Honors Programs

The College of Health and Public Affairs collaborates with the UCF Burnett Honors College to offer honors programs that develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills and prepare them for a lifetime of professional and personal achievement.

The Burnett Honors College designs and oversees the academic programs of the most promising undergraduate students at UCF. The programs, in affiliation with the National Collegiate Honors Council, are designed around one concept—academic excellence. The Burnett Honors College consists of two distinct programs, University Honors and Honors in the Major, neither of which is mutually exclusive in that students can enroll in both programs. Students need not be enrolled in University Honors to be eligible for Honors in the Major.

University Honors is a four-year program of study designed for incoming freshmen and selected community college honors graduates. Admission to University Honors is processed in the Burnett Honors College at the time of admission to UCF. Successful completion of the University Honors program by students in the College of Health and Public Affairs entails nine credit hours of intensified course work as follows:

• One University Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar
• One University Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar OR One Health and Public Affairs Honors Interdisciplinary Course (e.g., Public Affairs Research Methods or Ethics)
• Independent Study (3 credits) OR any Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar/Course

The Burnett Honors College coordinates the Honors in the Major (HIM) program, which is designed to encourage the best junior and senior students to undertake original and independent work within their major field. This involves writing a thesis or completing an equivalent, creative and innovative project (usually totaling six credit hours). Interested students from the College of Health and Public Affairs must first apply for this program through the Honors College.

A Health and Public Affairs-HIM student designs an honors thesis or project under the guidance of a faculty mentor from the student’s major program or department. This faculty mentor serves as the chair of the student’s Thesis Committee, which includes a second faculty member from the student’s major program or department and a third faculty member from outside the student’s major. Upon completion of the thesis or project, the student must present an oral defense before this committee.

• Honors Directed Reading (3 credits) OR One Health and Public Affairs Honors Interdisciplinary Course (e.g., Public Affairs Research Methods) or Ethics* OR BSC 3404H Quantitative Bio. Methods* (for Molecular Biology and Microbiology students only)
• Honors thesis (3 credits including successful completion and defense of a thesis or project)

For students interested in completing BOTH the University Honors Program and Honors in the Major, the following will satisfy the requirements for both:

• One University Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar
• One Health and Public Affairs Honors Interdisciplinary Course* OR Honors Directed Reading (3 credits) OR BSC 3404H Quantitative Bio. Methods * (for Molecular Biology and Microbiology students only)
• Honors thesis (3 credits)

Students are encouraged to visit the Burnett Honors College or its website at http://honors.ucf.edu and to discuss with COHPA department advisors the honors requirements for their major.