28 June 2022

Top Undergraduate Honors Programs (Class of 2027 Edition)

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2027

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

	Catherine He is a recent graduate of The Harker School and plans to attend the University of Southern California this fall.
	Sinaya Joshi graduated from The Harker School this past May and plans to attend UCLA this fall.
	Caden Lin graduated from The Harker School this past May and plans to attend Columbia University this fall.

Popular Undergraduate Honors Programs

College Kickstart LLC

Institution	State	Profile	Extra App?
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	GPA: 3.8 SAT: most 1300+ ACT: most 27+
Boise State University The Honors College at Boise State University	ID	GPA: 3.5 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 Macaulay Honors College	NY
Clemson University Honors College	SC	GPA: 3.7
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
Iowa State University University Honors Program	IA	GPA: 3.5 SAT: SAT equivalent to 30 composite ACT, 24 in English 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 Michigan State 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)
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	GPA: typically 3.9+ 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	GPA: mid 90/100 and above SAT: mid 1400s and above	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 Stony Brook University 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: 3.9 unweighted SAT: 1415 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: 1300 ACT: 28	By invitation or application
University of Arizona Honors College	AZ	GPA: 3.92 unweighted
University of California (all campuses) Regents Scholars	CA		By invitation
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
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	By invitation
University of California - Santa Barbara Honors Program	CA
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
University of Denver University Honors Program	CO
University of Florida Freshmen Honors Program	FL	GPA: 4.5-4.7 SAT: 1490-1550 ACT: 33-35
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: N/A SAT: N/A ACT: N/A
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	GPA: 4.25 (weighted, average not required)
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; profile is average not required
University of Rhode Island Honors Program	RI	GPA: 3.6 SAT: 1300 ACT: 27
University of South Carolina Honors College	SC	GPA: 4.5 - 5.0 (weighted) SAT: 1430-1520 ACT: 32-34
University of South Dakota Honors Program	SD	GPA: 3.7 SAT: 1220 ACT: 27
University of South Florida Judy Genshaft Honors College	FL	GPA: 4 (recalculated USF GPA) SAT: 1400 ACT: 31
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		yes
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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