Upper Division Honors
The University Honors Program is designed to meet the needs of talented students during their first four semesters at the University of Florida. Participation in the University Honors Program is not necessary for graduating with honors from the university.
Graduating cum laude requires a specified GPA for certain courses within each major. Generally, graduation magna cum laude and summa cum laude requires not only a specific GPA, but also the completion of an honors thesis or special project. To see an overview of the honors requirements for each college, click here.
For more information about the honors requirements in your college, please contact your college's advising office or speak with an advisor in your department. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has its own formal honors program at the upper division.
After the colleges certify completed thesis projects, they are forwarded to the Honors Office in 29 Tigert Hall. We then microfiche them and submit them to Special Collections in Smathers Library East for achiving. We also provide thesis abstract forms both in the office and here on our webpage. Ultimately, though, all other honors graduation-related requirements and programs are handled directly by the department and college of your major.
Research
Students are encouraged to engage in research at all stages of their undergraduate career. For information on research opportunities, click here. Some students use the research they have done as part of the University Scholars Program for their honors thesis.
Honors Thesis
The honors thesis process begins in your department with your departmental advisor. Most departments have specific advisors who help students with plans for graduation with honors. Important: All students submit their final, completed thesis directly to their college, and not to the Honors Program.
You can download the honors thesis submission form here.
Please follow these guidelines when preparing your honors thesis:
- You are submitting an undergraduate thesis in order to graduate magna cum laude or summa cum laude. For this purpose, the paper should reflect a high caliber of work.
- If you are looking for help writing your thesis, the Honors Program recommends Conquering Your Undergraduate Thesis, by Nataly Kogan (available on Amazon.com or at your local bookstore). This book offers helpful and practical advice from fellow students and recent graduates. Another excellent resource is How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from Your First Ideas to Your Finished Paper, by Charles Lipson (also available from Amazon.com).
- Please have your advisor review your thesis and honors thesis submission form for organization, content, grammar, and spelling before you submit it.
- Your abstract should begin with a definitive statement of the problem or project treated by your thesis. The purpose, scope, and limit of the thesis should be clearly delineated. Then, as concisely as possible, describe research methods and design, major findings, the significance of your work (if appropriate), and conclusions. The abstract should be 100-200 words.
- Students whose thesis involves "creative" work such as original fine art, music, writing, theatre, film, or dance should describe process and production, indicating the forms of documentation on file as "thesis" materials.
- As you complete your honors thesis submission form, pay special attention to the Key Words entry as these will be the words by which your thesis may be found in the library index. These words are instrumental in leading a potential reader to your thesis.
- The thesis submission form should be secured with your thesis as the first page. Your thesis should NOT be stapled at all- instead use a removable clip. We discourage the use of binders and folders as they will be discarded when the theses are filed on microfiche. The Honors Thesis Submission Form must be completed with a typewriter or computer. Handwritten forms will not be accepted.
