University Honors Program
Hurst Hall, Suite 206
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
Phone: (202) 885-6194
Fax: (202) 885-7013
E-mail: honors@american.edu
Office hours: Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm
          
Contact the Honors Staff

 

HONORS REQUIREMENTS

Honors Forms

University Honors in the Major vs General University Honors

 



GPA Requirements

GPA requirements for students who enter the Program after May 1, 2005: In addition to the Honors credits and capstone requirements, students must maintain a cumulative 3.50 to graduate with University Honors.

GPA requirements for students who entered the Program before May 1, 2005: In addition to the Honors credits and capstone requirements, all students must maintain a cumulative 3.30 to graduate with University Honors.

In addition, all Honors students must earn a "B" or better in all Honors courses in order to receive Honors credit.

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Honors Credit Requirements

Typically, students admitted to the Honors Program as incoming freshmen have to complete 30 Honors course credits to graduate with Honors*. At least twelve (12) of these 30 credits should be upper-level (300- and above) Honors credits including an Honors capstone.

There are 5 ways to earn upper-level Honors credits:

  • Honors upper-level classes (300-400)
  • Honors supplements to regular (non-Honors) upper-level courses
  • Honors colloquia (HNRS 300, HNRS 301, and HNRS 302)
  • Honors independent study courses (HNRS 490)
  • Graduate-level (500 and above) classes

    The Honors capstone is a major project, usually completed during your senior year. You will need to complete 3 to 6 Honors Capstone credits depending on whether you would like to graduate with University Honors in your major or with General University Honors.

The number of capstone credits will, in turn, determine the total number of upper-level Honors course credits a student must complete to fulfill the required 12 upper level credits. For example, if you are completing a 3-credit capstone, you would need to complete 9 more upper-level Honors credits. If you are completing a 6-credit capstone, you will need only 6 upper-level Honors credits.

* Self-nominating and transfer students, as well as students who came in to AU with more than 15 AP/IB credits, may be allowed to complete less than 30 Honors credits. Check with the University Honors office for an exact determination of your Honors requirements.

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 On-line Honors Requirement Worksheet

Current Honors students can review the Honors courses they have completed and how many Honors credits they have left to complete with the on-line "Honors Requirement Worksheet".

To view your Honors requirements, log on to your portal (my.american.edu). Under “Academics” you will find a link called “Honors Requirement Worksheet”. It’ll look something like the graphic below. The number of Honors credits you are required to complete and a summary of your Honors credits completed thus far will be summarized at the bottom of your worksheet.

Worksheets are manually populated. So, if you see incorrect information on your worksheet, please email the corrections to honors@american.edu. Honors courses for which you’re currently enrolled may not appear on your worksheet until the following semester.

NOTE: The worksheet is unofficial and is for planning purposes only.

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University Honors in the Major vs General University Honors

Students who graduate with University Honors in the major will have the designation on their diploma "University Honors in [Major]". For a listing of Honors requirements for the different majors, click here. Students who opt to graduate with General University Honors will receive a diploma with the designation "University Honors". General University Honors is designed to provide options for double majors or interdisciplinary work, or to enable students to pursue specialized interests outside of their major fields.

"University Honors in a Major" indicates that the student has completed upper-level courses and a capstone in their major. "General University Honors" indicates that the student's upper-level coursework and capstone were interdisciplinary.

We encourage students to meet with an Honors Counselor to determine which option is better for them. In helping students select either of these options, we consider factors such as plans to apply to graduate school, employment goals, specialized interests, and a schedule of planned and completed AU course requirements.

If you have two or more majors and would like to graduate with University Honors in two majors, please contact the University Honors Program for more information about the requirements.

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