CU Denver Honors Contracts for Non-Honors Designated Courses
The primary purpose of the Honors Contract is to give students and instructors the opportunity to interact about challenging academic issues. Students and instructors should feel free to design an agreement in addition to general course expectations that is tailored to the specifics of their interaction, the expected work, and the course. Both instructors and students should be able to benefit from the honors enrichment contract work.
Honors contracts are:
- An opportunity for undergraduate research
- A chance to delve deeper into your area of interest
- A chance to do in-depth learning with a mentor
- An opportunity to prepare for graduate level work
Honors contracts are not:
- Part of the expected workload of the class
- Busy work
Timing: Students should meet with the faculty member during the first two weeks of class to arrange the honors contract. Students are expected to meet individually with the faculty outside of class time to discuss the project(s) at least once prior to submission of the project(s). Additional meetings are recommended as agreed upon. Meetings can be in-person, via zoom, via phone, or via email as agreed upon by the instructor and the student.
Honors Contracts must include additional elements of labor beyond that of the already required coursework. Below are examples of some but not all enrichment opportunities that the student and instructor might agree upon.
- Conduct an individual research project or assist with instructor research
- Create, test, and/or evaluate a program
- Prepare and present a class lecture
- Complete a small group project with other honors students
- Produce a research paper
- Design and test a lab project
To received honors designation, the additional elements of labor should be a minimum of 10 additional hours (in class and/or out of class work) beyond the regular course work and not including the meetings to arrange the honors enrichment contract.
Please note that Honors activities are supplemental to regular course work and honors credit will be independent of the final grade.
Sample Honors Projects
Submit an Honors Contract
