Requirements for the Honors Degree

General Honors Degree Requirements

 

Freshman admission into the Honors College is determined through the current Honors College application process.

Curriculum Components

The degree requires successful completion of six core components:

  1. Honors Foundation Component (7 credits): Building Your Intellectual Foundation
    Students complete foundational Honors courses designed to develop critical thinking, research skills, and a deeper understanding of the human experience. Required courses include HMXP102H - Human Experience: Who Am I? (3 credits), CRTW201H - Critical Reading, Thinking & Writing and HONR102H - Introduction to Scholarship & Research (1 credit)
  2. Leadership Component (3 credits): Developing Your Leadership Identity
    Students complete a three-year leadership sequence designed to develop leadership skills and readiness for positive impact. Required courses include HONR 101H - Freshman Honors Leadership Symposium (1 credit), HONR 201H - Sophomore Honors Leadership Symposium (1 credit), and HONR301H - Sophomore Honors Leadership Symposium (1 credit)
  3. Cultural Component (1-3 credits): Expanding Your Perspectives
    Ensure broad exposure to diverse academic fields by completing one of two available experiences based on their academic interests and schedule needs: a dedicated Honors Symposium (1 credit), or an intensive Honors Special Topics Seminar (3 credits).
  4. Coursework Component (6 credits): Excellence Within Your Major:
    Students must complete six honors credits within their major field, ensuring advanced study by taking at least one course at or above the 200-level and one course at or above the 300-level for Honors credit.
  5. Independent Study Component (8 credits): Becoming the Scholar You Were Born to Be 
    This capstone experience transitions students into scholars through intensive, faculty-mentored research. Required courses include HONR449H - Preparing to Write the Honors Thesis (1 credit) and HONR451H - Honors Thesis Symposium (1 credit). Additionally, student complete 6 credits of research-focused coursework. This can be satisfied by completed HONR448H (3 credits) and HONR450H (3 credits) or approved departmental substitutions.
  6. Service Learning Component:  A service learning project and 4-5 page reflection essay must be completed (0-3 credit hours).

Requirements for the Honors Degree with International Experience

In addition to the regular Honors Degree requirements,  students must complete an extended experience in a learning environment outside the U.S.

Progress toward the Honors Degree

In order to earn an Honors degree, students must earn a grade of B or better for any honors course taken.  To stay in good standing in the Honors College, a student must maintain a 3.30 grade point average. In order to make acceptable progress toward their Honors degree, students should meet the following benchmarks:

  • Freshmen should have accumulated 5-8 Honors credit hours by the end of the freshman year
  • Sophomores should have accumulated 12 Honors credit hours by the end of the sophomore year
  • Juniors should have accumulated 17 Honors credit hours by the end of the junior year
  • Seniors must have accumulated 25 Honors credit hours and satisified all honors degree requirements by the end of the senior year

Students who enter Winthrop with significant college credit may need to work with the Dean of the Honors College to determine the best schedule for completing the Honors degree.

Failure to maintain the required GPA, or to make sufficient progress toward completing the program degree requirements, may result in probation from the Honors College. In such cases, students will work individually with the Dean of the Honors College to get back on track.