Lateral Admissions Process.

Application Process

First year students who did not participate in the Honors Program at the time of UF admission may be eligible to apply for Honors through lateral admissions as rising sophomores. This entry point between the first and second year at UF is the last opportunity to join the Honors Program for students admitted in their first year.

Eligibility Criteria:

• 3.75 cumulative UF GPA earned over the first year at UF
• A total of 34 credits (Summer B admits) or 29 credits (Fall admits) earned over the first year at UF. Incoming credits from AP/IB/AICE or dual enrollment do not count towards these totals.

The first year is defined as Summer B (if applicable), Fall and Spring, but not the following summer.

Students meeting the eligibility criteria will be invited via their UF email to apply for the Honors Program. We recommend adding @honors.ufl.edu to your UF email address book so the invitation does not go to spam.

Please note that students participating in UF Online as well as students who have moved beyond their first year at UF are not eligible for Honors Program admission. Students in the Pathway to Campus Enrollment (PaCE) program may be eligible if they are transitioning to UF's main campus for the beginning of their sophomore year. Innovation Academy students are eligible for consideration if they meet minimum eligibility requirements as outlined above.

Petitions

In some cases, students who might make good candidates for application to Honors fall just shy of meeting the above stated eligibility criteria and are therefore not invited to apply. In such cases, students can petition for the opportunity to apply.

Petition Eligibility:
Only students who fall within nearly-met-requirement territory will be allowed to petition for application. Nearly-met-requirement includes minor insufficiencies in meeting the standard UF GPA and/or credit hours required to apply:

• GPA: In the case that the UF GPA requirement is where one falls short, the student must have at least a 3.7 cumulative UF GPA.
• Credit Hours: In the case that credit hours requirement is where one falls short, the student must have a total of 31 credits (Summer B admits) or 26 credits (Fall admits) earned over the first year.

How to Petition:
Students in nearly-met-requirement territory who would like to petition for the opportunity to apply to Honors via lateral admissions should email Dr. Forbes at tforbes@honors.ufl.edu directly with a memorandum explaining why they did not meet standard UF GPA and/or credit hour requirements. This memo is not to exceed one typed single-spaced page, but petitioners are encouraged to attach supporting documentation to their memo as appendix items.

Petitions will be decided on a case-by-case basis. If judged favorably, petitioners will be invited to apply to Honors via lateral admission—not necessarily admitted into Honors via lateral admission.

Please do not send petition memos before June 1. All petition requests should be submitted by June 22, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.

Timeline for the Summer 2026 Cycle

• Mid-May: Invitations to apply are emailed to eligible students. Students must accept the invitation in order to access the application site in UF G-Drive.
• June 1: Application opens in UF G-Drive
• June 30: Application due in UF G-Drive
• July 31: Decisions sent to UF email
• August 19: Required orientation workshop which serves as confirmation. Students who do not participate in the workshop will forfeit their place in the program.

Review Process

Admissions decisions are based on a combination of application materials (i.e., personal statement and resume), UF GPA, and credit hours completed at UF. The application materials are reviewed by Honors Program faculty and hold the greatest weight in the review process.

We do not consider high school credentials, such as test scores or GPAs in this process. Please note that any student found responsible for a UF Honor Code violation or issued probation or higher due to a UF Student Conduct Code violation will be ineligible to participate in the program. We will verify that standing prior to sending admissions decisions.