Staying in the Program

To remain in Honors, a student must

• Do at least two Honors Experiences each year until the student has completed the Program.
• Have a 3.5 grade point average after Spring quarter, prior to the annual review of records conducted in the Summer.

         Each Summer, advisors will review student records and contact any students who did not meet the annual requirements.

Completing the Program

See link below (under Academic Excellence Award) for the online Honors Completion Form to submit during your final quarter at UCSB.

Beginning in Summer 2017, the Honors Program changed the requirements for “completing” Honors and being eligible for the Academic Excellence Award at graduation:

"New" Honors Requirements:

For students who joined the Honors Program as first-years (not transfers) or as second-years in 2017 and beyond

• Must complete at least 6 Honors Experiences
• Must complete at least 40 hours of community service
• Must graduate with at least a 3.5 cumulative UC GPA
   

The Goal of Honors:  a “Capstone” Experience

The focus of the Honors Program is to encourage students to use the Honors Experiences to explore UCSB from a liberal arts perspective, find a major they are passionate about, and, through Honors Sections, Seminars, and Contracts, to build close contacts with faculty. The explicit goal of the program is to mentor students into some kind of transformative capstone academic experience. For many, this will be departmental honors, leading to Distinction in the Major. For some, it might be a year-long study abroad or studying in Washington, DC via the UCDC Program or in Sacramento through UCCS. For other students, it might mean participating in research, culminating in a paper submitted for publication, a conference presentation, or participation in the UCSB Undergraduate Research Colloquium. Other students might participate in an intensive internship program such as the INT 184 PD-Honors Introduction to Medicine.  Some students might participate in or even design a significant community service project or leadership experience. 

Although a capstone is a goal for Honors students, it is not a formal requirement.  Rather, it is the Program’s hope that students will participate in UCSB’s mission to discover knowledge as it serves the state, the nation, and the world.

Note: For students graduating early, the total number of Honors Experiences required is 6 total.

"Old" Honors Requirements:

For Honors students who joined Honors before 2017 and students who joined Honors in 2017 in the fall of their third year (as well as transfers) or in 2018 in the fall of their third year

Academic Excellence Award

About the Award

Also known as "completing the program," the Academic Excellence Award is awarded to Honors Program students who complete the requirements of the program. The award is noted on recipients' transcripts and in the souvenir program distributed at the Honors Program’s Commencement Reception. Recipients also receive a certificate from the College of Letters and Science.

How to Receive the Award

In order to receive the Academic Excellence Award, you must submit an online petition with the Honors Program during the first two weeks of your final quarter at UCSB (you will list any honors courses in progress). Please click here to submit the online “Intent to Complete the Honors Program” form.

Honors staff will review completion forms after the submission deadline, and email students their status within a couple weeks. Keep in mind that, in order to be approved for the award, you must have maintained continued eligibility for the Honors Program during your time at UCSB, and you must complete the program requirements by the time your degree is finalized.