Graduation with Latin honors

Once your department has approved your project, you will register it with our office. Please download and complete the registration form for the semester in which you intend to defend your thesis, and be sure to turn it in by the indicated deadline.  For detailed information on the thesis process, how to get started, and how to schedule your timelines, download the Honors Thesis - Getting Started handout.

Registration requires our one-page form as well as a prospectus, planned timeline of your work, and a preliminary bibliography containing some initial sources. The formats of these are set by your department.

Our registration form is not an application – your Honors Council representative's signature is the approval for your project. We will not contact you regarding your registration form.

If you need to make changes to your committee after you've submitted your registration form, please email honors@colorado.edu and let us know.

   Registration Form and Deadlines Schedule

Please turn in your completed registration packet in person ** to the Honors Program office in Norlin M400M by 4pm on the day the registration period closes at the latest.  Early submissions are welcome. 

**Due to current campus restrictions, the process for submitting registration packets has been modified.  In addition to understanding the steps defined here, you must also visit our updates page for modified instructions in filling out and submitting your registration packet.  If you have additional questions, please email honors@colorado.edu. 

Spring 2021 Thesis Registration Form and Spring 2021 Deadlines:  The registration period to defend in Spring 2021 is closed.

Fall 2021 Thesis Deadlines:  The registration period to defend in Fall 2021 closes on April 27th, 2021.  We are in the process of updating our registration process; please refer to the Spring 2021 Thesis Registration Form above for information you will need to gather.  Stay tuned for information on how you will submit a Fall 2021 registration packet.

Because there can be differences in department guidelines for scheduling and presenting a defense, your Honors Council representative is the best source of information. That said, we have some notes:

• You don't need to tell us when you're defending - that's between you and your committee.  Just make sure you've scheduled it on, or preferably before, the last day to defend.
• It is up to you to schedule a date, time and location for your defense.  For assistance in reserving a room, please reach out to your Honors Council Representative.
• Bring a current copy of your unofficial transcript to your defense.
• Don't wait too long to schedule your defense, and try not to schedule your defense on the very last day to defend.
• You must submit a printed defense copy to the Honors Program office after defending.  Please see "The Defense Copy" tab for details.
• If you decide not to defend your thesis, or want to defer your defense to another semester, please let us know. There are no penalties, and you'll get fewer emails from us.

Your defense committee is forbidden from sharing their decision with you at your defense. You will learn about any honors you earn via email after the Honors Council meets to officially confer honors designations. For exact dates, consult the deadlines sheet for the semester you defend.

Still have questions?  Please don't hesitate to ask - we are happy to help!  You can stop by Norlin M400M, email honors@colorado.edu, or call 303-492-6617.

The defense copy is a printed version of the thesis you defended in front of your committee. This is the version that we will use for consideration of Latin honors.

Please drop off a printed and stapled/clipped (unbound) copy to our office by the deadline. Double-sided printing is preferred.  If you are defending after 4pm on the last day, please drop off your defense copy prior to defending. If you defend prior to the last day, please turn in your defense copy at that time - even if it's months prior to the deadline.

Because the Honors Program coordinates Latin honors for so many departments and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, we do not set thesis format requirements outside of the title page; we know that theses from Theatre, Biochemistry, History, Physics or Anthropology will probably all look very different. Students should use the style manual or guide appropriate to their discipline. If you don't know the style guide your discipline uses, ask your Honors Council representative. You can also look at the Undergraduate Honors Theses repository on CU Scholar for examples.

During your defense, your committee might suggest changes to your thesis. You have until the "Final Copy" due date to make any changes you wish (do not make changes to the printed defense copy that you turn in to Norlin M400M - see "The Defense Copy" tab for details). Any changes you make to your final copy will not be considered when determining your Latin honors designation.

Once you've completed any changes, upload the final copy of your thesis to the Undergraduate Honors Theses Repository on CU Scholar by our final copy deadline.  CU Scholar has recently undergone a software upgrade.  Under the new system, If you need to make changes to your uploaded thesis, you either need to ask the CU Scholar administrator to make the changes, or resubmit your thesis.  In either case, please email honors@colorado.edu to facilitate it. Because of these changes, we suggest waiting to upload your thesis until you feel confident you've completed all changes.  Theses will be approved for posting to CU Scholar within four weeks after the deadline.

The Honors Council, a body of faculty within the College of Arts and Sciences, convenes for a two-day period in both April and November to confer honors designations. On the first day, theses and honors recommendations are discussed by a subcommittee of the Honors Council for the student's division (Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and General Honors). The second day involves further discussion, this time by the entire Honors Council, who then officially awards honors. Honors designations are later distributed to students via their CU Boulder email address. Any honors designations earned appear on a student's transcript and diploma. Please note that graduating with Latin honors is different than graduating with Distinction.  For more information, please see the "Academic Excellence" tab under the university's Undergraduate Policies and Requirements page.

Students who successfully complete the thesis process and earn Latin honors are recognized at our Honors Convocation ceremony. 

We hold two convocation ceremonies per year; one in the spring and one in the fall.  If you graduate in the summer or fall and plan to walk in the campus-wide Spring Commencement Ceremony, you are welcome to attend the Spring Honors Convocation ceremony that spring as well. 

Please be aware that some students experience scheduling conflicts between their major department events and our convocation ceremony, so keep that in mind when you're deciding which Honors ceremony you wish to attend.  You will be sent an invitation to RSVP about a week after you receive an email notifying you of your honors designation; please let us know at that time what your plans are.

If you choose not to attend any of the Honors convocation ceremonies, you are welcome to pick up your medal and certificate once that semester's convocation ceremony is complete.  Please contact the Honors Program office at 303-492-6617 or honors@colorado.edu for details.