The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Departmental Honors Requirements

Departmental Honors (DH) is an Advanced Scholarship track of Commonwealth Honors College (CHC). Students may complete DH as part of the full CHC curriculum, which includes Honors General Studies, or they may complete DH alone. All DH students are members of CHC.

Successful completion of the DH course requirements with minimum grades of B (or as specified below) and the submission of a properly formatted Honors Thesis or Portfolio manuscript (minimum grade of B for Seminar manuscripts) will result in the award of "Departmental Honors" on the student's academic transcript. For information about DH, speak with your Honors Program Director and see Admissions Process below. For information about the full CHC Curriculum.

General Admission Criteria

Minimally, to be eligible to apply for DH, students must have:

  • An overall GPA of 3.400 or higher earned after one or more full-time semester/s of UMass Amherst coursework
  • The ability to complete the DH sub-plan requirements
  • The ability to complete the CHC minimum residency requirement, i.e., 45-graded (not pass/fail) credits earned at UMass Amherst (not transferred)

Admissions Process

  • UMass Amherst students who are not already members of CHC must apply to Departmental Honors, an Advanced Scholarship CHC sub-plan. Read more by visiting the Apply page.
  • Students who are already members of CHC should meet with the department’s Honors Program Director (HPD) regarding their interest in joining Departmental Honors (DH), an Advanced Scholarship CHC sub-plan. The HPD will determine a student's eligibility and preparedness for DH. Admission to DH will be at the discretion of the HPD based on the criteria as established by the department and CHC (see General Admission Criteria above). The HPD will notify the CHC office of newly accepted DH students so appropriate steps can be taken to designate the sub-plan on SPIRE.

Requirement Exceptions Note

Note: exceptions to the requirements above require approval by both the Honors Program Director (HPD) and a Commonwealth Honors College advisor; Petition for Exception requests must be submitted through CHC PATHS.

University of Massachusetts Amherst