Honors Program
BE MORE
The UMW Honors Program offers highly motivated and advanced students the opportunity to enhance their intellectual, professional, and personal growth as part of a unique community.
The Honors Program is a university-wide undergraduate program that supports highly motivated and advanced students as they grow intellectually through rigorous Honors-designated coursework, interdisciplinary seminars, extended research and creative projects, and community service that develops a community of learners. The program will offer courses that are small in size and that develop the intellectual potential of students through activities that:
- develop communication skills
- incorporate interdisciplinary focus
- include innovative pedagogy
- enhance research skills
- apply critical reading, writing, speaking, problem solving, and thinking skills that incorporate information literacy, and an appreciation of audience
- include greater breadth than non-honors course sections
- incorporate enrichment opportunities to students and faculty
- utilize flexible approaches that accommodate different learning styles
- analyze their own and others’ assumptions
Most students entering the Honors Program will do so upon admission to the university. Students are admitted to the Honors Program based on screenings by the admissions office including consideration of high school GPA, standardized test scores, and rigor of high school curriculum. There is no separate application for the Honors Program for students applying for admission to the University. Interested students need to request consideration for Honors admission on their UMW application, submit a supplemental essay, and apply Early Action or Early Decision to UMW.
Other students may apply for acceptance after matriculation (“Track B”), only during their first year at UMW. Traditional first-year students must have a 3.20 overall UMW GPA or higher and a letter of recommendation from UMW faculty. This only applies to students after matriculation to UMW.
All students in the program must complete a minimum of two curricular Honors requirements and two co-curricular reflections per year and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 in order to remain in good standing. Completion of the Honors Program requirements will be recognized at graduation and indicated on the transcript as “University Honors.” Note that departmental Honors will continue to be distinct from the Honors Program. Honors in each discipline will still be administered by academic departments based on requirements they determine (see individual departments for details).
The UMW Honors Program is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council and the Virginias Collegiate Honors Council.