University Honors

Subject abbreviation: HNPG Division of Undergraduate Education

Begoña Echeverria, Ph.D., Howard H Hays, Jr. Endowed Chair and Associate Dean and Faculty Director of University Honors 381 Skye Hall

• (951) 827-5323; honors@ucr.edu

honors.ucr.edu

Outstanding students from all majors can participate in University Honors. University Honors challenges students to take an active role in shaping their education through a variety of curricular, co-curricular, extra- curricular, and service-learning opportunities. Students benefit from University Honors staff support, in the areas of academic counseling, professional development, and guidance on applying for internships, fellowships, awards, and graduate or professional school. A study room and student lounge are available to University Honors students.

Admission to the first-year cohort in University Honors is based on high school grade point average and the successful completion of a University Honors admission application. During the first-year, students take required University Honors courses, participate in University Honors programs and events, and receive guidance from University Honors Am- bassadors. First-year courses expose students to innovative teaching methods, interdis- ciplinary thinking, and increased depth of course content. One goal of University Honors courses is to expose students to methods of conceptualizing issues and framing questions that promote scholarship, engagement, and student success.

The second-year cohort in University Honors is designed to expose students to the concept of civic engagement and to introduce them to the abundance of opportunities available to un- dergraduate students at UC Riverside. During the second-year, students engage in scholarly experiences that will allow them to interact with faculty members and begin considering topics for their eventual capstone projects. The second-year cohort consists of continuing first-year University Honors students, as well as high-achieving UCR students who did not have the opportunity to participate in the first- year cohort. Admission to the second-year cohort is based on a specified UCR cumulative grade point average and the successful comple- tion of a University Honors admission application.

The upper-division curriculum provides students with the framework to produce a capstone project, resulting from faculty- mentored, undergraduate research, creative activity, or experiential learning. This structure is adaptable to almost any major and allows each student the flexibility to work with a faculty-mentor to shape a research, creative activity, or experiential learning program to meet the ambitions of the project. University Honors provides resources to assist students with finding a faculty-mentor and guidance throughout the process of completing the capstone project. Continuing UCR students with an excellent academic record may apply to participate in University Honors. Students who transfer to UCR as juniors with excellent academic records may also apply to University Honors. During the junior year, students narrow their research, creative activity, or experiential learning focus, select a faculty-mentor, and prepare to undertake the capstone project. The program provides support in all phases of this planning. The capstone project is usually undertaken by the spring quarter of the junior year and is completed well before graduation. The completed capstone project is submitted to the student’s faculty-mentor for approval. Completion of an approved capstone project, and satisfaction of all other University Honors requirements, will qualify a student for graduation with University Honors distinction, which is noted on the official transcript.