Graduation with Latin honors
Writing and defending an Honors Thesis to be considered for Latin honors
The Arts and Sciences Honors Program, in coordination with departments within the College of Arts and Sciences, gives qualified undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences the opportunity to write and defend an honors thesis in an attempt to graduate with Latin honors: cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude. Most students undertake a thesis project within their major (Departmental Honors), but there is also an interdisciplinary option (General Honors).
Students typically begin working on an honors thesis project in the junior year and defend their thesis in the senior year. Our thesis process is one of the most rigorous in the nation, which means that students who graduate with honors (between seven to eight percent of each graduating class) have successfully gone above and beyond their peers not only at CU Boulder but nationwide. Students who earn Latin honors are recognized at the Honors Convocation.
For more information on our Convocation ceremonies, please click here
Please plan ahead – you will need to register your thesis project with our office the semester prior to the one in which you plan to defend. For more details on registering and defending your thesis, please click through the information below.
For answers to commonly asked questions, read our Latin honors FAQ
Departmental Honors
Interested in writing a thesis in your College of Arts and Sciences major? You'll start the process by contacting your department.
Learn your department's requirements
General Honors
Is your thesis idea interdisciplinary? Consider writing a General Honors thesis.
Learn about the General Honors requirements and application process
If you plan to do research involving human subjects, you will need to secure IRB approval. Click here to see if you will need IRB approval. If you do, be sure to visit their "Review timelines and meeting dates" for deadline information.
If you plan to apply for research (UROP) funding, please click here for details. UROP applications will reopen in Fall 2022 with a deadline on February 17, 2023—for proposals planned in Summer 2023 and/or Academic Year 2023-24.
Thesis Resources
- Registration forms and deadlines
- Honors Thesis - Getting Started handout
- Honors Council Representatives
- Thesis Defense Form for Faculty (standard version)
- Thesis Defense Form for Faculty (electronic fillable version)
- Thesis Information for Faculty
- Undergraduate Honors Theses Repository on CU Scholar
- How to view previous Honors Theses
- The Writing Center
- ALA Fair Use Evaluator
- Fair Use Checklist (Columbia University)
- Publisher copyright policies: SHERPA/RoMEO
- CU Experts (research and expertise discovery search tool)
- Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
- Honors Thesis Symposium
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Honors Convocation