1. Students entering the UHP as freshmen must enroll in at least one HON seminar in their first semester, preferably one of the seminars restricted to incoming freshmen (HON 201, 202, or other HON seminar so-designated), and earn a grade of B- or better (S/U registration will not count). Students entering the program in their second or third semester at NC State must take a least one HON seminar within their first two semesters in the program. Seminar substitutions are not allowed for the first HON seminar taken by any student.

2. Must take an additional three HON seminars (ideally within the first four semesters) and earn a grade of B-orbetter (S/U registration will not count). Note that one-hour HON 101, 102, or 398 courses¹ can be accumulated tosubstitute for HON seminars (three one-credit courses will count as one HON seminar).

One of these three HON seminars (not HON 201 or 202) may be substituted with one of the following²:

--ECD 296H (Caldwell Fellows)
--HON 298 (Honors Research/Independent Study)^1,3
--MDS 302H (Benjamin Franklin Scholars)
--HON 395 (Honors Cooperative Education)^1,3
--MDS 498H (Thomas Jefferson Scholars)
--HON 397 (Honors Extension & Engagement)^1,3
--Honors Study Abroad (no specific course is associated with this)³
--ALS 398H (CALS Honors Seminar—a 2-credit hour course, so an additional 1 hour HON course will be needed)

 

¹S/U registration is accepted for these courses (and, in some cases, is the only option).
²Other courses may be considered for seminar replacement, subject to approval by the UHP Director. Note that those courses must be three-credit hours and passed with a grade of B- or better (S/U will not count).
³These require prior approval from the UHP Director.

3. Must complete a two-semester (six credit hour) capstone research/creative project (typically done in the junior orsenior year) that results in a public presentation of the work (this could be in the form of a thesis, an oral defense,or a talk or poster at a research symposium). For many students the capstone requirement will be satisfied in whole or in part by the research/thesis project of their disciplinary honors program. It can also be satisfied by senior design projects in the College of Engineering and the College of Design, subject to approval in advance by the UHP Director (see item #6 below). HON 498 and HON 499 exist to provide for capstone project registration for students who are not part of a disciplinary honors program and/or do not have another senior project opportunity.The capstone requirement may be satisfied by a variety of course combinations (including HON 395, HON 397,and Honors Study Abroad). However, those are subject to approval by the UHP Director (see item #6 below).

4. Must maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.25 or higher.* To earn the transcript designation of “Completed UniversityHonors Program,” a student must have a final cumulative G.P.A. of 3.25 or higher.

*If a student’s cumulative G.P.A. falls into the range of 3.00-3.24, the student is placed on probation and has one semester toregain a G.P.A. of 3.25. The student retains access to all aspects of the program during the probation period. If after onesemester their G.P.A. is not above 3.25 or at any time when their cumulative G.P.A. falls below 3.00, the student is no longerable to participate in the program (but may reapply for admission once their G.P.A. is above a 3.25). Students are limited to oneprobation. If their G.P.A. falls below 3.25 a second time, they will be dropped from the program and will have to reapply foradmission once their G.P.A. is above a 3.25.

5. UHP students must certify their active status in the UHP each semester. This can be accomplished by being registered in an HON course or approved substitute. If not so registered and a student has not completed all of their HON seminar requirements, the student must contact his/her UHP adviser (e-mail is ok) to attest to their active status in the program. Active status is subject to approval by the adviser.

6. We do not require that UHP students meet with their UHP advisor every semester. However, students are encouraged to meet regularly with their adviser. This is particularly important early on to help with developing an overall academic plan and to plan in advance for enrichment opportunities (such as internships or undergraduate research). Students must meet with a UHP advisor for a “Junior Year Review” (this would ordinarily be the fifth or sixth semester of enrollment at NC State, but in any case must be no later than the semester prior to the beginning of the capstone project). The “Junior Year Review” will involve planning for the Capstone Research Project and will be the time when a student arranges for permission to count a senior design project, disciplinary honors senior research project, or some combination of HON courses as the Honors Capstone.

7. UHP students may be invited to participate in one or more disciplinary honors programs (typically in the sophomore or junior year). Those programs have their own requirements, often involving earning a certain number of credits taking H-section courses in the major, participating in special seminars, performing a senior research project (with or without a thesis), and maintaining a GPA that in some cases is higher than that required by the UHP. The only point of overlap is in the Capstone Research Project—a disciplinary honors senior research project will be accepted by the UHP as the Capstone Research Project (subject to prior approval, as explained above in#6).