Honors Students

Are you driven to take one step further?

The University Honors Program (UHP) encourages high-achieving students to excel both inside and outside the classroom. The Honors Program's mission is to guide and challenge students from across the University as they develop into broad, creative, independent, and informed thinkers.

Eligibility

You may be admitted to the University Honors Program on the basis of academic ability, with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.5. It is recommended that you have at least three semesters remaining before graduation when you enter the honors program, and the Department of Sociology requires honors participation beginning early in your junior year. Check with the Coordinator for Undergraduate Advising for sociology for more details. For more information about graduating with Latin Honors, visit the University Honors Program.

Proseminar Sequence

The Proseminar Sequence is a two-semester sequence that helps you develop your honors thesis, which serves as your major project requirement for sociology. In your fall semester, Proseminar I will focus on stages of development and your research plan to prepare you for the spring Proseminar that guides you to complete all sections of your thesis. In your spring Proseminar II, you will also complete your oral defense and a brief presentation at the Sociology Research Institute (SRI).

Proseminar Oral Defense

In the spring, you will present your research to your faculty committee (composed of two sociology faculty and one related-department faculty) in an oral defense. The oral defense is a face-to-face gathering of yourself and your committee to have a discussion about your research process and your individual research.

Presenting your oral defense gives you an opportunity to practice and present in a formal academic setting, and this allows you to complete all your requirements in time to push your overall GPA above what is needed for summa cum laude honors. 

Sociology Research Institute (SRI)

You will also present your research at Sociology Research Institute’s (SRI) annual event. Presenting at SRI provides you with practical conference presentation experience and a foundation for your future professional and academic presentations.

Multiple majors and students outside of CLA

If you have two or more majors in the College of Liberal Arts, you only need one Capstone or Proseminar Sequence. If you choose to do your major project in another major, you must take one additional, upper-division, elective in lieu of 4966W or 4977V and 4978V. For students in another college at the University (or outside CLA), the college requires students to complete the major project or Proseminar Sequence.