Frequently Asked Questions

The Honors College is part of the statewide Commonwealth Honors Scholars Program and is open to all majors at UMass Dartmouth. Students who graduate from the Honors College receive special recognition on their transcripts, diplomas, and at Honors Convocation. Graduating from the Honors College is a wonderful way to prepare for graduate school or to set oneself apart for potential future employers. It is a great accomplishment for your resume, whether you are applying for a job, medical school, law school, or graduate school.

Honors courses are taught by our highly qualified Honors instructors. Honors courses have much smaller class sizes than regular courses, and generally involve more interaction between students and instructors. Honors courses offer innovative teaching and course enhancements. Honors courses are also highly intellectually stimulating and create a unique environment for maximum learning.

No, Honors courses are not graded any differently from regular courses. 

No, Honors courses are weighted just like any other course in terms of your overall GPA. However, honors courses are specially marked on your college transcript as "Honors" courses.

Yes, you can negotiate with your instructor to individualize your non-Honors course to make it an Honors learning experience. For detailed information regarding this process, please see Honors Contract Guidelines.

The APEX (Academic Project or Experience) is the culmination of your Honors education. The APEX is an original, independent project or experience that builds on everything that you have learned over the past several years. It represents an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking skills, ability to work independently, and capability to communicate clearly to a broad audience. Students choose one of three tracks for their APEX: Traditional Research, Applied/Service, or Performance/Expression. For detailed information regarding the APEX, please see the APEX page and the APEX Handbook.

Upon completion of the APEX, all students are required to present their work publicly. Each April, the Honors College hosts a poster session on campus to display our students' work and provide a venue to complete this requirement. Students who are interested in additional opportunities to present and share their work can participate in the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in the fall or the Massachusetts statewide Undergraduate Research Conference in the spring.

Definitely! In addition to many scheduled Honors social activities such as "Honors Hour," the Honors study room (LIB 319 Annex), and Honors Housing, the Honors College Student Council meets weekly during the semester and organizes a variety of events such as bowling, game nights (sometimes with faculty or other student organizations), movies, paint nights, volunteer drives, etc. The highlight of the social year is the annual end-of-year event in April (e.g. trip to Six Flags Theme Park).