Honors College Membership

ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP
A student who hold active membership may take Honors classes, participate in Honors College events, and live in Honors housing. He or she is also eligible for recognition at Commencement and designation of their UNT transcript.

How To Attain Active Membership: A student admitted to the College activates his or her membership by taking at least one Honors course during the first semester following admission. Active membership is maintained by enrolling in at least one Honors course per semester and completing it with a passing grade. Once you earn 15 Honors credits, your membership is considered active until you receive your baccalaureate degree.

How To Maintain Active Membership: The Honors Student maintains active College membership by:
1. Taking and successfully completing at least six Honors credits per academic year; and
2. Maintaining a cumulative and semester GPA of at least 3.00.

INACTIVE MEMBERSHIP
A student whose membership is inactive is no longer eligible to take Honors College classes, participate in Honors College events, or live in Honors housing. At graduation, he or she will not be recognized or have transcript designation for Honors participation.

A student may become inactive by:
1. Failing to successfully complete a minimum of three Honors hours per academic year and/or
2. Not maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 for two consecutive semesters.

RE-ACTIVATION OF YOUR HONORS COLLEGE MEMBERSHIP
A student may contact the Honors College academic counselor to request reactivation of Honors College membership when his or her cumulative GPA has returned to 3.0 or higher.

TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
A student's membership in the Honors College will be terminated for the following reasons:
1. The Honors College Dean's decision to terminate a student due to failure to take Honors classes or cumulative GPA that is consistently below 3.00.
2. A student is guilty of violations of the Code of Student Conduct, such as academic dishonesty.
3. A student is convicted of a crime.
4. A student requests in writing to be removed from Honors College membership.

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Students who achieve an Honors distinction will receive a medallion to wear at graduation. Additionally, the level of Honors distinction achieved will be noted in the graduation program and posted on the student's transcript.

I. LOWER DIVISION HONORS
The Honors Certificate
An undergraduate student may elect to pursue the Honors Certificate in the first two years of their university career. Honors Certificate designation requires fifteen Honors credit hours with a cumulative and Honors Grade Point Average of at least 3.00. Transfer and continuing students may achieve the Honors Certificate by completing fifteen advanced Honors credit hours with a cumulative and Honors grade point average of at least 3.00 (for all college coursework).

II. UPPER DIVISION HONORS
A. The Honors Scholar
Any Honors student who has already earned the Honors Certificate would need to earn only nine additional Honors credits to gain the Honors Scholar designation. The nine additional Honors Hours would need to include the Honors Capstone Seminar, thesis, or an Honors Thesis replacement. The student must also maintain an Honors and cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.

A student who transfers to UNT with Honors Hours from another institution may, with the approval of the UNT Honors Dean, apply a maximum of twelve of the transfer Honors Hours toward the UNT Honors Scholar designation. Twelve advanced Honors Hours would then be completed at UNT, with three of the twelve Honors Hours being the Honors Capstone Seminar, thesis or an Honors Thesis replacement. The student must also maintain an Honors and cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.

B. The Distinguished Honors Scholar
The highest recognition available to a student through the Honors College is the designation of Distinguished Honors Scholar. This award requires that the Honors student earn at least 27 Honors credit hours. Three of the 27 Honors credit hours must be an Honors thesis or an Honors Thesis replacement. Additionally, the student must graduate with a grade point average of at least 3.5.

For more information about these Honors awards and how to achieve them, please come in to visit with the Honors Academic Counselor, Dr. Connie Fickenscher. Appointments can be arranged by calling 940-565-3305.

How to Earn Honors College Credits

• Take Honors classes.
• Study Abroad. You’ll earn three Honors credits for each long semester you study abroad and three for an approved UNT summer program.
• Participate in the National Student Exchange. You will earn three Honors credits for each long semester you study at another university through NSE, provided you have a 3.00 or better GPA for your exchange.
• Take a Capstone course in your major, with approval from the Honors College Office. A Capstone course is generally defined as a course that completes your college experience.
• Participate in the National Collegiate Honors Council’s Honors Semester. Students from across the United States compete to participate in this semester-long program. This opportunity is announced annually and information will be sent to all students on the Honors College list serv.
• Honors Contracts allows the student the privilege of earning Honors credit for non-honors courses through the additional study and projects spelled out in the Honors contract.
  

• Fall 2008 Schedule

• Honors 4000: Capstone Seminar
• Honors 3500: Thesis Proposal Development
• Political Science 3320: Ancient Philosophy
   
• Spring 2007 Syllabi
• Sociology 1510: Individuals in Society
• Biology 1722: Principles of Biology II
• Archaeology 2800: Honors Archaeological Science
• UCRS 4980/5900: Science in Ancient and Modern Times
• Decision Sciences: Data Description and Analysis with Spreadsheet
• History 1085: World Civilizations from the 16th Century
• Honors 4100: Theatre and Social Change
• Honors 4100: Science, Skepticism, and Weird Behavior
• Philosophy 2070: Introduction to Great Religions of the World
• Political Science 1051: Honors American Government: Processes and Policies
• MUET 3020: Popular Music in American Culture
• Linguistics 4800: Gypsy Language and Culture
• Honors 1500: Introduction to Research
   
• Fall 2007 Syllabi
• English 3913: Literary Games and Gaming
• Biology 1711: Principles of Biology I
• Honors Art 3825: Information Visualization
• Philosophy 4960: Philosophy of Food
• Honors 1000: Introduction to Honors and College
• BCIS 2610: Intro to Computing
• EADP 4050: Special Populations in Disaster
• Information Literacy: Information Literacy
• Honors 1000: Freshman Seminar
• DFST 1013 Human Development
• Political Science 1041
• History 1085
• History 2685: History of the US Since 1865
• PHILOSOPHY 3400: Ethical Theory
   

• Graduation Requirements
  • To graduate with a Honors College Certificate, the Honors student must earn at least 15 hours in Honors classes in their first four semesters at UNT and maintain a Grade Point Average of at least 3.00 (for all college coursework).
  • To graduate as a Honors College Scholar, the Honors student must earn at least 24 hours in Honors classes, including the Capstone requirement, and have a cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.00.
  • To graduate as a Honors College Distinguished Scholar, the Honors student must earn at least 27 hours in Honors classes, including the Honors Thesis, and have a cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.50.
• Graduation Information & Application

• The Capstone and Thesis Requirements and Ways to Meet Them
  To graduate as a Honors College Scholar, a student must complete a Capstone experience, which may be the Honors Thesis (HNRS 4500) or the Honors Capstone Seminar (HNRS 4000). You may register for the Honors Thesis any semester. Students who successfully complete HNRS 4000 or HNRS 4500 have met the Capstone requirement.
  
• You can also meet the Capstone and Thesis requirement in other ways, including the following:
  1. If your major requires a senior thesis, you may substitute your thesis for the Honors Thesis.
  2. If your major requires a senior recital, portfolio, or other major creative project, you may substitute it for your Honors Capstone course or Thesis.
  3. If your major requires a special seminar or project, you may substitute it for your Honors Capstone requirement.
  4. If your major requires a student teaching experience, you may substitute that for the Honors Capstone requirement.
     
• For approval of any of these options, please complete and submit the Capstone Replacement Form or Thesis Replacement Form to request approval of this option.
• Thesis Guidelines