Engineering Honors Students
The Engineering Honors program is designed to meet the needs of students with superior academic ability and to promote scholarly development throughout their college careers. The program's objectives are to challenge superior students by offering them access to more advanced levels of study, to merit the fullest possible use of their creative abilities, and to encourage a sustaining interest in advanced education and research.
First-year students participate in the Honors Program through membership in the University Honors & Scholars Center.
First-year engineering students have the option to participate in the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors program. This rigorous first-year curriculum covers CADD, computer usage and programming, hands-on labs and reports, and a robot design project.
Enrolled students beyond the freshman year must maintain a cumulative point-hour ratio of at least 3.4, reviewed quarterly by the Director of the Engineering Honors Program, Robert Gustafson, in order to retain honors status. Students interested in participating in the honors program should contact their academic adviser or the College of Engineering Honors Coordinator, Dave Donley for enrollment procedures.
Honors students are eligible to receive scheduling priority and to enroll in honors courses. First-year students are eligible to apply for residence in one of several honors living-learning centers. Upper division honors students are eligible to participate in an undergraduate research project, including six to nine hours of independent study, the preparation of a senior research thesis, and subsequent oral defense of this thesis. These projects must be approved by the Honors Office.
Honors versions of courses are offered in both engineering-related and liberal arts areas. Students are encouraged to challenge themselves by attempting these courses. Popular pre-engineering choices include honors calculus, honors physics or chemistry, and honors graphics. Honors versions of social and physical science courses are also offered.
Honors courses are elective, not mandatory. A student who chooses not to enroll in honors courses will not jeopardize his or her honors status as long as a 3.4 cumulative point-hour ratio is maintained.
Graduating seniors may earn the designation of summa cum laude, magna cum laude, or cum laude based on their cumulative overall GPA. Honors students who complete a senior research thesis with successful oral defense are eligible to graduate "with distinction" in their major area of study. The application packet for graduation with distinction is available from this web page. Honors students are also eligible to graduate "with honors in engineering." The information and application packet for graduation with honors in engineering is also available from this web page.
Finally, University Honors are awarded to students who have distinguished themselves both by point-hour ratio and by a particularly challenging curriculum.
A variety of Honorary Societies are also available to qualified engineering students.
Additional information on academic opportunities for honors students can be found by clicking on the following links:
Fundamentals
of Engineering for Honors
University Honors
Honors Courses
Graduation with Honors (PDF)
Graduation with Distinction (PDF)
Combined BS/MS degree