Graduation with Honors

To graduate with Honors one must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Achieve at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average by graduation.
2. Complete at least 4.5 units of work in the Honors Program, including the following:
   1. Freshmen/Sophomore Honors Seminars or Honors Tutorials (1 unit)
   2. Two additional units chosen from any of the following: Honors Seminar, Honors Course, Honors in Course, Honors Tutorial (2 units)
   3. Introduction to Honors Research and Inquiry (0.25 unit, usually taken fall or spring Junior year)
   4. Honors Independent Study 490H (at least 1 unit, usually taken spring Junior year or fall/spring Senior year)
   5. University Honors Capstone Seminar (0.25 unit taken simultaneously with 490H)
3. The student’s honors project must include a written report, creative work, or written reflection, which will be reviewed by an Examining Committee, usually during the student’s last semester before graduation (spring of senior year). The Committee will read the student's thesis and give the student an oral examination on the project. The Committee will then determine if the Honors Project meets the standards of Graduation with Honors.
   
   The student will choose 3-4 faculty members (with input from their faculty mentor) to serve on the Examining Committee. At least two faculty members should be related to the discipline of the thesis topic, and at least one member must be from a department or discipline not closely related to the thesis topic. Once the faculty members have agreed to serve on the committee, the student or their mentor must report their names to Andrea Ryan in the Office of Academic Affairs (amryan@owu.edu). The student must submit their written project to the Examining Committee well in advance of the oral defense, ideally before the end of the preceding semester (fall of senior year).
4. Students intending to graduate with Honors must file an “Application to Graduate with Honors” with the Office of Academic Affairs no later than the end of the twelfth week in the semester preceding the final semester before graduation (typically fall semester of senior year). If the Examining Committee determines the students has met the requirements for Graduating with Honors, the student must also file a “Certification of Honors Earned” with the Office of Academic Affairs by the end of the thirteenth week of the final semester before graduation.
   
   A student who satisfies these conditions will Graduate with Honors. The student’s name will be listed in the commencement program as having Graduated with Honors. The student’s permanent record will also show Graduation with Honors.

To apply to graduate with honors, fill out this form.