16. University Honors Program 

(Revised: 2018)

The university confers graduation honors upon a candidate for a baccalaureate degree who has completed a substantial body of course work through the University Honors Program or any one of the several college or departmental Honors programs; see listing at https://honorsprograms.tamu.edu.

16.1 Honors Eligibility.  Students are Honors-eligible as entering freshmen if they are accepted to the University Honors Program through a competitive application, or to another college or departmental Honors program.

16.1.1 Incoming freshmen who are not in an Honors program will be considered Honors-eligible if they graduated in the top 10% of their high school class and have a minimum SAT composite score of 1360 (minimum score of 620 for Math and 660 for Reading/Writing) or a minimum composite 28 on the ACT (minimum score of 27 each on verbal and math).

16.2.2 Second semester freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors (collectively, “Continuing Students”) may enroll in honors courses if they earned a cumulative grade point ratio (GPR) at Texas A&M of 3.50 or above.  First semester transfer students are considered for participation on an individual basis.  To maintain eligibility to register for Honors sections each semester, a student must maintain a minimum 3.50 cumulative GPR.

16.2.2 Honors Fellows.  The distinction for the University Honors Program is called “Honors Fellows.” To earn Honors Fellows, a student must remain in good standing with program requirements, listed below.

  • Maintain a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPR*

  • Meet minimum co-curricular participation requirements.

  • First-year students meet requirements are met by participating in the Learning Community Seminar.
  • Continuing University Honors students need to attend two Honors Student Council events per semester, at least one of which must be designated as academic in nature.**
  • Demonstrate progress toward Honors Fellows distinction requirements by taking at least six Honors credits per year.

  • Make an annual update to their Honors ePortfolio.

*Freshmen who are not meeting co-curricular participation requirements will be subject to probation for GPR in the spring semester. Freshmen who do not have a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPR at the end of their first academic year will be placed on probation during the upcoming fall semester.

**Continuing students who will be away from campus for a semester of study abroad or internship should arrange an alternative with an Honors Advisor ahead of time.


To complete distinction requirements and receive the Honors Fellows distinction at graduation, Honors Students must:

  • Earn a total of 30 honors points:

  • Each credit hour of Honors course work equals 1 point. At least 21 points must come from Honors course work distributed as follows
  • Breadth: 9 hours must meet Core Curriculum or graduation requirements as specified in the student’s catalog.
  • Depth: 12 hours must be in upper-division (300/400-level) courses or graduate courses taken for undergraduate credit.
  • Practical Application: Complete an Honors Capstone experience. The Capstone will be worth 6 points, whether taken for credit or not.
  • Up to 3 points may be earned through Honors Experiences either designated by the University Honors Program or contracted for points.
  • Maintain co-curricular requirements.

  • Meet minimum 3.25 GPR in Honors course work.

16.3 Probation. Honors Students who fail to meet requirements for their Honors program will be given a semester of probation to correct any deficiencies. While in probationary semester, a priority registration time will not be assigned. Honors Students who fail to meet requirements after a semester of probation will be dismissed from their program.