline should be clearly tailored to the individual student's needs and interests and should demonstrate some measure of individual study. For example, one or more of the courses selected should require a major research paper or an equivalent effort. Each department will be free to set more specific requirements for its students for acceptable honors contracts provided these requirements do not violate the minimum overall standards of the Upperclass James Scholar Program.
General Requirements for Honors Contracts
- An honors contract must be comprised of a minimum of 12 credit hours of graded academic work.
- All honors contracts must show coherence, focus, and purpose.
Guidelines for three types of honors contracts are shown below:
- Non-Technical Honors Contracts
- Non-Technical Contracts must include at least two advanced-level courses. Normally, these would be 400-level courses.
- The contract must be coherent with an academic goal.
- Second degree programs and campus minors are viable contracts.
- Technical Honors Contracts Outside Department
- Technical contracts must include at least two 400-level courses.
- All current engineering and campus minors, including the international minor, are viable contracts.
- Second BS degree programs in a technical field are viable contracts.
- Technical Honors Contracts Inside Department
- The department may impose a higher GPA requirement for all technical contracts when the bulk of the coursework is within the respective department.
- Internal technical contracts must include at least two 400-level courses.
- Minors
- Most minors can be used as honors contracts. However, Computer Engineering majors may not use the CS Minor. Computer Science majors may not use the Math Minor.
The 12 credit-hour contract may include up to six hours of senior thesis credit in the home department. In this case, the other six hours of credit is expected to be supportive of the thesis. Examples and suggestions for honors contracts can be obtained from an honors advisor. A list of honors and advisors appears at the end of this page.
Submission of Honor Contracts
Upon completion of the contract, have your honors advisor sign it. You should bring it personally to 206 Engineering Hall. Do not assume that someone else will send it.
Honors Contract Forms
- This form can be printed by clicking here.
- ECE students should use the ECE online form at the ECE website.
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