Departmental Honors

Creating and maintaining Departmental Honors programs

Departmental Honors is an academic honor for students who demonstrate particular promise in their field of study and meet specific requirements determined by the faculty.

The student-facing policy is published in the College of Arts and Sciences Bulletin.

Requirements

Academic units are given considerable flexibility in designing Departmental Honors programs. At present, the only requirements are that each program:

Be approved by the unit and College;
Have admission criteria that include the student having at least a 3.300 College GPA;
Have requirements that include the student must have at least a 3.300 College GPA at the time of graduation. Additional requirements can include a minimum Major GPA, course requirements, comprehensive exam, and/or a project or thesis.

It is implied that students will complete substantive work beyond what is typically required in a major to earn Departmental Honors. In other words, simply completing the major requirements and earning a 3.300 College GPA will not be sufficient to earning Departmental Honors.

Students follow the Departmental Honors requirements as listed in the Bulletin year that corresponds to that of their major.

Students who are awarded Departmental Honors will have "with Honors" appended to major (B.A. students) or degree (B.S. and B.F.A. students). "With Honors" will also appear at the bottom of the diploma for each degree/major.

Proposing new programs and changes to existing ones

Proposals for new Departmental Honors programs should be submitted to ugcurric@indiana.edu by the bulletin change deadline. Changes to existing programs should be submitted via the College’s Bulletin Updates and Review app by the bulletin changes deadline.

Administering programs

Academic units manage the admission process to Departmental Honors programs and maintain the list of students in the program. Academic advisors assigned to the unit should have access to the list and be made aware of changes. Advisors will periodically be asked to report to the College whether students have been admitted to the program and will also be asked to report when students have successfully completed all requirements.

The College Recorder’s Office will use this information along with available information in the student’s record to verify that Departmental Honors requirements are completed. Regular, clear communication and record-keeping related to Departmental Honors is therefore essential.

Best practices

Target 10% participation for declared majors.
Recruit students early by publicizing departmental honors in core departmental courses and career classes.
Add departmental colloquia or poster sessions to bring honors students together as a cohort, increasing peer feedback and the visibility of undergraduate education in the department.
Formalize a departmental honors luncheon or reception to call attention to the hard work and good results of these students.

Investigate interdepartmental and interdisciplinary solutions that would allow students with popular double-major combinations to pursue an honors project endorsed by both departments without diluting the standards. This issue would need to be handled in light of College and University policy stating that multiple credentials cannot be awarded for the same body of work.
Offer interdepartmental colloquia jointly sponsored by small departments to facilitate classroom instruction in advanced research methods as a means of preparing students to be productive during their supervised reading and thesis hours.
Consider internal compensation policies to encourage and reward the efforts of committed Honors Program Directors.

Create departmental honors tracks or tailor existing guidelines to allow students to study abroad or take advantage of internship opportunities while still pursuing honors.
Consider variations on the final project to increase flexibility and participation by distinguishing between an honors paper and an honors thesis in terms of time invested (with safeguards to ensure quality).
Consider accelerating or scaffolding these completion timelines to give students applying to graduate schools a completed document for use as a writing sample (e.g., completed draft by end of fall semester senior year).
Consider stretching the timeline out from a two-semester sequence to a less intensive four-semester sequence to allow students with other time commitments to participate (see alternative below).
Condense the timeline to allow students to participate in a more focused course of study within one semester.
Clarify the nature of the thesis within the discipline, formalize the role of the proposal and prospectus, and otherwise sequence the steps in the project to ensure that students are working productively throughout the process.

College of Arts + Sciences Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy + Records

Departmental Honors

Creating and maintaining Departmental Honors programs

Requirements

Proposing new programs and changes to existing ones

Administering programs

Best practices

Additional links and resources

Departmental Honors

Creating and maintaining Departmental Honors programs

Requirements

Proposing new programs and changes to existing ones

Administering programs

Best practices

Promoting programs

Implementation

Structure

Additional links and resources