Honors Options allow Honors students to earn Honors credit in 300- and 400-level non-Honors courses at Drexel. A student works with their professor to design additional research, writing, or creative project worthy of Honors credit. Honors Options enrich and expand the student's depth of knowledge while encouraging collaboration and exploration beyond the standard coursework.
The following questions should help guide students and faculty in determining if an Honors Option is honors-worthy:
- Is the proposed project clearly connected to the learning objectives of the course?
- Is the project something both student and faculty believe is academically worthwhile to undertake and complete?
- Is the content, scope, and aim of the project clearly defined?
- Are the parameters of the final project clearly defined?
- Are the evaluation criteria clearly established?
- Does the proposed project require additional work that is 10%-15% more than the course’s standard workload?
- Is this an assignment that can be completed, submitted, and assessed within an 11-week term? Remember, grade submission still needs to be the last day of the term!
For a downloadable version of this list, please click here.
Occasionally, instructors may have a pre-determined Honors Option project that they would like to use in their specific course. Instructors may create their own project and upload this on your Honors Option portal for students to sign up for, should you be interested. To note - not every course will have an instructor-created Honors Option project available, so it is important to check in with your instructor at the beginning of the term to inquire if this is an option for you.
If an instructor-created project is available, you must still adhere to all Honors Option proposal guidelines and deadlines.
Students are NOT limited to the instructor-created honors option projects and may propose an individual project for the course instead, should you choose. To do so, follow the student-created proposal process.
Please follow the steps below for instructor-created Honors Options:
- Enter your course CRN in the Honors Option Proposal form. If an instructor-created project is available, the option entitled “Instructor-Created Project Available” will pop up for selection.
- Once you select the instructor-created project, all project information will auto-populate with the pre-determined guidelines from your instructor. These projects are NOT editable. Please be sure to review all project details to ensure that you are aware of what is to be expected of you.
- You must then submit the proposal to indicate your planned participation in this project.
- Once submitted, this proposal will route to Honors Program staff for approval. Please see a step-by-step video guide here and tune in starting at minute 9:36.
Students may register for no more than two Honors Options per term.
Students must earn a B grade or higher in the course to be eligible for Honors Option credit. The Honors Option is an extra project and should not have any effect on the student’s overall grade for the course. The student should be graded on course assignments and requirements alone. An Honors Option project does not receive its own grade. When reviewing an Honors Option project, faculty assess whether or not the submitted project meets what was outlined in the proposal.
A student may not complete an Honors Option project for any capstone course or independent study.
Honors Options must be completed within the academic term they are proposed.
The student is responsible for completing and submitting forms to the Honors Program prior to the stated deadlines. This may require working closely with faculty to ensure all approvals and confirmations have been entered into the Honors Option system. Work on the Honors Option project should not begin until the proposed project has been approved by both the Honors Program and the faculty-member.
Please see the Honors Options FAQ for more information about the process, responsibilities, and expectations.
If faculty are having trouble approving an Honors Option proposal, please use this Faculty Guide for Honors Option Proposal Review and Confirmation.
If you have any questions regarding Honors Options, please contact the Honors Program at honorsprogram@drexel.edu.