11 July 2024
Top Undergraduate Honors Programs (Class of 2029 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!
Author
 |
Claire Luo is a graduate from The Harker School and will be attending Brown 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 SAT: 1340 ACT: 29 |
By invitation | |
| Baylor University Honors Program |
TX | GPA: 3.8 SAT: 1430 (avg) ACT: 32 (avg) |
||
| 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 | By invitation | |
| City University of New York Macaulay Honors College |
NY | |||
| Clemson University Honors College |
SC | 350-400, Top <10% of Entering Class | ||
| 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; Application by request for under 3.8 GPA | |
| Drexel University Pennoni Honors College |
PA | ~10% of Entering Class | ||
| Florida State University FSU University Honors Program |
FL | |||
| Fordham University Rose Hill Honors Program |
NY | GPA: 3.89 (average) SAT: 1445–1500 (middle 50%) ACT: 32-25 (middle 50%) ~40 per class |
||
| 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 | |||
| Iowa State University University Honors Program |
IA | GPA: 3.5 SAT: SAT equivalent of ACT ACT: 30 composite; 24 English |
||
| Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College |
LA | GPA: 3.5 SAT: 1360 with 670 Evidence-based Reading and Writing ACT: 30 |
||
| Miami University University Honors Program |
OH | |||
| Michigan State University Michigan State University's Honors College |
MI | SAT: 1450 (average) ACT: 32 (average) |
By invitation | |
| 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 | |||
| Ohio State University Honors and Scholars Programs |
OH | |||
| Ohio University Honors Tutorial College |
OH | <100 per class | ||
| Oregon State University Honors College |
OR | GPA: 3.75 cumulative UW 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 | GPA: 4.17 (avg) SAT: EBRW score 650; 1490 (avg) ACT: English 30; 33 (avg) |
By invitation and application | |
| San Diego State University Weber Honors College |
CA | GPA: 3.7 W | ||
| San Jose State University SJSU Humanities Honors Program |
CA | |||
| Santa Clara University Santa Clara University Honors Program |
CA | GPA: 3.9 and higher | By invitation | |
| Southern Methodist University University Honors Program |
TX | |||
| SUNY Albany Albany Honors College |
NY | ~290 per incoming class | ||
| SUNY Binghamton Binghamton University Scholars Program |
NY | GPA: 90 and higher (avg) SAT: Mid-1400s and higher (avg) ~110-130 per class |
||
| SUNY Buffalo University at Buffalo University Honors College |
NY | ~350 per class | ||
| SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry The Honors Program |
NY | GPA: 95 Top 10% of class |
By invitation | |
| SUNY Stony Brook Stony Brook University Honors College |
NY | GPA: 97-100 SAT: 1500-1560 ACT: 34-35 |
||
| Syracuse University Renee Crown University Honors Program |
NY | |||
| Temple University Temple University Honors Program |
PA | GPA: 3.95 (avg) SAT: 1420 (avg) ACT: 32 (avg) |
||
| Texas A&M University University Honors Program |
TX | Top 10% of High School Class | ||
| Texas Christian University John V. Roach Honors College |
TX | GPA: 3.8 UW (avg) SAT: 1450 (avg) ACT: 33 (avg) ~275 per class |
||
| Tulane University Newcomb-Tulane College Honors Program |
LA | |||
| University of Alabama Honors College |
AL | GPA: 3.5 SAT: 1310 & Top 5% resident; 1360 resident/non-resident ACT: 28 & Top 5% resident; 30 resident/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 | |||
| University of California (all campuses) Regents Scholars |
CA | By invitation | ||
| University of California - Davis UC Davis University Honors Program |
CA | 2.5% of incoming class | ||
| 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 Cincinnati University Honors Program |
OH | GPA: 3.6 UW; 3.8 W ~275 per class |
||
| University of Colorado - Boulder Arts & Sciences Honors Program |
CO | Top 10% of the incoming class | no; by request for manual review | |
| University of Connecticut Honors Program |
CT | |||
| University of Delaware Honors Program |
DE | GPA: 4.37-4.58 (avg) SAT: 1360-1490 (avg) ACT: 30-34 (avg) |
||
| University of Denver University Honors Program |
CO | ~100 per class | ||
| University of Florida Freshmen Honors Program |
FL | GPA: 4.5-4.7 (avg) SAT: 1480-1550 (avg) ACT: 33-35 (avg) |
||
| University of Georgia Honors Program |
GA | |||
| University of Hawaii - Manoa Honors Program |
HI | GPA: 3.5 | ||
| University of Houston The Honors College |
TX | SAT: 1300 (avg) | ||
| University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign Campus Honors Program |
IL | optional | ||
| University of Iowa Honors Program |
IA | |||
| University of Kansas University Honors Program |
KS | ~400 per class | ||
| University of Maine University of Maine Honors College |
ME | By invitation or application | ||
| University of Mary Washington Honors Program |
VA | |||
| University of Maryland - College Park Honors College |
MD | |||
| University of Massachusetts - Amherst UMass Amherst Commonwealth Honors College |
MA | |||
| University of Massachusetts - Lowell Honors College |
MA | GPA: 3.75 Eligibility criteria for incoming freshmen operate on a sliding scale based on GPA and SAT/ACT |
By invitation | |
| University of Michigan LSA Honors Program |
MI | ~450 students | ||
| University of Minnesota - Twin Cities University of Minnesota University Honors Program (UHP) |
MN | |||
| University of Montana Davidson Honors College |
MT | |||
| 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 (avg) | ||
| University of Oregon Clark Honors College |
OR | GPA: 3.9 (median) Top 90th percentile of test takers on average |
||
| University of Pittsburgh Pitt Honors College |
PA | GPA: 3.8 (avg) SAT: 1450-1500 (avg) ACT: 32-33 (avg) Admit about 600 students; profile is average not required |
||
| University of Rhode Island Honors Program |
RI | GPA: 3.6; 3.8 auto-admission | ||
| University of South Carolina Honors College |
SC | GPA: 4.5-5.1 (avg) SAT: 1430-1520 (avg) ACT: 32-34 (avg) |
||
| University of South Dakota Honors Program |
SD | GPA: 3.7 SAT: 1220 ACT: 27 |
||
| University of South Florida Judy Genshaft Honors College |
FL | |||
| University of Southern California Trojan Scholar Society |
CA | |||
| University of Tennessee - Knoxville University of Tennessee Knoxville Chancellor's Honors |
TN | GPA: 4.5W SAT: SAT equivalent of 33 ACT ACT: 33 Admit 400 every year |
By invitation | |
| University of Texas - Austin Honors Programs |
TX | |||
| University of Texas - Dallas Collegium V Honors Program |
TX | |||
| University of Utah Honors College |
UT | yes | ||
| University of Vermont Honors College |
VT | ~260 per class | ||
| University of Virginia Echols Scholars Program |
VA | |||
| University of Washington - Seattle Honors College |
WA | |||
| University of Wisconsin - Madison L&S Honors Program |
WI | 400-450 per class | ||
| University of Wyoming University of Wyoming Honors College |
WY | ~250 per class | ||
| 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 | SAT: 1400 ACT: 32 |
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