Words from the Honors Coordinator

by Regina Fletcher

Over 120 graduating seniors will be wearing blue and gold honors cords at the upcoming commencement ceremonies for earning the Academic Excellence Award, signifying completion of the honors program. These students will leave UCSB knowing they took full advantage of the College Honors Program. Here is what a recent graduate said about the honors program: "Honors discussions are wonderful, challenging, and worth the extra work." Another graduate, now in a Ph.D. program in bioengineering, said that "honor sections led to contracts, which provided a nice segue to independent research." Another student decided that graduate school was a good option for her after acknowledging that "the level of work . . . on honors contracts was a reflection of graduate workload." And finally, a medical school hopeful said, "The honors program is about exposure to subjects, to people, and to the world. It gives you an opportunity to find your passions." That same student said that the service requirement gave him "perspective to the world that cannot be obtained in a classroom." He found that volunteering required very little investment and paid big dividends.

Students often think that by taking the minimum number of units needed each year to remain in the honors program, they will automatically complete the program. Not so. Students need to finish at least 36 overall honors units, with at least 20 at the upper-division level, complete a minimum of ten hours of community service in each of their last two years, and graduate with an overall UC GPA of 3.50 or higher to earn the Academic Excellence Award. (Check the honors web site for exceptions for transfer students eligible for the honors program at admission and for students who study on UC EAP for a full academic year.)

If you would like to discuss your progress toward completing the honors program, please set up an appointment with me or with one of the student honors coordinators. You, too, can proudly wear an honors cord at graduation.

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