Honors Program Requirements
Honors new requirements are designed to give motivated students more flexibility in pursuing their interests.
Honors students are expected to maintain a 3.2 GPA throughout their academic career.
Occasionally students dip below that and may petition for an extension to meet this requirement. In addition, students with tuition waivers must maintain this GPA every semester.
Course requirements vary, depending on what type of Honors track the student is pursuing.
Program Track Requirements
Summary of requirements (24 credits):
Honors Scholar Cornerstone (3 cr.)
HON 101 –Introduction to critical thinking, scholarly inquiry, and diversity of perspective
through an interdisciplinary approach; small, discussion-based course capped at 20
students per section. Topics may vary and tend to be focused on contemporary issues/problems.
Honors Experiences (6 cr.)
Flexible structure allowing students to design their own experiences; could include
applied research with faculty member, study abroad, application to national scholarship,
Honors Teaching Practicum, participation in Common Read Program, civic engagement
project, attendance/participation in special campus lectures/conferences, etc.
Honors Elective Seminars (12 cr.)
Typically 300 and 400-level courses from a wide range of disciplines across the colleges.
Offerings will vary every semester; may be an Honors section or a mixed course, depending
on availability. These sections and seminars will highlight contemporary problems/issues
of interest to students and be taught by top faculty with engaging pedagogy.
Senior Honors Individual Project (3 cr.)
HON 489 –Graduating research-scholars will compose a thesis, engage in extended lab
research/experiment, or perform a creative project with qualified faculty advisor-mentor.
Summary of requirements (24 credits):
Honors Leadership Cornerstone (3 cr.)
HON 102 – Introduction to leadership and democratic citizenship through interdisciplinary
approach; guest speakers from UND and community; large lecture course with smaller
discussion sections led by undergraduate Honors students and/or local leaders.
Honors Experiences (6-9 cr.)
Flexible structure allowing students to build their own program; combination of regional,
national, and global opportunities. Examples include: internships (like with Admissions),
leading a student organization, mentoring/shadowing with Grand Forks local leaders,
Honors Teaching Practicum, civic engagement project, Go Global Academy, foreign language
classes, International Peer Mentor volunteer, etc.
Leadership Seminars (9-12 cr.)
Seminars that seek to refine leadership, global awareness, and public service skills
and associated knowledge bases, across a variety of fields, including Political Science,
Nonprofit Leadership, Economics, Philosophy, Languages, etc.
Senior Honors Leadership Project (3 cr.)
Graduating leaders-in-action will complete a project related to their ambitions, like
a community-based project, public service initiative, or compilation of an e-Portfolio
for career preparation.
Note about Honors and Essential Studies (ES)
The coursework in Honors has been specially designed and approved to meet the goals and requirements of Essential Studies, UND’s general education program. As such, most Honors courses count for ES credit in various categories.