Folsom Field fireworks viewed from the Norlin Quad. Norlin Library is the home of the Honors Program.
What is the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program?
The Honors Program is an enrichment program for undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences who would like to add something extra to their experience at CU Boulder. Everything our program offers is optional, which means that each student can make the Arts and Sciences Honors Program work for their individual needs.
If you have been admitted into one of the other colleges at CU Boulder, such as Engineering, Business, or CMCI, please reference the information in the "Other Honors options at CU Boulder" section on this page.
Honors-qualified Arts and Sciences students can choose to:
- Take Honors Program courses. Our courses are limited to 17 students and provide a different kind of learning environment than other classes on campus.
- Apply to live in the Honors dorm, known as the Honors Residential Academic Program.
- Attend Honors Community events, including movie nights, guest lectures, and workshops, and participate in programs and clubs such as the Honors Scholars.
- Write an honors thesis in order to graduate with Latin honors.
How to be a part of the Honors Program
Incoming first-year students:
Admission for first-year and transfer students is done automatically through their application to CU Boulder's College of Arts and Sciences. Generally, students in the top 10 percent of the incoming class receive an invitation. This is based on numerous factors, including high school GPA, application essays, etc. Applicants to the College of Arts and Sciences are reviewed as the admissions process progresses and honors-eligible students will receive an invitation to the Honors Program with their notification of admission to CU. Early admission applicants typically receive Honors invites in late January, and regular admission applicants typically receive Honors invites in mid-March, in line with the CU Boulder Admissions notifications.
If you do not receive an invitation with your notification of admission to CU and would like to be considered for the program, you are welcome to request a manual review by emailing honors@colorado.edu. You will need to provide a couple sentences detailing why you are interested in Honors and how you feel it would benefit your academic career here at CU. It is also an opportunity to share any information you would like the reviewing committee to consider that you did not include in your CU application. We accept manual review requests even after you've started your first semester; there is no deadline by which you must reach out.
If you prefer to talk to someone in person or via Zoom about the program, you are always welcome to schedule a meeting by calling us at 303-492-6617 or emailing honors@colorado.edu.
Continuing students:
Continuing students in the College of Arts and Sciences (those who have been at CU past their first year) who maintain a GPA of 3.3 or higher are automatically eligible to participate in the Honors Program. There is no Honors Program application; in all cases, eligibility is determined automatically. If you have a major in A&S and a GPA of 3.3 or higher, your student record will automatically allow you to participate in honors and sign up for a class.
Where to find your invitation to the Honors Program
Once you've received an email of acceptance to CU Boulder from Admissions, you'll be invited to log into to your student portal. Incoming freshmen and transfer students who are eligible to participate in the Honors Program will receive an invitation after being accepted to CU, and invitations are issued in conjunction with CU's acceptance letters. To view your acceptance packet and see if you've received an invitation, please log into your portal and view your new messages. If you've received an invitation, there is no need for further steps or applications - congratulations are in order! We're thrilled to have you in the program. Please remember that everything we offer is optional; we'd love for you to participate fully, but you can choose what works for you. There is no extra cost to take our classes or participate in events; the only possible extra expense would be any RAP fee you might need to pay if you're assigned to the Honors dorm.
I got in! What now?
You will automatically receive emails at your @colorado.edu email address notifying you of courses, events, and opportunities. Please keep an eye out for those emails. To make sure you don't miss anything, we recommend adding honors@colorado.edu to your email address book; this will keep our messages from possibly going to your spam folder. If you'd like to know more about what we offer, please read through the Courses, Community, Latin Honors, and other tabs on our website for details. You can choose to participate in any or all of our offerings; all opportunities are optional and not required (including our classes). We encourage you to customize participation in our offerings to suit your interests and academic goals.
Click here to visit our extensive FAQ page
If you have questions regarding the honors dorm, known as the Honors Residential Academic Program (HRAP), please visit their website at colorado.edu/hrap, call 303-492-3695, or email HRAP@colorado.edu. Please be aware that if you are interested in living in the Honors RAP, you will need to be invited to participate in Honors and select "Smith Hall" as your top choice when submitting your housing application.