The Honors in the Major Program

The College of Engineering and Computer Science Honors in the Major program is designed for two types of students:

  1. Highly qualified students who did not participate in the University Honors Program and would like to have the experience of an Honors curriculum, and
  2. University Honors program students who desire to continue the Honors curriculum beyond what the University Honors Program offers.

The centerpiece of the Honors in the Major program is the opportunity to undertake independent research as an undergraduate under the guidance of a faculty member in his/her major. The Honors in the Major represents a total of six credit hours of work. These credit hours are acceptable as technical electives by all programs except for Electrical and Computer Engineering. Electrical and Computer Engineering students in the HIM program use the HIM credits in lieu of Senior Design I and II. These six credit hours consist of an Honors in the Major Seminar titled Research Methods in Engineering (EGN 4931H) (three credit hours), plus three credit hours of Undergraduate Honors Thesis (EGN 4970H).

The latter will result in an undergraduate thesis which will describe the research done by the student. The student will defend his/her thesis before a committee of faculty in the field as part of an oral examination covering the honors work. A sponsoring faculty member is required to supervise the undergraduate thesis.

In order to be admitted to the Honors in the Major program, the student must:

  1. Have at least 60 credit hours, including at least 12 graded, upper division credit hours at UCF.
  2. A minimum UCF GPA of at least 3.20 in all upper division courses.
  3. A minimum GPA of 3.50 or more in the Engineering option courses.
  4. A recommendation by a sponsoring faculty member. Exceptions to the eligibility criteria may be made by the College Honors Committee in individual cases, upon recommendation by a sponsoring faculty member.

To successfully complete the HIM program and receive said designation, the student must successfully defend the thesis and graduate with a minimum 3.5 GPA in the option courses, and minimum 3.2 GPA at UCF. No exceptions to this policy will be made for graduation. Successful candidates will be awarded an Honors in Engineering/Engineering Technology/Computer Science mention on the diploma and transcript, representing satisfactory completion of the program. Moreover, each department will award a limited number of graduate scholarships (with tuition waivers) to those who apply for graduate school and have successfully completed this program.

Application for admission to the Honors in the Major Program must be made to the College of Engineering and Computer Science Honors Director, Niels Lobo (Computer Science), Harris Corp. Engineering Center, Room 252, or Mohamed Abdel-Aty, (Engineering) Engineering Building 2, room 301H. For more information about The Burnett Honors College programs, please visit their homepage at http://www.honors.ucf.edu.