College Guidelines and Requirements
All Colleges Main Requirements
All honors members must complete the following for an honors degree distinction
- Completion of College Requirements. Each college has specific requirements and is tailored to your field of study
- Completion of a minimum of 4 full terms with UHP
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 and above
- Attend 4 UHP Group Events
- For colleges based on Edge Experiences, each activity requires the submission of both a practice form and a completion form to receive credit
- On the last semester before graduation student must submit the Senior Clearance Form by deadline. For additional information for honors graduation clearance, please navigate to the “Current Members” tab and choose “Graduation Process”
Requirements by College
To meet your college's requirements, please review the following information, which details the specific criteria necessary for completion based on your field of study.
For further details please refer to your college guidelines.
Woody L. Hunt College of Business Honors Program
Each college has specific requirements tailored to your field of study. To graduate with an Honors Degree, students must engage in a total of 4 Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices at their own pace by the designated deadline. For each experience, students need to submit both a notice and a completion form, resulting in a total of 4 notices and 4 completion forms to be completed and submitted. To receive full credit, all 8 forms must be approved
Remember, the same activity cannot be credited twice if it was performed at the same location with the same team. Additionally, one single activity cannot be split into two different Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices. The focus is on the variety of activities performed, not the time spent on a single activity. However, this rule applies to all activities and colleges, some activities do require a minimum of time to receive credit
Each college has specific preferences or requirements regarding each activity. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the non-approval of your submission
- 4 Edge Experiences/High-impact practices must be completed. No repetitions are allowed
- Once the student starts an Edge Experience, submitting a High Impact Practice Notice form is required
- Once the experience is completed, a High Impact Practice Completion form is required
- A two-step process needs to be followed. Failure to complete this two-step process will result in not receiving approval for the activity
Edge Experiences allowed by your college are listed below. Students must complete 2 different activities for each section. Activities can only be performed while in the Honors Program to receive credit
- Corporate academy: participate in a Hunt College Corporate Academy for one academic year
- Research: conduct academic research for at least one semester; must register for RSRC 4033 and obtain a grade of “S” (e.g., Skov Essay Competition on Business Ethics)
- Study abroad/study away: participate in a College-approved study abroad or study away program
- Co-curricular program: participate in a College-approved career-related certification program, attend a professional conference, or participate in a case competition for a minimum of 20 hours; hours from different programs can be combined to meet the 20-hour requirement (ex. PWC Case Competition, boot camps, Political Economy Reading Group)
- On-campus employment: must work in the same place, in the same job position, and in the same department for at least one academic year
B. Complete two (2) of the following:
- Off-campus internship: participate in an internship related to your major and/or career plans; the internship must be registered in Handshake unless it is a formal internship course within the academic field of study
- Student leadership: join a Hunt College student organization or student government association and hold an officer position for at least one academic year (must be a UTEP-registered organization). The time of completion should be in the same organization and position.
- Professional development: participate in a professional development program (ex. Coursera, Alison) in your academic field for at least 20 hours within the same activity; different activities cannot be combined to meet the minimum hourly requirement
- Community engagement involves participation in at least one college-approved community service activity for a minimum of 40 hours of community service; hours from different activities cannot be combined to meet the 40-hour requirement; each activity must be registered through the CUE platform. Should be performed in the same semester
- Mentorship program: participate in one of the College’s mentorship programs for at least 20 hours
College of Education Honors Program
Each college has specific requirements tailored to your field of study. To graduate with an Honors Degree, students must engage in a total of 4 Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices at their own pace by the designated deadline. For each experience, students need to submit both a notice and a completion form, resulting in a total of 4 notices and 4 completion forms to be completed and submitted. To receive full credit, all 8 forms must be approved
Remember, the same activity cannot be credited twice if it was performed at the same location with the same team. Additionally, one single activity cannot be split into two different Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices. The focus is on the variety of activities performed, not the time spent on a single activity. However, this rule applies to all activities and colleges, some activities do require a minimum of time to receive credit
Each college has specific preferences or requirements regarding each activity. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the non-approval of your submission
- 4 Edge Experiences/High-impact practices must be completed. No repetitions are allowed
- Once the student starts an Edge Experience, submitting a High Impact Practice Notice form is required
- Once the experience is completed, a High Impact Practice Completion form is required
- A two-step process needs to be followed. Failure to complete this two-step process will result in not receiving approval for the activity
Edge Experiences allowed by your college are listed below. Students must complete 2 different activities for each section. Activities can only be performed while in the Honors Program to receive credit
A. Complete two (2) of the following:
- COED approved Study Abroad/Study Away. Must be approved by the college honors representative before starting this activity
- Community Engagement activities approved by COED (i.e., Project Move, community engagement organized by student organizations) approved community engagement activity registered through the CUE platform. To receive honors credit, students must participate in a minimum of 40 hours of community service in the same place within the same semester. Students are required to register each service activity on this platform to receive credit.
- On-Campus Student Employment. Job must be on-campus, work in the same place, same job position and same department for at least 1 year
- Research and Scholarly Activity for at least one semester. To receive honors credit for research student must register for RSRC 4033 and obtain a grade of S
- Internship (residency) related to students major and/or career plans. To receive credit, student must register the activity in Handshake unless it is a formal internal course and must be completed within the academic or pre-professional field
- Student Leadership must serve as an officer for at least one academic year in COED student organization or SGA student government association. Must be a UTEP registered organization, complete time within the same organization and position
- Creative Activities (special projects/artifacts created as part of a course) and completion time should be for at least one semester. Activity must entail significant contribution and be relevant to major and/or career plans
- Professional Preparation (volunteering, subbing (substitute teacher), Science Fair judge, field-based experiences, etc. relevant to students’ major and/or career plans; 40 hours minimum). Different activities cannot be combined to meet the minimum required
- Professional Development participation approved by COED (workshops, webinars related students’ major and/or career plans such as building resume, P3 opportunities, interviewing skills, professionalism, etc.)
College of Engineering Honors Program
Each college has specific requirements tailored to your field of study. To graduate with an Honors Degree, students must engage in a total of 4 Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices at their own pace by the designated deadline. For each experience, students need to submit both a notice and a completion form, resulting in a total of 4 notices and 4 completion forms to be completed and submitted. To receive full credit, all 8 forms must be approved
Remember, the same activity cannot be credited twice if it was performed at the same location with the same team. Additionally, one single activity cannot be split into two different Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices. The focus is on the variety of activities performed, not the time spent on a single activity. However, this rule applies to all activities and colleges, some activities do require a minimum of time to receive credit
Each college has specific preferences or requirements regarding each activity. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the non-approval of your submission
- 4 Edge Experiences/High-impact practices must be completed.
- Once the student starts an Edge Experience, submitting a High Impact Practice Notice form is required
- Once the experience is completed, a High Impact Practice Completion form is required
- Edge Experiences completed before joining the UHP can count towards completing the credit requirement if the student submits a Notice and Completion Form as proof. Required GPA must be maintained during and at the time of completion
- A two-step process needs to be followed. Failure to complete this two-step process will result in not receiving approval for the activity
Edge Experiences allowed by your college and details to receive credit are listed below.
Capstone Experiences – Allowed once during college career and is approved as high-impact practice; the activity cannot be part of a degree plan and must be relevant to major or career field
Community Engagement – Allowed once during college career, and activity must be registered through the CUE platform. Students must participate in a minimum of 40 hours of community service in the same place and within the same semester. Students must submit all hours on this platform
Creative Activities – Allowed multiple times during college career and upon approval; it must have a significant contribution to a student competition. All creative activities must entail significant contributions and be relevant to your major and/or career plans
Internships – Allowed multiple times during college career. Activity must be related to a student’s major and/or career plans. Must register the activity in Handshake unless it is a formal internal course that must be completed within the academic or pre-professional field
Professional Preparation – Allowed multiple times during college career; must complete at least 40 hours of shadowing professionals in their field: pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam can be counted as Professional Preparation. Different activities cannot be combined to meet the minimum required
Research and Scholarly Activities – Allowed multiple times during college career; must register for RSRC 4033 and obtain a grade of S
Student Leadership – Allowed once during college career; must be involved in a UTEP registered organization and hold an officer position for at least 1 year. To receive credit for this activity, student must involve participation that includes leadership responsibilities, or organizing and executing a service project or similar. Must stay within the time required performing the same activities and position
Study Abroad/Away – Allowed twice during college career; can be any UTEP study abroad program
Student employment – Allowed once during college career; must be an employee for a consecutive year as a Research Assistant or as a Teaching Assistant
College of Health Sciences Honors Program
Each college has specific requirements tailored to your field of study. To graduate with an Honors Degree, students must engage in a total of 4 Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices at their own pace by the designated deadline. For each experience, students need to submit both a notice and a completion form, resulting in a total of 4 notices and 4 completion forms to be completed and submitted. To receive full credit, all 8 forms must be approved
Remember, the same activity cannot be credited twice if it was performed at the same location with the same team. Additionally, one single activity cannot be split into two different Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices. The focus is on the variety of activities performed, not the time spent on a single activity. However, this rule applies to all activities and colleges, some activities do require a minimum of time to receive credit
Each college has specific preferences or requirements regarding each activity. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the non-approval of your submission
- 4 Edge Experiences/High-impact practices must be completed.
- Once the student starts an Edge Experience, submitting a High Impact Practice Notice form is required
- Once the experience is completed, a High Impact Practice Completion form is required
- A two-step process needs to be followed. Failure to complete this two-step process will result in not receiving approval for the activity
Edge Experiences allowed by your college are listed below. Students must complete 2 different activities for each section. Activities can only be performed while in the Honors Program to receive credit
Research and Scholarly Activity must complete two semesters of RSRC 4033 in College of Health Science (no substitutions, repetition is encouraged). To receive honors credit for research student must register for RSRC 4033 and obtain a grade of S. Allowed multiple times during college.
Creative Activities (first author presentation in scientific conference or exhibition presentation, co-authoring publications etc.). Allowed multiple times during college
Capstone Experiences relevant to major. Allowed once during college and must be relevant to major or career field
Community Engagement activities approved involves participation in at least one community engagement activity registered through the CUE platform. To receive honors credit, students must participate in a minimum of 40 hours of community service in the same place within the same semester. Students are required to register each service activity on this platform to receive credit. After submitting the hours, students must also complete the high-impact completion form. Allowed once during college
Internship Allowed multiple times during college. Activity must be related to a student’s major and/or career plans. To receive credit, student must register the activity in Handshake unless it is a formal internal course and must be completed within the academic or pre-professional field
On-Campus Student Employment is allowed twice during college and job must be on-campus, work in the same place, same job position and same department for at least 1 year
Professional Preparation is allowed multiple times during college and to receive honors credit student must complete at least 40 hours of shadowing professionals in their field (volunteering, shadowing etc. relevant to students’ major and/or career plans). Different activities cannot be combined to meet the minimum required
Student Leadership is allowed once during college and student must be involved in a UTEP CHS registered organization or SGA student government association. The student must hold an officer position, be there for at least 1 year performing the same activity and the same position.
Study Abroad/Study Away must be CHS approved and is allowed twice maximum during college
College of Liberal Arts Honors Program
Each college has specific requirements tailored to your field of study. To graduate with an Honors Degree, students must engage in the competition of a LAHP Minor. For each completed section, students need to submit both a notice and a completion form, resulting in a total of 4 notices and 4 completion forms to be completed and submitted. To receive full credit, all 8 forms must be approved
- Minor must be completed
- Notice forms are submitted in the following order
- Every time a step is completed (1 to 4) the student submits a completion form for each
Complete requirements. Be sure to visit the LAHP Admission Requirements, as well as What to do When You're Admitted, and Graduating with LAHP Honors for more information on how the LAHP Minor works. You can apply to the LAHP when you have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours, with at least 12 of those hours at UTEP
To complete the LAHP minor a student must fulfill the following requirements:
1.Two LAHP theory/methodology courses (6 Credit Hours)
2.Three additional courses, or two for Psychology students, that can be chosen from a list of over 100 Honors-Designated Courses, Internships taken for course credit, Study Abroad courses (up to six hours), or courses taken with UTEP professors outside of El Paso. We also partner with the Law School Preparation Institute (LSPI) and accept up to six hours of their courses.
3.One Zero credit cross-disciplinary Honors Seminar taken in the student's last semester (0 Credit Hours)
4.One Honors Project/Thesis to be completed in an independent study course within the student's home department (3 Credit Hours)
College of Science Honors Program
Each college has specific requirements tailored to your field of study. To graduate with an Honors Degree, students must engage in a total of 4 Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices at their own pace by the designated deadline. For each experience, students need to submit both a notice and a completion form, resulting in a total of 4 notices and 4 completion forms to be completed and submitted. To receive full credit, all 8 forms must be approved
Remember, the same activity cannot be credited twice if it was performed at the same location with the same team. Additionally, one single activity cannot be split into two different Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices. The focus is on the variety of activities performed, not the time spent on a single activity. However, this rule applies to all activities and colleges, some do require a minimum of time to receive credit
Each college has specific preferences or requirements regarding each activity. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the non-approval of your submission
- 4 Edge Experiences/High-impact practices must be completed. No repetitions are allowed
- Once the student starts an Edge Experience, submitting a High Impact Practice Notice form is required
- Once the experience is completed, a High Impact Practice Completion form is required
- Any Edge Experience must occur during membership in the Honors Program to count to the Honors degree. With exception for Study Abroad completed prior to entering the program is allowed if completed as a UTEP student with the minimum GPA requirement
- Double-dipping of 1 activity to count as 2 is not allowed. Where appropriate, an experience may lead to an additional High Impact experience (ex: research engagement leading to the presentation of research at a gathering of scientists can count as 2 activities, Research & Capstone)
- A two-step process needs to be followed. Failure to complete this two-step process will result in not receiving approval for the activity
Edge Experiences allowed by your college are listed below.
Scholarly Activity – Documented involvement in a research lab as a volunteer or paid assistant or engagement in a scholarly activity outside the scope of degree requirements with mentoring by a faculty member (NOTE: FYRIS labs, Special Problems, and Independent Research courses do NOT count as honors research
Honors Research – Student must register to RSRC 4033 and obtain a grade of S to receive credit
Capstone Experience – Exploring or researching a science or math topic of interest under the guidance of faculty where the final product is a research paper presentation or research poster presentation; if required to complete the student’s degree, the capstone will NOT count as Honors credit
Community Engagement – At least 40 hours devoted to community service at a single community location or non-profit organization, or in a single community initiative or mission; collections of brief service episodes at multiple locations will NOT qualify as Honors engagement. To receive credit, students must participate through the community service involvement website THE CUE. It is mandatory to register for the service provided in THE CUE platform to receive credit and submit completion form afterwards.
Internships – Completing an internship in your academic or pre-professional field. Students must register their activity in Handshake if it has not been registered yet
Study Abroad/Study Away – Participating in a study abroad experience or faculty-led international study activity while a UTEP student with at least a 3.5 GPA
Student Leadership – Holding a leadership position in a student organization, involvement in student government, student employment positions that include leadership responsibilities, or organizing and executing a service project or similar initiative. Student must be involved in a UTEP registered organization for at least one (1) year to receive credit, in the same organization and same position
Shadowing a Medical Professional or other Science-Based Professional – At least 40 hours shadowing a medical professional or other science-based professional related to the student’s professional path. Different activities cannot be combined to meet the minimum required
Student Employment – Employment at UTEP as tutors, peer leaders, office staff, event planning, graphic design, technology staff, library personnel, teaching assistants, or research assistants. Student must be on-campus, work in the same place and position for at least one (1) year to receive credit.
College of Nursing Honors Program
Each college has specific requirements tailored to your field of study. To graduate with an Honors Degree, students must engage in a total of 4 Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices at their own pace by the designated deadline. For each experience, students need to submit both a notice and a completion form, resulting in a total of 4 notices and 4 completion forms to be completed and submitted. To receive full credit, all 8 forms must be approved
Remember, the same activity cannot be credited twice if it was performed at the same location with the same team. Additionally, one single activity cannot be split into two different Edge Experiences/High-Impact Practices. The focus is on the variety of activities performed, not the time spent on a single activity. However, this rule applies to all activities and colleges, some do require a minimum of time to receive credit
Each college has specific preferences or requirements regarding each activity. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the non-approval of your submission
- 4 Edge Experiences/High-impact practices must be completed.
- Once the student starts an Edge Experience, submitting a High Impact Practice Notice form is required
- Once the experience is completed, a High Impact Practice Completion form is required
- Edge Experiences completed before joining the UHP can count towards completing the credit requirement if the student submits a Notice and Completion Form as proof. Required GPA must be maintained during and at the time of completion
- A two-step process needs to be followed. Failure to complete this two-step process will result in not receiving approval for the activity
Edge Experiences allowed by your college are listed below. Activities can only be performed while in the Honors Program to receive credit.
Student Leadership – Allowed multiple times during college. To receive credit for this activity a student can complete any of the following: In Phase 1 students must be involved in the Student Government Association and maintain membership throughout the program or in Phase 1 or 2 students must be a student officer within a registered student organization for at least one year or starting in Phase 3, the student must be a member of the TNSA and must maintain membership throughout the program; an officer position is preferred
Professional Preparation - Allowed once during college. To receive credit for this activity students are required to complete 5 activities from the career center. These activities should be meaningful in the professional preparation development and must be completed within a year
Community Engagement - Allowed once during college. This activity can only be completed in Phase 3 and the student must complete 40 volunteer hours as a member of the Texas Nursing Student’s Association (TNSA). Only one notice form is required to be submitted for all activities completed. Community service hours completed outside of TNSA or on The Cue platform will not be counted. Nursing honors students can only complete volunteer hours through TNSA, and membership is required
Capstone Experience – Allowed once during college and can only be completed in Phase 3
Internship – Allowed once during college and can only be completed in Phase 3. To receive credit for an internship (intern or extern) within a clinical practicum, the activity must be completed within the academic or pre-professional field
Student Employment – Allowed twice maximum during college. The student should not be employed at the College of Nursing, as this would be considered a conflict of interest. To receive credit for student employment, it must be on-campus and work in the same place for at least 1 year
Creative/Scholarly Activities – Allowed multiple times during college. To receive credit for scholarly or educational activities the student must complete 20 hours. This could be from various learning opportunities such as attending a conference, workshop, or event related to the nursing profession. This activity requires pre-approval and a notice form to be completed and submitted within at least 48 hours before the event.
Study Abroad/Away - Allowed twice maximum during college; can be any UTEP study abroad program