08 July 2021
Top Undergraduate Honors Programs (Class of 2026 Edition)
Honors programs are a terrific way for academically talented students to reap the benefits of a liberal arts education within the context of a large research institution.
To give you a better sense for how this can enrich your college experience, we’ve compiled a list of undergraduate honors programs from top public and private universities across the nation. We've included admission profiles where available, program benefits, whether an extra application is required and a link to each institution's offering for more details.
Click on Continue Reading to see our list of top undergraduate honors programs now.
Top Undergraduate Honors Programs
Many schools offer honors programs/colleges for their students to receive a specialized experience at their university. Honors colleges are a separate and unique college within a larger university whereas honors programs aren’t part of a particular college, rather they are programs you fulfill as you get your degree at another of the university’s colleges.
Either way, the honors experience typically encompasses smaller class sizes, senior instructors, priority registration, active mentorship and access to research opportunities.
To create the list, we looked for popular and/or highly ranked research institutions across the nation and identified those offering honors programs for incoming freshmen. Both public and private universities were considered. We then compiled admissions profiles and determined which institutions require a separate application for honors program admission.
To give you a sense for the breadth of each program, we've highlighted benefits along five dimensions:
- Scholarship support
- Honors housing
- Honors classes and/or priority class registration
- Advising and mentorship
- Career and research opportunities
We've also included a link to each honors program website for more details.
Enjoy!
Authors
 |
Helen Li is a recent graduate of The Harker School and plans to attend the University of Toronto this fall. |
 |
Claire Luo graduated from The Harker School this past May and plans to attend Stanford University this fall. |
Popular Undergraduate Honors Programs
College Kickstart LLC
| Institution | State | Profile | Extra App? | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American University AU Honors | DC | |||
| Arizona State University Barrett, The Honors College | AZ | |||
| Auburn University Honors College | AL | GPA: 3.85 ACT: 29 | ||
| Baylor University Honors Program | TX | SAT: most 1300+ ACT: most 27+ | ||
| Boise State University The Honors College at Boise State University | ID | GPA: 3.5 recommended SAT: 1240 recommended ACT: 26 recommended | ||
| Boston University Kilachand Honors College | MA | |||
| Brigham Young University University Honors Program | UT | |||
| Cal Poly Pomona Kellogg Honors College | CA | |||
| Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Cal Poly University Honors Program | CA | GPA: 3.75 | ||
| City University of New York Maucalay Honors College | NY | |||
| Clemson University Honors College | SC | |||
| College of Charleston Honors Program | SC | |||
| Colorado School of Mines Thorson First-Year Honors Program | CO | |||
| Colorado State University Honors Program | CO | GPA: 3.8 | By invitation | |
| Drexel University Pennoni Honors College | PA | |||
| Florida State University FSU University Honors Program | FL | GPA: 4.20-4.60 SAT: 1440-1520 ACT: 32-34 | ||
| Fordham University Rose Hill Honors Program | NY | GPA: 3.89 SAT: 1445-1500 ACT: 32-35 | By Invitation | |
| George Mason University Honors College | VA | |||
| George Washington University University Honors Program | DC | |||
| Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Tech Honors Program | GA | |||
| Indiana University - Bloomington Hutton Honors College | IN | GPA: 3.9/3.85 SAT: 1430/1500 ACT: 32/34 | Conditional | |
| Iowa State University University Honors Program | IA | GPA: average 3.5 ACT: 30 composite; 24 English | ||
| Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College | LA | GPA: 3.5 SAT: 1360; 670 EBRW ACT: 30 | ||
| Miami University University Honors Program | OH | |||
| Michigan State University Miami University's Honors College | MI | |||
| Mississippi State University Shackouls Honors College | MS | GPA: 3.75 (auto accept with minimum test score) SAT: 1400 (auto accept with minimum GPA) ACT: 30 (auto accept with minimum GPA) | Conditional | |
| New York University NYU Presidential Scholar | NY | Top 10% of Entering Class | By invitation | |
| North Carolina State University University Honors Program | NC | GPA: 3.8 SAT: 1350 ACT: 30 | ||
| Ohio State University Honors and Scholars Programs | OH | |||
| Ohio University Honors Tutorial College | OH | |||
| Oregon State University Honors College | OR | GPA: 3.75 cumulative unweighted SAT: 1300 ACT: 27 | ||
| Pennsylvania State University - University Park Schreyer Honors College | PA | |||
| Purdue Univefrsity Honors College | IN | |||
| Rice University Century Scholars Program | TX | |||
| Rutgers University - New Brunswick Rutgers SAS Honors Program | NJ | SAT: EBRW score 650 ACT: English 30 | Conditional | |
| San Diego State University Weber Honors College | CA | GPA: 3.7 | ||
| San Jose State University SJSU Humanities Honors Program | CA | GPA: 3.0 unweighted SAT: 575 on SAT EBRW ACT: 24 verbal | ||
| Santa Clara University Santa Clara University Honors Program | CA | SAT: typically upper 1400s ACT: typically 32+ | By invitation or application | |
| Southern Methodist University University Honors Program | TX | Top 10% of Entering Class | ||
| SUNY Albany Albany Honors College | NY | GPA: most 90/100 average in core subjects SAT: most 1310 ACT: most 28 9% of Entering Class Admitted | ||
| SUNY Binghamton Binghamton University Scholars Program | NY | By invitation | ||
| SUNY Buffalo University at Buffalo University Honors College | NY | typically top 10% of incoming freshmen | ||
| SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry The Honors Program | NY | GPA: 92/100 SAT: 1250 ACT: 28 Top 20% of class | ||
| SUNY Stony Brook Honors College | NY | GPA: 95-99/100 SAT: 1310-1450 ACT: 29-34 | ||
| Syracuse University Renee Crown University Honors Program | NY | |||
| Temple University Temple University Honors Program | PA | GPA: 3.94 unweighted SAT: 1448 ACT: 32 | ||
| Texas A&M University University Honors Program | TX | GPA: 3.5 SAT: 1360 ACT: 28 Top 10% of High School Class | ||
| Texas Christian University John V. Roach Honors College | TX | GPA: 3.8 unweighted SAT: 1450 ACT: 33 | ||
| Tulane University Newcomb-Tulane College Honors Program | LA | |||
| University of Alabama Honors College | AL | GPA: 3.5 SAT: 1310 resident, 1360 non-resident ACT: 28 resident, 30 non-resident | ||
| University of Alabama - Birmingham Honors College | AL | GPA: 3.5 SAT: 1310 ACT: 28 | ||
| University of Arizona Honors College | AZ | GPA: 3.89 unweighted SAT: 1423 ACT: 31.1 | ||
| University of California (all campuses) Regents Scholars | CA | |||
| University of California - Davis UC Riverside University Honors Program | CA | |||
| University of California - Irvine Campuswide Honors Program | CA | |||
| University of California - Los Angeles Traditional College Honors Program | CA | GPA: 4.1 SAT: 1450 ACT: 31 | ||
| University of California - Riverside University Honors Program | CA | GPA: 3.8 (UC calculated GPA) and Satisfaction of Entry Level Writing Requirement | By invitation | |
| University of California - San Diego Revelle Honors College | CA | GPA: 3.8 | ||
| University of California - Santa Barbara Honors Program | CA | By invitation | ||
| University of California - Santa Cruz College Scholars Program | CA | By invitation or application | ||
| University of Cincinnati University Honors Program | OH | GPA: 3.6 unweighted / 3.8 weighted ACT: 32 | ||
| University of Colorado - Boulder Arts & Sciences Honors Program | CO | Top 10% of the incoming class | ||
| University of Connecticut Honors Program | CT | |||
| University of Delaware Honors Program | DE | GPA: 4.14-4.25 SAT: 1370-1460 ACT: 30-33 | ||
| University of Denver University Honors Program | CO | |||
| University of Florida Freshmen Honors Program | FL | GPA: 4.6-4.7 SAT: 1490-1550 ACT: 34-35 | ||
| University of Georgia Honors Program | GA | GPA: 4.06 SAT: 1517 ACT: 34 | By invitation or application | |
| University of Hawaii - Manoa Honors Program | HI | GPA: 3.5 | ||
| University of Houston The Honors College | TX | SAT: 1300 | ||
| University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign Campus Honors Program | IL | optional | ||
| University of Iowa Honors Program | IA | |||
| University of Kansas University Honors Program | KS | |||
| University of Maine University of Maine Honors College | ME | |||
| University of Mary Washington Honors Program | VA | |||
| University of Maryland - College Park Honors College | MD | Averages, not required | ||
| University of Massachusetts - Amherst UMass Amherst Commonwealth Honors College | MA | |||
| University of Massachusetts - Lowell Honors College | MA | Eligibility criteria for incoming freshmen operate on a sliding scale based on GPA and SAT/ACT | By invitation to opt-in | |
| University of Michigan LSA Honors Program | MI | GPA: 3.9 SAT: 1435-1540 ACT: 32-34 | ||
| University of Minnesota - Twin Cities University of Minnesota University Honors Program (UHP) | MN | |||
| University of Montana Davidson Honors College | MT | GPA: 3.7 SAT: 1270 ACT: 27 | ||
| University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nebraska Honors | NE | Recommend applying by Early Notification Deadline | ||
| University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Honors Program | NH | |||
| University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Honors Carolina | NC | SAT: 1450 | ||
| University of Oregon Clark Honors College | OR | GPA: 3.9 SAT: 1360 Top 90th percentile of test takers on average | ||
| University of Pittsburgh Pitt Honors College | PA | GPA: 3.8 SAT: 1450-1500 ACT: 32-33 Admit about 600 students | ||
| University of Rhode Island Honors Program | RI | GPA: 3.6 SAT: 1300 ACT: 27 | ||
| University of South Carolina Honors College | SC | GPA: 4.68 SAT: 1440-1520 ACT: 31-34 | ||
| University of South Dakota Honors Program | SD | GPA: 3.7 SAT: 1220 ACT: 27 Top 15% of High School Class | ||
| University of South Florida Judy Genshaft Honors College | FL | GPA: 4 (recalculated USF GPA) SAT: 1400 ACT: 31 | Conditional | |
| University of Southern California Trojan Scholar Society | CA | |||
| University of Tennessee - Knoxville University of Tennessee Knoxville Chancellor's Honors | TN | GPA: 3.8 ACT: 28 Admit 400 every year | ||
| University of Texas - Austin Honors Programs | TX | |||
| University of Texas - Dallas Collegium V Honors Program | TX | Top 10% of entering class | ||
| University of Utah Honors College | UT | |||
| University of Vermont Honors College | VT | |||
| University of Virginia Echols Scholars Program | VA | Admit about 200 per class | ||
| University of Washington - Seattle Honors College | WA | |||
| University of Wisconsin - Madison L&S Honors Program | WI | Top 7.5% of College of Letters & Science | ||
| University of Wyoming University of Wyoming Honors College | WY | |||
| Virginia Tech Honors College | VA | |||
| Washington State University Honors College | WA | |||
| West Virginia University Honors College | WV | GPA: 3.7 SAT: 1230 ACT: 26 | By invitation | |
| Yeshiva University Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program | NY | GPA: 3.8 (94/100) SAT: 1460 ACT: 32 |
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