Graduating from the University of Arizona with Honors demonstrates that you have gone above and beyond in your academic requirements, engaged with faculty, and embraced challenges.
Requirements to graduate from the University of Arizona with Honors include:
- A cumulative grade point average of 3.4 or higher at the time of graduation.
- Completion of honors courses.
- Completion and submission of an Honors Thesis.
YOUR GPA
Graduation with honors requires a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher at the time of graduation. Students are not required to maintain that GPA every semester in order to maintain active standing in the W.A. Franke Honors College, but must have a 3.4 at the time of graduation. Courses completed at other colleges and universities are not included in the university’s GPA.
YOUR COURSEWORK
Students who are admitted to the W.A. Franke Honors College in their freshman year must complete a minimum 30 honors units in order to graduate with honors. Six of those units will be earned through the Honors Thesis, and one will be earned through a Franke Honors Seminar. Your remaining units will be completed through honors general education courses, honors courses in the major or minor, honors research or individual studies, and elective courses.
Courses offered directly through the W.A. Franke Honors College are special opportunities that are available exclusively to honors students. Additional honors credit options are offered through academic departments across campus and offer students a more specialized and engaging experience than what is available to non-honors students. Honors students are not required to take 30 units in addition to their other degree requirements; with careful planning, you can expect that the majority of your honors units will overlap with other course requirements for your degree.
Students who join the W.A. Franke Honors College in the sophomore or junior year will need to complete a reduced number of honors credits.
Honors courses are designed to provide a qualitatively more engaging interdisciplinary experience for students but do not necessarily require a quantitatively greater amount of work. By taking honors courses, you will have the opportunity to work more closely with faculty, delve into the material at a deeper level, and collaborate with other motivated students. You will have the opportunity to develop your own honors pathway and to choose which requirements to fulfill with honors courses, but you are strongly encouraged to choose honors options when completing your general education requirements.
YOUR HONORS THESIS
The Honors Thesis is the culmination of your participation in the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona. It is intended to be a personalized research experience in which you explore a concept while incorporating the knowledge or investigative techniques learned during your undergraduate career. The Honors Thesis may take any form appropriate to your discipline and approved by your Faculty Mentor (e.g. research paper, performance, video, artwork, etc.). Many of our alumni say it was their favorite part of their Honors experience.