Honors College, Students Doing Lab Work in research seminar class

The Honors College curriculum provides students both the opportunity to experience more in-depth courses within their major and minor fields, and to explore other disciplines they might have an interest in. This culminates in a greater overall undergraduate experience.

There are four Honors College graduation distinctions, University Honors Scholar, University Honors Research Scholar, Honors Scholar, and Honors Research Scholar. These are conferred at the time of graduation and printed on students’ diplomas and transcripts.

University Honors Scholar

To earn the designation University Honors Scholar, students are required to complete a minimum of 30 hours of Honors College courses, including a minimum of:

  • 3 hours of Honors Participation Courses, AND
  • 6 hours of coursework identified as Signature Impact Experiences

Students must also complete their disciplinary requirements and have a minimum 3.4 cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA at the time of graduation.

Honors Scholar

To earn the designation Honors Scholar, students are required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of Honors College coursework, including a minimum of:

  • 3 hours of Honors Participation Courses

Students must also complete their disciplinary requirements and have a minimum 3.2 cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA at the time of graduation.

-OR-

To earn the designation Honors Scholar, students entering the Honors College with 60+ hours of college credits are required to complete a minimum of 7 hours of Honors coursework, including:

  • 3 hours of Honors Research/Honors Special Topics/Honors Apogee/Honors Thesis and 3 hours of Honors Thesis/Honors Apogee or 6 hours of graduate level courses in the major field of study at the 6000 or 7000 level AND
  • 1 hour of an Honors Participation course.

Students must also complete their disciplinary requirements and have a minimum 3.2 cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA at the time of graduation.

University Honors Research Scholar

To earn the designation University Honors Research Scholar, students are required to complete a minimum of 30 hours of Honors College courses, including a minimum of:

  • 3 hours of Honors Participation Courses; 1 hour of which must be “Honors Lyceum: Research at Auburn”
  • 3 hours of Honors Research Methods
  • 6 hours of Honors Seminars
  • 6 hours of designated Honors Research Seminars
  • 6 hours of coursework identified as Signature Impact Experiences

Student must also complete their disciplinary requirements and have a minimum 3.4 cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA at the time of graduation.

Honors Research Scholar

Honors Research Scholar

To earn the designation Honors Research Scholar, students are required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of Honors College courses, including a minimum of:

  • 3 hours of Honors Participation Courses; 1 hour of which must be “Honors Lyceum: Research at Auburn”
  • 3 hours of Honors Research Methods
  • 6 hours of Honors Seminars
  • 6 hours of designated Honors Research Seminars

Students must also complete their disciplinary requirements and have a minimum 3.2 cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA at the time of graduation.

The Honors College curriculum is designed to give students flexibility with their choice of Honors courses in order to fulfill their diverse goals, needs, and interests. The Honors College offers students course work that fall into the following general areas:

Honors Academic Courses

  • Honors University Core Courses
  • Honors Departmental Courses
  • Honors Study and Travel Courses (maximum of 4)
  • Honors Seminars (maximum of 5)
  • Honors Research Methods Courses (maximum of 2)
  • Honors Research Seminar (maximum of 3)
  • Honors Contract Courses

Honors Participation Courses

  • Honors Freshmen Exploration (one-time enrollment as a first-year student)
  • Honors Lyceum (maximum of 4)
  • Honors Book Club (maximum of 4)
  • Honors Forum (maximum of 6)

Honors Signature Impact Experiences

  • Honors Research
  • Honors Thesis
  • Honors Special Topics
  • Honors Apogee
  • Honors Seminar
  • Honors Contract courses in the major field of study at the 4000-5000 level
  • Graduate-level courses in the major field of study (maximum of 12 hours)

Honors Business Minor

The Honors Business minor will consist of the five 3-hour courses below. Four of the five courses must be taken at the honors level to successfully complete the minor. The minor is limited to students in the Honors College.

ECON 2020/2027 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 hours

ACCT 2110/2117 | Principles of Financial Accounting | 3 hours

FINC 3610/3617 | Principles of Business Finance | 3 hours

MNGT 3100/3107 | Principles of Management | 3 hours

MKTG 3310/3317 | Principles of Marketing | 3 hours

The Honors College Business Minor is administered through Auburn University’s Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. Students interested in more information, or those who would like to declare as a minor, must contact the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business directly. 

Policies and Retention Criteria

A grade of “C” or better in Honors courses is required to earn Honors College credit.

In order to remain in good standing as a member of the Honors College, students must meet the following minimum criteria:

I. Students are required to maintain satisfactory progress in completing the requirements of the Honors curriculum. Satisfactory progress is defined by attaining the following minimums by the end of the specified academic year:

  • First year: 7 Honors hours
  • Second year: 14 Honors hours
  • Third year: 21 Honors hours

II. First-year students must attain a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA and second, third, and fourth-year students must maintain a minimum of 3.2 cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA. A student whose GPA falls below the minimum is give one semester to correct the deficiency or be suspended from the Honors College.

III. All first-year students in the Honors College must meet with an Honors Academic Advisor in both the fall and spring semesters and submit a Plan of Study prior to registration for spring courses. Any changes to the Plan of Study should be done at a meeting with an Honors College Advisor.

IV. Second, third, and fourth-year students must meet with an Honors Academic Advisor at least once a year to ensure retention and understanding of the program and to confirm progress being made toward the completion of the Honors requirements.

V. Students who do not successfully maintain good standing (Honors course progression, GPA, meeting at least once a year with their Honors advisor, and/or submission of the Plan of Study) will be suspended from the Honors College. Students may be reinstated upon attaining the minimum GPA and/or providing the Honors College with an updated Plan of Study for Honors courses. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the College when good standing has been attained.

VI. Any scholarships awarded by the Honors College are contingent upon maintaining membership in good standing in the Honors College. Suspension from the Honors College will result in a loss of Honors scholarship funding.

Honors College Fee

The Honors College fee supports the rigorous, individualized, and innovative experiences that have distinguished the Auburn University Honors College for more than forty years.

The Honors College fee supports the hiring of world-class instructors to teach the specialized honors courses that are the cornerstone of the elevated educational experience we offer to our more than 2,000 honors students. The costs associated with offering these smaller, hands-on learning opportunities are worth it. Our students take a much deeper dive into the course material than would be feasible with a large class. Furthermore, honors students at Auburn University form intellectual and social ties with the instructors and with their fellow honors students that can shape career trajectories and last a lifetime.

Honors students who are not currently enrolled in honors courses in a particular semester can take advantage of the range of student services that the fee also supports, including exclusive professional and career development training, individualized advising, and focused research opportunities. Engagement with our full offering of student services is attainable through either in-person or online workshops and events.

Honors College Graduation  Distinctions

After completing the requirements of the Honors College curriculum, students graduate with a special designation that is noted on their diploma and transcript.

  • To graduate as a University Honors Scholar or University Honors Research Scholar, students must complete all of the requirements for those designations, the requirements for their disciplines, and have a minimum cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA of 3.4.
  • To graduate as an Honors Scholar or Honors Research Scholar, students must complete all of the requirements for those designations, the requirements for their discipline, and have a minimum cumulative unadjusted Auburn GPA of 3.2.