Undergraduate Honors Program

Nursing students have the opportunity to join the UMass Amherst Commonwealth Honors College by invitation in the freshman year and through an application process after they have begun their nursing program. The Commonwealth Honors program encourages students to develop broad perspectives and engage in deep analysis through its four-year curriculum, and requires completion of a final Honors project.

Departmental Honors in Nursing: Commonwealth College (4-year Nursing majors only) 

Departmental Honors (DH) is an Advanced Scholarship track of Commonwealth Honors College (CHC). Students have the option to complete either multidisciplinary honors (MH) or departmental honors.

Successful graduation with departmental honors requires:

  • Completion of the DH requirements with minimum grades of B (or as specified below)
  • 3.4 minimum cumulative GPA
  • Submission of a properly formatted Honors Thesis will result in the award of "Departmental Honors" on the student’s academic transcript.

For information about DH, speak with the Honors Program Director, kadion [at] nursing [dot] umass [dot] edu (Kimberly Dion). For information about the full CHC Curriculum, see https://www.umass.edu/honors/curriculum.

Departmental Honors Admission Criteria:

Minimally, to be eligible to apply for DH (Departmental Honors), students must have:

  • An overall GPA of 3.40 or higher earned after one full-time semester of UMass Amherst coursework.
  • The ability to complete the DH-Track requirements.
  • The ability to complete the CHC residency requirement, i.e., 45-graded (not pass/fail) credits earned at UMass Amherst (not transferred).

Commonwealth Honors College Admission Process:

  • UMass Amherst students who are not already members of Commonwealth Honors College must apply to Departmental Honors or Multidisciplinary Honors via the CHC online application using the following link: https://www.umass.edu/honors/admissions.
  • Commonwealth Honors College members meet with the Department Honors Program Director regarding their interest in joining Departmental Honors, an Advanced Scholarship track of CHC. 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 Admission Criteria above). The HPD will notify the CHC office of newly accepted DH students so appropriate steps can be taken for SPIRE designation.

Commonwealth Honors College Program Requirements:

  • 2 NURS honors courses 300-level or higher
  • Successful completion of an Honors Thesis: Individually contracted: NURS 499Y Honors Research and NURS 499T Honors Thesis

Among the recent Honors Thesis projects are postpartum sleep experiences, bioactive components of breastmilk, assessing breast and ovarian cancer risk perception among college-age students, a usability comparison of large volume IV smart pumps, and preferred birthing methods in college students, and telehealth use among young adult cancer survivors.