Curriculum and Requirements

Students representing all majors—arts and humanities, business, natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, computer science, social sciences, and creative and performing arts—participate in the four-year Honors Program. Students graduate with University Honors upon satisfaction of the following requirements:

  • completion of the Honors sequence of courses
  • achievement by graduation of a minimum 3.5 GPA
  • satisfaction of all requirements for distinction in the major, including a thesis or culminating project

The Honors Sequence

The Honors sequence provides students with the opportunity to meet university requirements in small, discussion-based, Honors-only courses.

The Honors sequence offers a small but diverse menu of courses that vary by discipline and topic from quarter to quarter. Each course allows students to gain foundations in important academic traditions and apply them to contemporary concerns.

Honors NATs, for instance, has been developed to reflect the science and issues concerning sustainability. In Honors WRIT, students explore particular topics through the styles and methods of the different forms of academic knowledge—interpretive, quantitative and qualitative. Our two-hour seminars bring students from all majors together to explore topics as diverse as Nobel Laureates in the Sciences, the man and myth of Che Guevara, the literature of Truth and Reconciliation. 

Students are expected to take

  • one Honors Arts and Humanities Foundations (AHUM) during the first two years
  • one Honors Social Sciences Foundations (SOCS) during the first two years
  • the Honors Natural Sciences sequence (NATS) or a three-quarter introduction to a natural science (BIOL, CHEM, PHYS) during the first two years
  • Honors Writing (honors Writ) during the first year 
  • one Honors designated Advanced Seminar (either ASEM or a writing-intensive CORE) during the third or fourth year
  • two Honors Seminars during the third or fourth year

Requirement Variations

Depending on the major and the work students have already completed, some requirements can be modified.  Students  may take the Honors Natural Sciences sequence (NATS) or the departmental introductory sequence in Biology (BIOL), Chemistry (CHEM), or Physics (PHYS). DU’s writing requirement can vary for students with AP and IB credit, but all students begin with a First-Year Seminar and then take the equivalent of WRIT 1122 and 1133.  For Honors Program students, these are the Advanced Writing Seminar (1622) and Honors WRIT (1733) .  AP and IB credit can be applied to other university requirements or to overall elective hours.  It cannot be used to substitute for the Honors course sequence.

Honors students come to us with a variety of academic experience, goals and scheduling needs.  Recognizing this, the Honors Program is flexible and, where appropriate, can substitute particular requirements. Please contact us for advising.

Standard Alternatives for AHUM, SOCS, and NATS

Instead of taking an Honors NATS sequence or one Honors AHUM or SOCS, students have several alternatives.  First, with permission of the Honors Program and the department in question, students can take an upper level arts/humanitites, social science, or natural science class not in their major or minor (providing prerequisites for the course have been met) to count for the associated Honors AHUM, SOCS, or NATS.  Please see the list of pre-approved upper level courses that can count for Honors AHUM and SOCS for Winter 2010.  Please note:  while these courses can satisfy the Honors arts and humanities or social sciences requirement, they do not satisfy the university SOCS or AHUM requirements.

Second, students may take a non-Honors AHUM, SOCS, or NATS sequence, and, with agreement of the faculty member and the Honors Program, develop an H-Contract to convert it into an Honors experience.  The H-Contract must be submitted to the Honors Program and approved by the Honors Council in advance of registration.  Also, students can take the departmental introduction to natural sciences to meet the Honors NATS requirement (the sequence starting with BIOL 1010, CHEM 1010, PHYS 1111, or PHYS 1211).

In addition to these standard alternatives, special options have been developed for Winter Quarter 2010 to accommodate and the needs of graduating seniors and our larger than usual first-year class.  Please go to Special Options to learn about these.

Registration

Honors students register for their courses in the same way and according to the same schedule as other DU undergraduates.

The courses in the Honors sequence are accessed by subject title (Arts and Humanities Foundations, Core Curriculum, etc.) and the HONORS attribute box. Honors seminars are found through the HONORS subject and HONORS attribute box.

Distinction in the Major

The Honors sequence covers the breadth requirement of the first two years and an Advanced Seminar (either ASEM or writing-intensive CORE) and two Honors Seminars in the junior or senior year.

In addition to the broad liberal arts curriculum of the Honors sequence, students experience depth in their discipline and continue their honors experience by completing the requirements for Distinction in their major (double majors need only complete Distinction in one of their majors).  Every department has developed a distinction plan with its own timing, admission criteria, procedures, and completion requirements. Honors students should therefore contact and work with their major advisor as soon as possible in order to learn about the Distinction program in the major they declare. 

Distinction is required for students entering in 2008 and after. Students who entered DU before 2008 are covered by the Honors Program rules for graduation in place when they enrolled.  Requirements might include a thesis in their major, so they should contact their major advisor for details on thesis requirements.

Thesis or Culminating Project

Each department determines the appropriate requirements for theses or culminating projects in the majors it offers.   Students should choose an advisor as they embark on their research and plans for the culminating project. Students should submit proposal and verification forms on time, participate in the Spring Symposium and when possible present the Honors Program with a bound copy of the thesis.