Background Information

In the past, CLAS Honors in the Major and the campus-wide UI Honors Program have been very closely associated. In fact, a CLAS undergraduate generally could not earn honors in the major unless the student was also a member of the UI Honors Program.  

UI Honors in the last several years has instituted significant changes. This has included incorporating course requirements into the UI Honors Program to encourage students to participate more rigorously in honors experiences. This structured honors curriculum has been a very positive change for students.

Because of this change, UI Honors has strongly urged CLAS departments not to require students who wish to pursue Honors in the Major to be part of UI Honors Program. This change will allow CLAS students who are highly qualified but not members of UI Honors to pursue honors within the major. Particular challenges are faced by transfer students and for students who have not been part of UI Honors during their first year at Iowa.

For these reasons, most CLAS departments no longer require that students wanting to pursue Honors in the Major be members of the UI Honors Program.

Policy Change and Implementation Deadline

CLAS is now requiring that all departments drop membership in UI Honors as a requirement for pursuing Honors in the Major.

• Undergraduates who wish to do so are encouraged to pursue both UI Honors and Honors in Major.
• The Honors in the Major thesis or other project will still be accepted by UI Honors for the 12 s.h. of experiential learning required for graduating with UI Honors.
• CLAS departments may continue to set GPA expectations and other standards and requirements for Honors in the Major, with a minimum UI cumulative GPA of 3.33 suggested.
• Please revise your Catalog copy to reflect this change once you begin editing the Catalog at the close of the fall 2017 semester.
• If your Catalog section shows that membership in the UI Honors Program is still required for Honors in the Major, we will contact you before we update your Catalog to reflect this new policy.
• The following statement will be added to the end of your Honors section in the Catalog, if not already included:

In addition to honors in the major, undergraduate students have a variety of opportunities for honors study and activities through membership in the University of Iowa Honors Program; visit Honors at Iowa to learn about the UI Honors Program.

• Please update your departmental website and any advising materials.
• This change should be implemented as soon as feasible, but no later than Fall 2017.

Please let me know what questions and suggestions that you might have. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.