Non-Honors courses may count as upper level Honors courses by contracting the course.
What is an Honors Contract?
An Honors Contract is a mechanism for adding an “honors dimension” to a course that is not listed as an honors course (HON prefix). The contract allows honors students to convert a regular non-honors course into an honors course that counts toward graduation with University Honors. The Honors Contract project should add an academic or experiential dimension to the course by introducing new material and/or experiences.
What courses can be contracted to count towards graduation with University Honors?
- Upper level non-Honors courses (numbered 300 to 499)
- Graduate courses (500 or higher) or undergraduate courses cross-listed with graduate courses
Note: All courses must be at least 3 credits.
What must be done to successfully contract a course?
- For upper level non-Honors courses (numbered 300 to 499): The student and professor must agree on a component in addition to the standard course requirements. This can be a research paper, project, literature review, travel experience, service learning project, or other experience that qualitatively enhances the course for the student.
- For graduate courses (500 or higher) or undergraduate courses cross-listed with graduate courses, no extra component needs to be added to student requirements to make it count towards Honors requirements—only confirmation that student will be held accountable for completing graduate-level assignments. A contract proposal form must be submitted to the Honors office in order for the Honors staff to know that you wish the course to count towards your University Honors requirements.
Note: For a contracted course to count towards Honors requirements, the student must earn at least a B+ in the course.
What is the process for contracting a course?
We recommend that students begin the process of contracting a course by meeting with their professor to determine a suitable extra component for their studies. Once agreed upon, the student must complete the following form, both parties must sign off on it, and the form must be returned to the Honors office in the Conroy Honors Center, room 104, by the end of the add/drop period. No contracts will be approved if they are turned in later, unless the student has cleared it previously with an Honors advisor. The professor may wish to alert an Honors advisor once the contract requirements are met—this is fine, but not required. The Honors staff will designate the course for Honors credit only after a final grade (of B+ or higher) has been granted.
IMPORTANT: How many contracts can a student use towards meeting University Honors requirements?
A maximum of two contracts may count towards upper level Honors requirements.
