FAQ Definitions

Acronyms and Definitions

  • UHL – University Honors Laureate, the graduation designation that encompasses the depth of the Honors Scholar in the Major award plus breadth in curriculum and co-curricular experiences.
  • Honors GPS – Honors Guides for Peer Success. These peer mentors support Honors students through the University Honors Laureate co-curricular requirements: Events, Leadership Experience, and Academics in Action.
  • Engagement in the Major – Out-of-class activities that indicate in-depth work in the major field. Departments define appropriate engagement activities for their Honors Scholars. A requirement of the Honors Scholar in the Major award.
  • Honors Events – Events that have been pre-approved by Honors staff as fulfilling the goals of the University Honors Laureate award. Students must attend 10 events across 5 defined categories and submit reflective journals for each.
  • Leadership Experience – A process through which students develop their own leadership skills and create positive change in their communities; a requirement of the University Honors Laureate award.
  • Academics in Action – An activity that combines a student’s academic knowledge and creativity to produce something that is shared with an authentic audience; a requirement of the University Honors Laureate award.
  • Co-curriculars – Honors requirements that go beyond the classroom. These include attendance at Honors Events, the Leadership Experience, and the Academics in Action requirement.
  • A&H – Courses categorized as Arts & Humanities as part of the University Honors Laureate distribution requirement. Includes, but is not limited to, all CA 1 designated courses.
  • SS – Courses categorized as Social Sciences as part of the University Honors Laureate distribution requirement. Includes, but is not limited to, all CA 2 designated courses.
  • STEM – Courses categorized as Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics as part of the University Honors Laureate distribution requirement. Includes, but is not limited to, all CA 3, CA 3-Lab, and Q designated courses.
  • D&M – Courses designated as meeting the Diversity & Multiculturalism requirement for University Honors Laureate. Includes, but is not limited to, all CA 4 and CA 4-Int designated coures. Courses meeting this requirement will also be categorized as A&H, SS, or STEM.

FAQ

How do you know which set of requirements a student should follow?

Essentially, any student who enters UConn in fall 2018 or later is under the new requirements. See Honors Requirements for more information.

 

As an Honors advisor, for what am I responsible?

As in the past, Honors advisors assist students in choosing classes that help them achieve their goals. These may be classes that help them earn the Honors Scholar designation, or classes that help them earn the University Honors Laureate designation. Honors advisors still remind students that a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher is necessary to achieve Honors awards, and still provide guidance in choosing a thesis topic and partner with the thesis supervisor as the thesis is written. Now, Honors advisors will also work with their departments in determining appropriate Engagement in the Major activities. These are activities that promote in-depth work in the major field.

 

What does an Honors GPS do?

These are Honors students who have been specially trained to assist students pursuing the new awards with their co-curricular requirements.

 

I’ve heard that students are now required to take UNIV 1784 Is this true?

Yes, students must take UNIV 1784 the first semester of their first year in order to remain in the program. All students are made aware of this during Orientation and are guided to take a section of UNIV 1784 at that time. We also monitor Honors student registrations and remind students of this requirement. Any Honors student not enrolled in UNIV 1784 on Day 10 is eligible for dismissal from Honors.

 

Has anything changed about the requirements for remaining in the program?

Other than taking UNIV 1784, no. To be in good standing in Honors, students must still earn at least six Honors credits per academic year, maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4, and complete an Honors Preliminary Plan of Study by the deadline for their class year. The graduated GPA requirement to avoid dismissal at the end of each year remains the same as well.

 

What if a student doesn’t want to earn the University Honors Laureate award? Can they still graduate as Honors?

Yes, as long as they’ve fulfilled the requirements to graduate as an Honors Scholar.

 

Can a student graduate as a University Honors Laureate and not an Honors Scholar?

No. The University Honors Laureate Award builds on the Honors Scholar award.

 

How would a student proceed if they want to do Honors in more than one major?

As in the past, students would complete all the Honors Scholar requirements for each major. If the Honors advisors in both majors are in agreement, students may be able to write one thesis that adequately covers both fields.

 

Can one activity fulfill more than one co-curricular requirement?

Yes, as long as the activity is approved for each requirement. For example, if a student presents a poster at Frontiers in Undergraduate Research, this could fulfill the Engagement in the Major requirement (with department approval) and also the Academics in Action requirement (with Honors approval).