Apply to UNC Honors Program!
High School Seniors and New UNC First Year Applicants
Incoming first year students are urged to apply to join the Honors Program as incoming freshmen at the same time as they are applying to admission to UNC, but students may apply after they are also students at UNC . Students entering UNC directly from High School, regardless of the number of college credit hours already earned, should begin their first semester at UNC in the First Year Honors Program.
Transfer Students and Current UNC Student Applicants
Transfer and current UNC students may also apply for the University Honors Program. Transfer students should apply through their Admissions portal after applying to UNC. Current UNC students should go to this page to find the Current UNC Student Honors Application information.
Qualifying Criteria
Successful applicants must demonstrate intellectual curiosity, a willingness to ask challenging questions, an interest in exploring their world, and/or a desire to create new ways of doing things. No specific minimum standardized test scores nor minimum GPA is required. Students often demonstrate their academic potential through achievement in high school, but that is not the only way to demonstrate potential, and we understand that there may be many extenuating circumstances that impact a student's GPA. We do not require standardized test scores, and UNC is test-optional for admissions.
Deadlines
The Honors Application has a rolling deadline that follows this timeline.
December 1st
Spring Semester Applications:
For transfer students and current UNC students.
December 10th
Fall Applications:
Early Action deadline High School Seniors and First Time/First Year students:
For the best chance to receive Honors Scholarships.
March 10th
Fall Priority deadline High School Seniors and First Time/First Year students:
Receive priority review and acceptance into Honors. Deadline for students who would like to live in the Honors Residential Community.
April 1st
Fall Current UNC & Transfer Student Preferred deadline:
If you are a current UNC student or transferring from another college or university, please apply by this date in order to have the best opportunity to enroll in honors courses in Fall.
August 1st
Fall Applications are accepted throughout the summer:
Acceptances are granted for highly qualified students on a space available basis. LAST CHANCE by August 1.
The Application
We recommend that you draft your answers to the questions in a separate document, and then copy and paste the answers into the application answer blocks.
Questions for FALL 2024/Spring 2025
The Honors application requires you to answer a few short answer questions. The questions are as follows:
- What have been your most important activities outside of classroom learning? (e.g. work, hobbies, family, religious, sports, research, extra-curricular clubs, music, creative activities, etc.)
- Choose one question:
- 1) Please describe one achievement you are particularly proud of – it can be academic or personal in nature. Discuss any obstacles or barriers you had to overcome or the steps you had to take to make this achievement possible. OR
- 2) Please describe one time when you used original thinking in your approach to a problem or challenge.
- What else would you like us to know about you that would help in determining if the Honors Program is right for you? Feel free to include any specific obstacles you have overcome and/or discuss why you want to join our Honors Program.
If you can't find the Application in your UNC Admitted Student Portal,
please email us at honors@unco.edu.
Apply Today to Honors!
Are you a newly accepted UNC student, but can't find the honors application? Please email us at honors@unco.edu
