Declaring your Honors Degree & Options


These degrees allow exceptionally talented and dedicated undergraduate students to pursue their academic interests in greater depth and breadth than is required for a traditional bachelor’s degree. Achievement in these degrees is recorded on the official transcript and diploma. These degree options, where available, are open to all admitted Honors College students who meet the requirements.

A candidate must satisfy the general University requirements and the degree requirements specified for the major by his or her college and departments. The degrees are currently available in the majority of departments or degree programs. For information about availability and specific department or college requirements, inquire in the Honors College Office or consult “Academic Programs” in the Undergraduate Catalog.

Neither completion of the freshman year in the Honors College nor receipt of the General Honors Award is required for an Honors Degree or Honors Degree with Distinction. Students who complete an Honors Baccalaureate Degree receive a degree called “Honors Bachelor of Arts,” “Honors Bachelor of Music,” “Honors Bachelor of Science,” and so forth.

Honors Degree requirements are non-negotiable. See this page to be able to view a list of the Honors courses you have completed or in which you are currently enrolled. Please note: this list is for advisement purposes and does not guarantee your completion of the General Honors Award or Honors Degree requirements.


Honors Degree

The Honors Degree is currently available in most colleges and departments (see list of approved Honors Degrees) and recognizes an Honors College student’s excellent performance in 30 credits of Honors coursework in and outside the primary major. The Honors Degree is listed on each student’s University of Delaware official transcript.

General Requirements:

  • A cumulative GPA of at least 3.400 at the time of graduation
  • At least 30 credits earned in Honors courses:
    • At least 12 credits in the major department or in courses in collateral disciplines specifically required for the major (see Undergraduate Catalog for specific Honors major requirements);
    • At least 12 credits in 300-level courses or higher;
    • Three credits in an Honors Degree Capstone course to be completed in one of the last two semesters of the student’s degree program.
  • Submission of the Honors Degree Declaration webform in the junior year, see detailed options below.
  • A minimum grade of C- is required in Honors courses counting toward the Honors Degree. Honors coursework taken Pass-Fail cannot count for the Honors Degree unless the course is only offered Pass-Fail.

Honors Degree with Distinction

The Honors Degree with Distinction recognizes the requirements for the Honors degree in addition to research. The Honors Degree with Distinction is listed on each student’s official transcript.

General Requirements:

  • All of the above requirements for the Honors Degree
  • Six credits of Honors thesis or project (UNIV 401/402) and the successful oral presentation of an acceptable thesis or project to a committee of faculty approved by the major department and the University of Delaware Honors College
  • Completion of any additional specifications for the thesis or project set by the major department
  • A minimum grade of C- is required in Honors courses counting toward the Honors Degree with Distinction. Honors coursework taken Pass-Fail cannot count for the Honors Degree with Distinction unless the course is only offered Pass-Fail.

Note: Six credits of Honors thesis may be counted as part of the 30 Honors credits required for the Honors Degree. UNIV 402 satisfies the senior capstone requirement.


Declaring the Honors Degree

All Honors College students wishing to earn an Honors Degree must declare their intention to do so, preferably a year before their expected date of degree completion. Once you have junior standing (i.e. more than 60 credits earned), it is possible to declare your interest in earning the Honors Degree by processing the Honors Degree declaration webform. Students with fewer than 60 credits must wait to declare. Important note: The Honors Degree Declaration webform can only be processed once. Therefore, you must be in the major in which you intend to earn your Honors Degree when you process the form.

Please read the information below before declaring yourself an Honors Degree Candidate through the Honors Degree declaration webform, which can only be processed once:

For students with One Honors Degree Eligible Major at UD

If you have been taking Honors courses and wish to declare yourself a candidate for an Honors Bachelor’s Degree (i.e. HBA, HBS, HBM, HBCHE, etc.), you must submit this webform: Honors-Degree-Declaration-Form

There are no attachments needed to process this form. Once you receive notification of the form’s approval in your returned web forms (which might take a few days), you will be able to view an Honors Degree audit in your Degree Audit in UDSIS. This audit will list the Honors coursework that you still need to complete to satisfy the requirements for the Honors Degree to graduation. Please look at this audit to see what you will need to complete your HD. Please note that there are occasionally errors in the Honors audits. All of the HD audits are reviewed for accuracy in the summer prior to your degree completion date. If you have questions about the requirements, please email jama@udel.edu.

After viewing your Honors Degree audit, if you will not have room for the needed Honors coursework, you must email jama@udel.edu to have this coding removed from your record prior to degree completion.

For students with More than One Honors Degree-Eligible Major at UD

Double/Triple Majors

If you are earning a degree with a double/triple major (i.e. you are completing 2 or more majors that lead to the same degree type– either a BA or BS), it is only possible to earn one Honors Degree (either an HBA or HBS) because you are only earning one diploma in this case. (See Honors-Degree-FAQs for more details about this.) In the case of a double/triple major, you must select which major you want your Honors Degree audit to use for your HD completion.

IMPORTANT: Choose the major in which you feel you are closest to completing the Honors Degree requirements. Please be certain to check the Honors major requirements in the catalog for each major before making your selection. The Honors Degree (HBA, HBS, etc.) is not actually tied to a particular major on your transcript or your diploma (no majors are listed on the diploma). This choice is strictly for the internal purpose of making sure you complete the HD requirements in at least one of your majors in order to earn the HBA, HBS, etc. If it ends up that you feel you should have selected differently for your Honors Degree major/ HD audit, you must email jama@udel.edu (not your dept advisors) and we can work with you to get this changed.

To declare yourself a candidate in the major you choose, you must submit this webform: Honors-Degree-Declaration-Form

Dual Degrees

If you are earning a Double, or sometimes called Dual, Degree (i.e. you are completing 2 majors that lead to 2 different degree types (i.e. a BS and a BA, etc.), it might be possible to earn 2 Honors Diplomas, provided that you meet the requirements for both. (See Honors-Degree-FAQs for details about the requirements to earn two Honors Diplomas.)

IMPORTANT:

  • If you do feel you will be able to complete the requirements for 2 different Honors Degrees, you must email jama@udel.edu before processing the HD Declaration webform. Please provide your student ID number and specify which degree/major you plan to apply for with the form and which you want to have added.
  • The Honors Degree audits in this case are often incorrect and require human manipulation to be accurate. Please do not rely on them. Please contact, Jama Allegretto Lynch, Associate Director in the Honors College, at jama@udel.edu for information on what courses you will need to complete to earn 2 Honors Diplomas.

Honors Degree Requirements and Course Substitutions

Final clearance for the Honors requirements for the Honors Degrees is completed by the Honors College office. All course substitutions for the Honors Degree section of the Degree audit must be processed by the Honors College office. Please contact jama@udel.edu if you or your departmental advisor feel a substitution is warranted.

For Students Interested in Earning an Honors Degree with Distinction

There is an additional application process through the Undergraduate Research Program office required for the thesis part of the Honors Degree with Distinction. The application for the Honors thesis is due a year prior to degree completion. For Spring semester graduates, the thesis application should be completed and submitted by May 15. (For Fall/Winter graduates, the thesis application is due by Nov. 15, the year prior to degree completion.)  For information on the senior thesis proposal and process, please see Undergraduate Research Program and click the senior thesis tab. If you have questions about applying and/or writing a senior thesis for the Honors Degree with Distinction, please contact the Undergraduate Research Office at http://www.urp.udel.edu/urp/make-an-appointment/ or email jama@udel.edu.

After viewing your Honors Degree audit, if you will not have room for the needed Honors coursework, you must email jama@udel.edu to have this coding removed from your record prior to degree completion.