Benefits of the Honors Distinction
Graduating with honors proves you have mastered your degree content and possess vital soft skills like diligence and time management. It provides a competitive edge when applying for your first job, serves as an excellent tie-breaker with prospective employers, and is highly valued for graduate school admissions.
Graduating with Honors in Engineering
Three honors distinctions are available at the University of Florida:
- cum laude (with honors)
- magna cum laude (with high honors)
- summa cum laude (with highest honors)
Each college/school/department has its own standards for graduating with honors. For the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, the requirements for the three graduation honors designations are as follows:
- cum laude: 3.3 GPA in all upper-division courses
- magna cum laude: 3.5 GPA in all upper-division courses and completion of an Honors Thesis
- summa cum laude: 3.8 GPA in all upper-division courses and completion of an Honors Thesis
The upper division GPA is based on all courses taken at UF after you become a 3-EG (i.e., after 60 hours).
Honors Thesis
An undergraduate Honors Thesis is completed in order to graduate magna cum laude or summa cum laude. Students interested in completing an Honors Thesis should follow your department’s specific guidance on how to receive the honors distinction for your major. You can find your department’s guidance by talking with a department academic advisor. Below are the general steps to follow:
- Identify a professor to serve as your Honors Thesis Advisor and Chair. This should be done the semester before you plan to conduct the research and begin your thesis. Check with your department to see if there are restrictions on who can serve as your thesis committee chair, ie: if they require your chair to be a faculty member with primary appointment in the department.
- Work with your Honors Thesis Advisor to form a 3-person supervisory committee comprised of your Chair (Honors Thesis Advisor), and 2 other faculty. Your department may have restrictions stating if the other members must be internal or external. Once you confirm all members of your committee, please fill out the Appointment of Supervisory Committee Form and submit to your academic advisor. The form should be provided by your department.
- Make a formal oral presentation and complete a written thesis of your results for your supervisory committee. This should be scheduled before the last day of your final semester. Follow your department’s guidance on the expected format of the oral presentation.
- Work with your Honors Thesis Advisor to submit the oral examination form to your department’s advising office.
You are required to register for at least 0 credits of EGN4912 every semester you are involved in a research program on campus. You may choose to register for more credits, and you may choose to use those credits towards your degree program requirements. For example, some departments allow EGN4912 to be used towards the technical elective requirement. Please consult with your department advisor. While the Honors Thesis may contain work with a design emphasis, students are not allowed to submit work done primarily as a part of a senior design course(s) to count as their Honors Thesis.