Frequently Asked Questions

If you are a new admit to UNH and have been offered Honors admission, we will assume that you are participating in the program unless you opt out. You'll be invited to join an Honors Orientation program in June. 

Generally, no. There is no cost and no direct financial advantage to Honors membership. An exception is the Hamel Scholarship, which requires active participation in Honors. Other merit scholarships (such as the Trustees', Chancellor's, and Presidential Scholarships) are frequently earned by Honors students, but do not require Honors  participation.  

Honors manages a number of funds that distribute small scholarships annually. Students are invited to apply for these scholarships beginning in the Sophomore year.  Learn More 

For students entering UNH during or after Fall 2024: Graduation with University Honors requires 32 Honors Units. These are accumulated by taking Honors courses (usually 4 Honors Units each), participating in Honors Gateways, taking part in Cocurricular Learning, and completing a Culminating Experience. Students may choose the experiences that work best for them. Students must also have a GPA of at least 3.5 to graduate with University Honors. View complete requirements here.

For students entering UNH before Fall 2024: Please see Pre-2024 Honors Program for requirements.

Honors Units are used to track experiences and courses that count toward University Honors. For Honors courses, Honors Units match the number of credits (so a 4-credit course counts for 4 Honors Units). Regular courses designated as Honors have a default value of 2 Honors Units. Other experiences are assigned Honors Units based mainly on the amount of time and effort required by an experience. 

Yes! We encourage students to propose experiences that aren't currently listed as earning Honors Units. Cocurricular experiences need to have educational outcomes, and in general need to be overseen by a UNH faculty or staff person. If approved, the experience will earn Honors Units according to the time required.

Honors courses are designed to challenge and stimulate motivated, high-achieving students. However, this doesn't necessarily mean more pages of reading or hours of homework. Honors professors design courses to go into greater depth, allow students to follow their own interests, and find connections to the world outside the classroom. Students report that Honors courses challenge them to think more deeply and creatively, and that while they are sometimes difficult, the difficulty is outweighed by their interest in the courses. Grades in Honors courses tend to be at least as high as grades in other courses; taking Honors courses is not likely to harm your GPA. 

No. You must complete your Honors requirements by the time you graduate, but there is no required schedule for completing Honors work. Most students take Discovery Honors courses in their first two years, but there's no requirement to do so. You are welcome to take more than one Honors course in a semester. We expect that Honors College students will make consistent progress by accumulating Honors Units each semester, but these need not be in the form of a course. 

No; most Honors courses fulfill Discovery category requirements; some fulfill requirements for majors or minors.  Honors classes are usually taken in place of, rather than in addition to, the normal course load. Honors students have the same credit requirements as all other UNH students. 

While each student can plan their own path toward Honors graduation, we expect that students will accumulate Honors Units each semester. Students who do not make progress in the program may be removed or suspended until they complete Honors experiences. Students who have been removed or suspended will not have access to priority registration until they are again in good standing.  

You must achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 in order to graduate with a University Honors designation. Freshmen are required to have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 after the Spring semester. All other students must have a GPA of 3.5, which is checked each June.  

Students who do not meet progress or GPA expectations may petition to remain in the college, and may be given additional time to catch up. 

Individual Honors-in-Major programs may set their own minimum cumulative GPAs and other expectations. Please see departmental information. 

Yes, we encourage students to study abroad! We offer a special honors exchange with University College at Utrecht in the Netherlands, where you can meet Honors requirements with the courses you take. Experience at other Study Abroad institutions can be counted as Honors Units.   

Certainly. Many Honors students choose to complete more than one major or minor at UNH. In fact, Honors students complete more majors and minors than non-Honors students. Because Honors requirements are designed to overlap with Discovery and major/minor requirements, it is not a problem to complete Honors as well as multiple majors and/or minors, though scheduling courses may become more difficult.