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A student looks into a microscope in a lab.

The Commonwealth Honors College is the home of the honors experience on the University of Massachusetts campus. Honor students can enroll in both the Commonwealth Honors College and the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences departmental honors and would need to meet the requirements of both for graduation. Students may be invited to join the Commonwealth Honors College when they are admitted to the University. These students generally are in the top 10% of their graduating class, have combined (critical reading and math ) SAT-I scores above 1300 and have maintained a weighted high school GPA of "A-" or higher. Students may also apply to the Commonwealth Honors College after completing one semester at the university if they have a grade of B or better in honors designated courses, a positive evaluation from the professor of that course and have a GPA of 3.2 or better.

Our department works closely with Commonwealth Honors College to provide opportunities for personal enrichment through colloquia and research at the undergraduate level. The colloquia provide opportunities for discussion with faculty in small groups. Research is conducted in labs and other venues to introduce students to intellectual inquiry through faculty-guided thesis projects.

Admission to the UMass Amherst Commonwealth Honors College is through an application and interview process. The honors degree requires an honors research project and written thesis, as well as an oral defense of the thesis. Research is conducted in departmental or campus labs, as well as other venues, to introduce students to intellectual inquiry through faculty-guided thesis projects. Please visit the Commonwealth Honors College website for more detailed information.

For more information about our departmental honors program, please contact Dr. Kimberly Tremblay, @email, 427C Integrated Sciences Building, 545-5560.