Honors Program

Department website: https://academicaffairs.du.edu/honors

The DU Honors Program cultivates student capacity for original academic inquiry and creative exploration. 

Our students emerge as self-directed learners, encouraged to ask new questions and pursue their curiosities – both within the classroom and beyond. 

Every year, the program recruits a diverse cohort of creative thinkers who want to go beyond the requirements – whether they were part of an Honors program in high school or not.   

The three pillars of the Honors Program are our curriculum, our community, and our contributions to original research, scholarship, and creative activities.

We accept 100 students per year, and the vast majority of those students apply prior to starting at DU. Incoming students (first-year & transfer) may apply to the University Honors Program once they are accepted to the University. The last chance for current students to apply to the Honors program is after their first fall quarter at DU.

Honors at DU is not a major or a minor, but rather an academic community. Our curriculum mostly overlaps with common curriculum requirements and distinction requirements set by the different departments.

Students graduate with University Honors upon satisfaction of the following requirements:
1. Completion of Honors course requirements
2. Satisfaction of all requirements for distinction in at least one major
3. Cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at graduation

To remain active in the Honors Program, students must be in “good standing” at the University, continue to make positive progress towards completing Honors requirements, and remain responsive to communication from Honors Program staff.