Departmental Honors

Most departments in the College of Liberal Arts offer honors programs to their majors. The admission application process is determined by the individual departments. Admission to the Liberal Arts Freshman Honors Program is not a prerequisite for Departmental Honors.

Minimum requirements for departmental honors are (1) a University grade point average of at least 3.00; (2) a three-semester-hour thesis or research project, or a reasonable eqivalent, with a grade of at least B; (3) completion, with a grade point average of at least 3.50, of the coursework required for a major in the field; and (4) completion at the University of at least sixty semester hours of coursework counted toward the degree. Each department may establish additional or more rigorous requirements.

The statement "Special Honors in (name of field)" appears on the transcript of each graduate certified as having completed the honors program.

For more information, contact your Departmental Honors Advisor.

Liberal Arts Honors

The College of Liberal Arts offers upper-division honors courses for students pursuing a Plan I Bachelor of Arts degree. Students qualify to take upper division Liberal Arts Honors (LAH) courses when they meet the minimum completed hours/GPA requirements. Admission is restricted to College of Liberal Arts Plan I students with 60 hours of completed course work and a UT GPA of at least 3.5. No additional application forms are required.

To graduate with "Liberal Arts Honors" students must must:

  • Take three upper-division LAH courses
  • Receive at least a 'B' in each course
  • Have an overall UT GPA of at least 3.5
  • Have 60 hours in residence at the University of Texas at Austin

Lower-division LAH courses are restricted to students in the Freshman Honors Program and do not count toward the upper division College of Liberal Arts Honors requirement.

Honors courses offered as part of a Departmental Honors Program do not count toward the upper-division College of Liberal Arts Honors requirement, unless a specific course is cross-listed with an LAH course.

Students who graduate with Honors in the College of Liberal Arts receive a special certificate signed by the Program Director and 'Liberal Arts Honors' will be noted on the student's transcript. A thesis *is not required* to graduate with Liberal Arts Honors. A thesis option is offered for certain students in special circumstances.

Students may graduate with both Liberal Arts Honors and Departmental Honors. Admission to the Liberal Arts Freshman Honors Program is not a prerequisite for College of Liberal Arts Honors.

Graduation with University Honors

To be eligible to graduate with University honors, an undergraduate must have completed at least sixty semester hours at the University of Texas at Austin. Graduation with University honors is based on the average of all grades earned in courses taken in residence at the University, whether the courses were passed, failed, or repeated. Courses taken pass/fail are counted in the sixty-hour minimum, but only letter grades (including Fs in pass/fail courses) are used to determine the grade point average.

The grade point averages established for May graduates are applied to the following August and December classes to determine honors, high honors, and highest honors.*

Honors Rank: top 20%
High Honors Rank: top 10%
Highest Honors Rank: top 4%

Source: The University of Texas at Austin General Information Bulletin 2006-2007

*Note: The University of Texas at Austin does not use Latin terms (for example, Magna Cum Laude) on the diplomas or transcripts to recognize honors.

Honors Type

GPA cutoff in 2002

GPA cutoff in 2003

GPA cutoff in 2004

GPA cutoff in 2005

GPA cutoff in 2006

GPA cutoff in 2007**

GPA cutoff in 2008

Honors

3.62

3.64

3.67

3.65

3.71

3.69

3.73

High Honors

3.8

3.82

3.85

3.82

3.87

3.85

3.86

Highest Honors

3.91

3.93

3.95

3.94

3.96

3.94

3.95

**Beginning in 2007, cutoff is based on in residence grade point average only