The Honors conversion process is used as a mechanism for an Honors student to earn “Honors credit” in a variety of course types where an Honors version of the course is not available. Successful Honors conversions demonstrate close collaboration between Honors students and faculty on mutually engaging and rewarding experiences.
Honors Students: Students enrolled in the Honors Program
Honors Applicants: Honors Program applicants, with a GPA of at least 3.40, who are rising juniors or later in their programs
Types/Level of Courses: UConn undergraduate courses offered for a letter grade, including independent study, research, or thesis courses, may be eligible for conversion to Honors credit if an Honors version of the course is not available.
Grading Basis and P/F: Courses must be taken for a letter grade; S/U courses and courses placed on P/F are not eligible for Honors credit.
If Honors Section of Course Offered: Students may not convert courses if they are offered as Honors during the same semester on the same campus, unless the course is full at the time of registration.
Education Abroad: Courses must be accredited through Education Abroad to award UConn credit. Courses accredited as non-Honors through that process may be converted with instructor and departmental Honors advisor approval.
Content for Regular, Non-Independent Study-Type Courses
Content: Honors conversion is a method for adding an “Honors dimension” to a course or section that is not already an Honors course. The Honors conversion project should go more deeply into methodology and theory; it should address more sophisticated questions and/or include more advanced or demanding readings or problems; and it should satisfy more rigorous standards than non-Honors coursework.
Workload: The Honors conversion project should require no more than an additional 20 – 25 hours of work (for a 3-credit course) beyond other course requirements.
Plan: Students and instructors create a plan for the conversion activity that the student will complete to be eligible for Honors credit. The plan is submitted to the Honors Program via the designated process during the outlined timeline.
Group Conversions: An instructor may arrange to oversee a group of students enrolled in the same class in a group conversion experience.
Independent Study-Type Courses
Level of Work: Honors conversion for any type of independent study course requires Honors-level work in the discipline as determined by the instructor and Honors advisor. Honors students would participate in more advanced research or take more initiative in an Honors independent study as compared to a non-Honors independent study experience.
Honors Thesis: In departments where specific thesis courses are not offered or coded as Honors, students may use the conversion process to earn Honors credit for a course that is used for their thesis credits.
Supervision: All course instructors may offer Honors conversions, absent other departmental policies, but no instructor shall be required to do so. Graduate student instructors are asked to consult with a faculty member who teaches the same course to review the development and fulfillment of the conversion project.
Proposal Approval: Honors conversion proposals must be approved by the course instructor and the student’s Honors advisor.
Meetings with instructors: There should be planned, regular meetings between the instructor and student(s) to review, discuss, and revise as the project develops.
Final Approval and Grade Requirement: Students must earn a B- or above in the course and complete the conversion activity to earn Honors credit. Final Honors conversion approval is given by the course instructor.