Honors Program
The College of Engineering Honors Program identifies highly talented students who demonstrate extraordinary academic ability, intellectual curiosity, and clear potential to make a difference as a leader in their field. Honors Program students pursue challenging coursework and enrich their academics through significant engagement beyond the classroom. The program is intended to inspire and enable highly motivated students to reach beyond the traditional curriculum in both breadth and depth.
Students must choose a capstone experience area, such as research, entrepreneurship, design, global business/operations or public service, and are required to develop academic breadth and leadership experience.
Core Academic Requirements
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.6; students with a GPA below 3.6 meet with an honors advisor to establish academic success plans.
- Complete 9 credits of advanced electives in an identified focus area, selected in consultation with the capstone supervisor and approved by the Honors Faculty Advisor.
- These credits cannot be required by the minor or specifically required by the major. They can include technical elective credit.
- Complete an honors capstone experience (e.g. a project, research experience, thesis, etc.)
- This capstone can draw on the major design experience, but must extend beyond that experience to demonstrate the student’s individual scholarly or professional work. Each student will identify a capstone supervisor to oversee this experience. See below for more details.
Academic Breadth and Leadership Requirements
- Participate in an honors seminar each year.
- The honors seminar will center on leadership development, community building and discussion related to the student’s focus area. Portions of the seminar will be required for all honors students, while other topics offered will be specific to a student’s focus area. Existing seminars and colloquia will also be leveraged.
- Develop academic breadth through the completion of a U-M minor.
Additional Rules
- Courses counting toward the Honors Program cannot be elected as pass/fail.
- Students must apply for the program at least a year and a half before they plan to graduate, so that they can participate in leadership seminars and community-building experiences.
- The Honors Program faculty advisor may approve specialized curriculum plans in both the core and breadth components of the Honors Program.
Admission Criteria and Process
In order to be admitted, students must:
- Have completed two full-time terms at U-M (or, for transfer students, one term).
- Have declared a major within the College of Engineering.
- Maintain a 3.6 minimum GPA; students with a GPA below 3.6 are encouraged to apply and will be considered holistically by the admissions committee
- Submit a portfolio, including an individual development plan.
- Be interviewed and recommended for admission by an admission committee (composed of the Honors Program Faculty Advisor, a representative of the Faculty Advisory Board, a staff advisor and a student representative).
Honors Capstone Process and Completion
Each student will identify a capstone supervisor (a U-M faculty member) to oversee the honors capstone experience. Honors capstone proposals must be approved by the student’s capstone supervisor, the Honors Program faculty advisor and the Honors Faculty Advisory Board; these parties will ensure that sufficient rigor is present in the proposed project. Students should meet regularly with their capstone supervisor to assess progress and establish goals throughout the duration of the project. The project will be considered complete once it has been publicly presented and the capstone supervisor and Honors Program faculty advisor have certified its completion. The Faculty Advisory Board will work with the Honors Program faculty advisor to establish criteria for ensuring the quality of capstone projects. Students must display their capstone project during the Honors Capstone Showcase event, which includes a poster session and an interactive presentation forum, and the project must be published online in the Honors Capstone Library.
Program Completion
Students who complete the program will graduate “with honors” and will receive a notation on their transcript and diploma.
Engineering Global Leadership Honors Program
The Engineering Global Leadership (EGL) Honors Program is a specialization of the Honors Program. Employers tell us that the inability of many professionals to communicate across cultures and across the engineering and business boundary is one of the greatest barriers to global competitiveness. The EGL Honors Program prepares students to bridge these gaps. The business coursework offers a focus in operations management, along with the basics of marketing, accounting and finance. Completion of the International Minor for Engineers exposes students to the language, history and customs of another part of the world. The success of EGL graduates confirms that this preparation is in high demand. Students admitted to the CoE Honors Program who choose a global business/operations focus are eligible to apply to EGL.
The EGL Honors Program requires the completion of the following
- All requirements of the College of Engineering Honors Program.
- The International Minor for Engineers (simultaneously fulfills CoE Honors required minor).
- 9 credits of Technology and Operations coursework in the Ross School of Business, as required by the Tauber Institute for Global Operations (simultaneously fulfills CoE Honors required focus area).
- The Tauber Institute for Global Operations Team Project (simultaneously fulfills CoE Honors Capstone Experience).
- A U-M College of Engineering master’s degree.
- 6 credits of elective coursework in the Ross School of Business (typically completed during the Masters program.)
College of Engineering Honors Program
Email: [email protected]
Website: honors.engin.umich.edu