Students admitted to the University of Connecticut Honors Program as freshmen are selected on the basis of their SAT scores, their high school grades, and their class rank; those admitted after their first semester are invited on the basis of their college grade point average and faculty recommendation.
Honors students at the University of Connecticut enjoy the advantages of unusually small seminars, of fellowship with other talented students, and of participation in scholarly events organized through the University Honors Program. They also receive special recognition at graduation, and a diploma acknowledging their participation in the University Honors Program.
Honors students may declare their major as early as their first semester, and as late as their fifth semester. To graduate with Honors in English, a student must not only meet the requirements set for all English majors, but also earn honors credits in the discipline. Students following the 2011–2012 catalogue year or earlier must earn twelve honors credits; students following the 2012–2013 catalogue year or later must earn fifteen honors credits.
Honors credits in English are earned through a range of opportunities. These include enrollment in designated honors courses offered in a variety of subfields in English; enrollment in standard English courses converted to honors credit through supplemental assignments; and the possibility of enrollment in English graduate courses (with the permission of the graduate course instructor and the Director of Graduate Studies).
The culmination of the English Honors experience is the senior thesis, a two-semester project involving extensive reading and the completion of a substantial scholarly essay or creative project under the individual supervision of a faculty member. Students earn three honors credits for writing the thesis in their final semester (ENGL 4897); they can also earn up to three honors credits for a preparatory independent study course taken in the semester prior to the writing of the thesis (ENGL 3699). Enrolling in an independent study is highly recommended.
Honors Plan of Study:
Further information about the English Department and the University Honors Program can be found on their respective websites. If you have questions about Honors in English, please contact the honors advisor from your campus or Mary Burke, Associate Professor and Director of Honors in English.
Advisors for Honors in English
| Campus | Name | Telephone | |
| Avery Point | Pamela Bedore | pamela.bedore@uconn.edu | (860) 405-9135 |
| Hartford | Thomas Shea | thomas.shea@uconn.edu | (860) 570-9189 |
| Stamford | Fred Roden | frederick.roden@uconn.edu | (203) 251-8559 |
| Storrs | Mary Burke Director of Honors in English |
mary.burke@uconn.edu | (860) 486-6858 |