USM Honors

Summer advisors for incoming first-year students:
The required Honors course is HON101 "Wisdom Stories." This course has summer reading.
The optional course is HON100 "Thinking and Writing."

Honors Courses and The USM Core Curriculum:
Honors students should use the following formula:

Students satisfy the following requirements after completing the combination of: Hon101, 102 or 103, *201K, and 202 or 203 (4 courses, 16 credits): G, E, H, I, K. Students who complete Hon100 receive a C designate (note* English majors are required to take ENG 101 to fulfill the C). Those who complete a Hon301 seminar and/or the thesis (Hon311/312) receive a W designate. *Students who took Hon201 without the K only receive an E. Students who completed Hon201K receive both the E and the K.

Students who do not successfully complete four Honors colloquia (101, 102 or 103, 201, 202 or 203) should consult with director Rose Cleary (780-4331) concerning the use of Honors courses to satisfy Core curriculum requirements. Please refer to page 63 in the undergraduate catalog for more information.*Some majors may wish you to fulfill a core requirement with a specific course, so please connect with an advisor in your major to make sure you know which areas Honors fulfills.

You will need to fulfill Quantitative Decision Making (D), Performance Centered Fine Arts (F) and Social Sciences (J) outside of the Honors Curriculum.

To remain in USM Honors, a student must maintain a minimum class standing within the University as well as within Honors courses. These two standards of progress, Overall Class Standing and Successful Completion of Honors Courses, are in addition to those set forth by the University.

Overall Class Standing  
To continue to remain in USM Honors, students must maintain an overall grade point average according to the number of USM credits accomplished. The credit hours and respective minimum GPAs are as follows:

Earned Credit Hours                           For Good Standing
1-22                                                          2.5                                                  
23-52                                                        3.0
                                                       
53-82                                                        3.25

83+                                                           3.4

These standards take effect when students begin USM Honors. Students beginning the program with lower GPAs than required for good standing will be required to meet with the program director in their first semester of study to develop an academic plan to achieve good standing.

Successful Completion of Honors Courses
In addition to maintaining an overall minimum grade point average, USM Honors students must successfully complete Honors courses. (for students who entered fall 2006 and before: Hon101, 102 or 103, 201, 202 or 203, one seminar and thesis 311 and 312). These minimum grades serve as additional prerequisites for any subsequent Honors courses. The following minimum course grades have been established for program participants, recognizing the demanding nature of USM Honors:

Course                                           Minimum Grade Required

HON 100,  101                                              C+

HON 102,  301                                               B-

HON 201,  202                                               B

HON311, 312                                                 B
(for inclusion in library)

For further information or problems with this page, contact Beth Round: bround@usm.maine.edu