The UW College of Engineering will launch the first college specific honors program during the 2017-2018 academic year.
“The College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) began considering the addition of an honors program in June of 2016,” College of Engineering Project Coordinator Kenya Johnson said.
Johnson said CEAS garnered an advantage because they began considering what would be required for a college specific honors program before the UW honors program considered becoming an honors college.
“The early start CEAS had in considering what could be done gave us a bit of a head start over other colleges and Engineering is ready to implement the program for students beginning in [Academic Year] 2017-2018,” Johnson said.
However, Johnson said the early start may serve as an advantage to the colleges that institute their own programs later.
“The early implementation will help smooth out some of the wrinkles, known and unknown, for other colleges as they consider what their own honors program might look like,” Johnson said.
According to the Honors Program’s website, incoming students must have a 3.7 GPA or at least a 28 ACT COMP score to be eligible to participate. UW requires students to maintain at least a 3.25 GPA, however, it will be different for CEAS students.
“Students admitted to the UW Honors Program can also choose to participate in the [Engineering] Honors Program,” Johnson said. “ The one variation is that in order to remain in the Engineering Honors Program students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 as opposed to the UW Honors Program requirement of 3.25.”
While there are requirements to join the Honors Program, there will be additional course work added to the schedule of honors students.
“The [Engineering] Honors Program curriculum committee worked very hard to ensure that participation in this program would not add extra credit hours to an engineering student’s already packed curriculum,” Johnson said. “ Rather it would allow them to have a more individualized and in depth experience within the current curriculum requirements.”
According to the CEAS Honors Program’s website, members can receive up to $1000 toward a study abroad or technical conference experience. To apply for the $1000, a student must satisfy the 3.5 GPA standard and submit an application explaining how the money would be used.
The student who receives the money is allowed to spend it on more than one event as long as it approved and costs do not exceed $1000. However, the money is not the only incentive for students who join the Honors Program.
“In addition to an enhanced education, students will also graduate with an Engineering Honors Distinction,” Johnson said.
