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Honors Curriculum Information

For students entering the Honors Program as an NU freshman

Students entering the program as freshmen must complete five (5) Honors courses and a two (2) semester Honors thesis project (7 courses, 21 credit hours total). In most cases, these courses are not additional courses one must take. Instead, they are Honors sections of courses one would take anyway. There are, however, a few exceptions with regard to the Honors thesis courses.

The courses are distributed as follows:

  • 1 Honors REL101 or REL103
  • 1 Honors PHI 105
  • 2 Honors courses among the general education categories in addition to REL101/103 and PHI 105*
  • 1 Honors enhanced course (300 or 400 level) in student's major (HEIOM)**
  • 2 Semester Honors Thesis (to be presented at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference)***

*Freshman students with 24 or more incoming credits will take one general education Honors course in addition to REL101 or REL103 and PHI105.

**To fulfill this requirement, students must fill out a contract with a full-time professor for an upper-level course they are taking in their major. Ideally, this enhancement helps the student prepare to write the Honors thesis. If a student is a double-major, the course that is enhanced should be in the same discipline as is the Honors thesis. Also, see the Course Descriptions page.

***The honors thesis consists of two courses (Honors Thesis I and Honors Thesis II), each of which count for three credits and are taken as independent studies. They should be taken during both semesters of one's senior year (see EDU exception below). Double majors must pick one of their majors in which to write their Honors thesis; they do not have to write two separate Honors theses.

There are exceptions for education and nursing students. Due to student teaching requirements, education students should plan to take their HEIOM course during the fall of their junior year. They should then plan to take their Honors thesis courses during spring of their junior year and fall of their senior year. Nursing students need to consult information on the Nursing and Honors page.

For students entering the Honors Program as an NU sophomore or transfer student (with fewer than 48 credits and have attained a 3.50 GPA)

  • 2 Honors courses from among the general education courses
  • 1 Honors enhanced course (300 or 400 level) in student's major (HEIOM)**
  • 2 Semester Honors Thesis (to be presented at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference)*** 

Additional Requirements

To remain in the program, a 3.25 GPA is required.

  • One semester probation if cumulative GPA falls below 3.25
  • Dismissal after two consecutive semesters of GPA below 3.25

Curriculum Suggestions

Ideally, an incoming freshman Honors student would take a general education honors course in each of their first four semesters so as to complete that requirement. The Honors-enhanced course in one's major (HEIOM) should ideally be taken in the third year and used as a preparation to write the Honors thesis.