Honors Experiences

During their first year, Honors scholars will earn four to six Honors Experience credits for their Honors Seminars and Honors Colloquium, Afterward, they must complete an additional 13-17 Honors Experience credits from the list below in order to graduate from the Honors College.

Accepted Honors Coursework
Contract Honors Coursework
Departmental Honors Thesis or Project
Graduate Coursework
Honors Experience Petition
Independent Study
Internship or Practicum
Study Abroad
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate Supervised Teaching

Accepted Honors Coursework

To see a full list of acceptable courses for Honors credit, look in the University Honors College section of your Academic Requirements Report in the HUB Student Center and you can view the full list under “Honors Experiences”. Please contact your Honors advisor if you have questions about acceptable Honors experience coursework.

Contract Honors Coursework

Honors students can contract directly with one of their faculty instructors to complete extra work in a course and submit it as an Honors contract.
A final assessment from your faculty supervisor must be submitted to the Honors College.
Students will earn Honors experience credit for the contracted course as long as they pass the course. However, please note that in order to receive a “H” designation on your transcript next to the course grade, you must earn a grade of “B” or higher.
Honors contracted courses must be at the 200 level and above.

Description of the Honors Contract

The Honors Contract permits students to turn a regular university course into an Honors course by contracting with the instructor to complete extra work. The contract involves an agreement among the honors student, a UB faculty member, and the University Honors College. All of the terms stated in the contract must be successfully completed by the agreed upon due date in order for the student to receive honors credit.

The contract project should add an academic dimension by introducing new material or by allowing the student to go into greater depth than normally required in some aspect of the course. Contracts may also be service-learning focused through student engagement in a service project and reflection related to the course content. It should be made clear on the Contract for Honors Credit how this work exceeds regular course requirements. Since a faculty member must supervise the contract, students should select faculty who have the time to oversee their projects to completion.

Honors Contracts will not be accepted later than the end of the second week of the semester or the first week of a summer session.

Time Involved

Students should expect to spend approximately 30 hours of work or service hours (including reflection) during the semester or summer session to complete their honors contracts. Faculty should expect to add individual student supervision meetings and any necessary lab time to their current semester workload.

Ideas for Honors Contracts

An independent research project with lab work and demonstrable results.
Performing service hours related to the course topic along with meaningful reflection (service-learning).
Writing a major research paper (in addition to any course requirement).
Foreign language: prepare a translation of a new author or dramatist.
Music: prepare a lecture or recital about a musician you have come to admire.
Writing: prepare a portfolio of creative writing.
Any other exploratory, creative, wide-ranging or experimental learning experience related to the content of the contracted course.

When is the Contract Complete?

The contract is complete when the instructor is satisfied with the student’s completed work per the terms of the contract by the due date. An evaluation form is sent to the course instructor at the end of the semester and must be signed by the instructor before being returned to the Honors office. Only then is the contract complete.

Grading

The Honors Contract does not affect the student’s grade in the course. To receive honors credit for the course, honors students must satisfactorily complete the terms of the contract during the semester that credit is earned. Students receiving an “I” in a course that they have contracted will not receive honors credit upon completion. Instructors will not penalize students who do not complete the terms of their honors contracts; these students will receive the grade earned in the class. Faculty must inform the University Honors College of the status of the contracted work at the same time they report grades for the course. A form will be mailed to the instructor for this purpose near the end of the semester.

Departmental Honors Thesis or Project

Students must be earning thesis credit (typically a 497 course, although some departments use 498 or 499 courses) for the thesis experience to count towards honors experience credit.
If you have been accepted into a departmental Honors program, you do not need to complete a thesis application through the Honors College. Any 497, 498 or 499 department course will automatically count towards honors experience credits. Your department should add a thesis transcript notation.
Students who are not doing a thesis as part of a departmental Honors program can submit their completed thesis to the Honors College using the Thesis Approval form (PDF) with one faculty thesis advisor signature included. Your thesis advisor must be a faculty member, not an academic advisor.
Your thesis results must be presented to a larger academic community (i.e. Celebration of Academic Excellence, departmental presentation, professional conference, etc.) in order to receive the transcript notation “University Honors Scholar with Thesis”.

Graduate Coursework

Departmental Course Number - 500 or higher.
You must be enrolled in the appropriate graduate course by the end of the Drop/Add Period. Please note: For courses cross-listed as undergraduate/graduate, you must be registered for the graduation section for it to count toward your honors experiences.
You must complete the Current Semester Undergraduate Registration in a Graduate Course (PDF) paperwork to enroll in a graduate-level course for undergraduate credit. This includes gaining permission from the instructor to take the course.

Honors Experience Petition

Occasionally, an Honors student will complete a noteworthy experience and not earn academic credit or pursue an experience that does not fit into the existing categories of Honors Experiences. When this occurs, the student may petition to include the experience towards their Honors credits by submitting an Honors Experience Petition Request.

Independent Study

Students have the option of individualized student work under the guidance of a faculty member. Independent study courses are intended to pursue topics that are not currently offered through regular coursework at UB. Independent study may be the focal point in the design of an individual program or it may merely add desired depth or breadth to a student’s formal degree program. To enroll in independent study, students must identify a member of the faculty or appropriate professional staff member willing to sponsor their work and gain approval of the appropriate department.

Departmental Course Number - 499.

Internship or Practicum

Departmental Course Number - 496.
Minimum is 1 credit.
For every 45 hours completed, 1 credit is awarded.
Up to a maximum of 6 credit hours may be earned per internship.

Please Note: Honors scholars already enrolled in departmental internship/co-op credit (e.g., MAE 496, ES 429, theatre practicums) do not need to follow the process detailed below in order to receive Honors experience credit as the credits will automatically be picked up during our review.

If your department is not able to offer you internship credit, you can still receive Honors credit by submitting an Honors Petition. Requests for Honor Experience credit via the petition process should be submitted by the following deadlines:

Fall: September 15
Winter: January 15
Spring: February 15
Summer: June 15

Petitions received after the aforementioned deadlines will be reviewed in the following cycle. Decisions will relayed to you via email within 4 weeks of the posted deadlines.

In order to complete the petition process, you will be asked to submit a reflection paper to the Honors College and for your supervisor’s contact information. Your supervisor will not receive your reflection paper. Petitions will not be accepted and added to your Honors record without supervisor approval.

Study Abroad

Departmental Course Indicator - OPR 481, 482, 483, 484, 485.
Students completing fewer than 3 credit hours must petition the Honors College to have this experience counted.
Your study abroad program may be completed during the fall, spring, summer or winter.

Learn more about the travels and adventures of some recent Honors alums.

Undergraduate Research

Students collaborate with faculty mentors on an ongoing faculty research or creative activity project, or conduct independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. This experience provides students with an inquiry-based learning opportunity and engages them as active learners in a research or creative activity setting. Either the student’s own project or the faculty member’s project to which the student is contributing should utilize the methods for creating new knowledge that are recognized in the field and should result in a unique contribution to the field of knowledge.

Departmental Course Number - 498.
Minimum is 1 credit.
For every 45 hours completed, 1 credit is awarded.
Up to a maximum of 6 credit hours may be earned per research experience.

Please Note: Honors scholars already enrolled in departmental research credit (e.g., PSY 498, CHE 290) do not need to follow the process detailed below in order to receive Honors experience credit as the credits will automatically be picked up.

If your department is not able to offer you research credit or if you are completing an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) at another school, you can still receive Honors credit by submitting an Honors Petition. Requests for Honor Experience credit via the petition process should be submitted by the following deadlines:

Fall: September 15
Winter: January 15
Spring: February 15
Summer: June 15

Petitions received after the aforementioned deadlines will be reviewed in the following cycle. Decisions will relayed to you via email within 4 weeks of the posted deadlines.

Undergraduate Supervised Teaching

Departmental Course Number - 495.
Student must be enrolled in the appropriate course by the end of the Drop/Add Period.
The following additional TA opportunities are acceptable:
Gifted Math TA: For more information, call: 716-645-4467
Math Place Lab Tutors: If you choose to receive the credits, they appear on your transcript as ULC 499 and can be used toward your Honors Experiences.
Center for Excellence Writing Lab: Writing consultants may be able to earn Honors Experience credit for this position by submitting an Honors Petition Request.
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