History of the Honors Program

The University of Colorado recognized students with exceptionally high grades as early as the 1920's with a cum laude or magna cum laude designation, and by 1926, the College of Arts and Sciences appointed a committee to consider ways to encourage student achievement beyond simply getting good grades. This resulted in the creation of the Honors Program at the University of Colorado in 1931. By 1932 the Program was offering juniors and seniors up to 12 hours of credit for honors coursework. Students were qualified to participate as long as they were in the upper 30% of their class. Students were required to pass an Honors qualifying exam at the beginning of their senior year. Those who were successful on their qualifying exam were then allowed to take a comprehensive exam in their major or in general studies. Students passing these exams were then awarded an Honors designation (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude) upon recommendation of a body of faculty known as the Honors Council.

The Honors Program received its first official funding in 1933 – a whopping $178 for library expenses. The Program expanded to include sophomores (comprised of students in the top 20% of their freshman class, based on GPA) and students could receive up to 18 hours of credit for Honors work. Four years later credit offerings were increased to 27 across newly recognized natural science, social science, and humanities courses. These categories are still recognized in the Honors curriculum.

The Honors Program received its first official Director in 1940. Students with a 2.0 GPA (on a 3.0 system) and endorsement from the Chair and one faculty member from their field could take oral and written exams, evaluated by a committee comprised of two departmental faculty and one Honors Council faculty. If the student passed these exams she/he received Honors in their department and was invited to take the general honors exam as well. If the general honors exam was also completed successfully, the student graduated with "combined honors." By 1942, 137 students graduated with Honors under this system.

By 1945, the Honors thesis was beginning to emerge as a central feature of both the Departmental and General Honors designations. In that year any senior with a 1.5 GPA (on a 3-point scale) or better could earn 3 hours of credit for completing an "investigation paper" and a student with a 1.5 in her major could receive credit for an "independent study subject paper." Although these papers did not necessarily relate to the Honors designation, the CU catalog for the first time stated that Honors were granted "upon the basis of special honors work and not simply upon the basis of grades obtained in class."

General Honors fans were pleased in 1948 when it was finally possible to receive General Honors alone (without, that is, having also completed departmental honors requirements). Students could now graduate with General Honors as long as they passed exams and also participated in discussion groups, independent study, summer reading programs and colloquia for juniors and seniors. The CU Honors Program received national recognition when the Rockefeller Foundation granted the CU program $28,000 to conduct a 3-year study and host a national conference on "The Superior Student in the State University." The conference attracted 48 educators from 30 colleges and was such a success that in 1958 the Carnegie Corporation funded a national agency, the "Inter-University Committee on the Superior Student." The agency was based in Boulder and was known nationally as the "St. Paul of the Honors movement."

In 1959 the CU administration and faculty recognized the General and Departmental Honors Options as "distinct but coordinated programs," and by 1960, Honors involved over 500 students each year and 33 faculty were committed participants. From 1962 through 1967 the program was called the "University Honors Study Program," identifying itself mostly by its informal discussions, special readings program, independent study, and enjoying its nationwide esteem as a "model" program. Beginning in 1968, Honors courses were listed in the course catalog in the same section as other departments and programs. The program offered 35 Honors courses each semester, with a maximum enrollment of twelve students per class.

By 1981, all honors students (those graduating with General or Departmental Honors) were required to write a senior honors thesis. The GPA requirements for participation were raised to 3.3 (on a 4 point system) and the enrollment cap per course was raised to 15. By 1989, the Honors program was offering over 50 honors courses per year, many of which satisfied degree requirements, and in l990 the Kittredge Honors Residential Program became a popular option for incoming freshmen.

Today the Honors Program is open to all undergraduate students on campus earning at least a 3.3 GPA. The Program also invites several hundred entering freshmen in the College of Arts and Sciences to participate during their first year based on their high school performance. The program offers over 40 courses per semester, 80 percent of which fill core requirements. The program also offers a wide array of exciting elective courses. All Honors faculty must demonstrate excellence in the classroom and many of the regular faculty have received multiple teaching awards. The Program office coordinates and administers all Honors degree designations. Business has never been better. If history teaches us anything, student numbers will continue to grow.