Upper Division Honors Curriculum

(This program is an option for Current UNC Students who are in catalog years prior to Fall 2023)

The Upper Division Honors Program provides Honors students the opportunity to engage in an in-depth study or independent honors project of their choice.  Upper Division Honors Students work individually with a faculty mentor and strengthen their research, writing, creative and presentation skills.

Students may complete their in-depth study in any discipline, and projects may include field research, experimentation, social science, natural science, health science or humanities theses in the Research Path; an applied or civically engaged project, business or teaching curriculum project in the Applied Path; or creative composition such as in the humanities, music, theatre or fine arts in the Creative Path. Students designate their chosen Path upon application to the program. All projects require a written component with critical, research-based, reflective analysis.

All complete projects are bound and placed in the permanent collection of the James A. Michener Library, and students present their completed research or creative project in a public forum to educate others on their topic.  Honors students also are encouraged to submit their final written project for inclusion in a scholarly journal, such as UNC’s Undergraduate Research Journal.

The Upper Division Honors Program requires the following:

• Completion of a total of 11 honors-recognized course credits.
• Presentation of Honors Research or Creative Capstone Project in a public forum
• Achieve a minimum cumulative 3.25 UNC GPA

Required Courses:

Honors Project Core (5 credits)

•  LIB 251 Research as Inquiry: Exploration for Beginning Researchers (1 credit)
• HON 351 Junior Honors Seminar/Project Design (1 credit)
  • It is possible to substitute a disciplinary course for HON351 if a disciplinary track through honors has been approved in the discipline. Please discuss this option with the Honors Director and with your honors liaison.
• HON 451 Senior Honors Research Thesis (3 credits)
  • These three credits are normally taken as one-credit hours over the course of three semesters, but may be combined as 2 or 3 credits in a single semester.
  • Directed studies in the discipline of the honors thesis may be substituted for HON451 in the "disciplinary" track of Upper Division Honors. Please speak with your Honors Liaison and/or Honors Thesis advisor.

Honors Electives - Complete two of the following (minimum of 6 credits)

• Approved research methodology course or directed study with research project or other research skills course.
• Internship, Service Learning course, Practicum or Field Experience – must be contracted for Honors credit
• Honors Course by Contract – Undergraduate or Graduate level
  
  • Please visit our Course by Contract page under the Upper Division tab for more information.
• Study Abroad/International Student Exchange or National Student Exchange experience

Additional information about general Honors Requirements, Honors courses by contract, experiential option requirements and program planning can be found in the Honors Program Student Handbook available on the website under Forms and Documents, which is located under the Connect with Honors tab.