Honors in Major

Honors courses are regular civil or environmental engineering courses designated by an “H” (e.g., CEE 650H) and which involve additional work assignments. Appropriate additional work includes, but is not restricted to, more in-depth laboratory assignments; additional laboratory or course assignments; research, analysis, or design projects; literature reviews; term papers; presented lectures; and research proposals.  To designate a course as an honors course, the student must first meet with the instructor of the course and come to an agreement about what work will be required. The student then obtains, fills out, and submits an “Honors Designation Form” to the Registrar before the 2nd Friday of the semester the course is taken.

Students wishing to enter the Honors-In-Major program must meet with the Department Honors Coordinator (Dr. Jennifer Jacobs for Civil Engineering students and Dr. Weiwei Mo for Environmental Engineering students) prior to or during the first week of classes in their junior year. The program is explained in person and the student is given these written requirements. If the student decides to take advantage of the opportunity, they adjust their curriculum as needed.

The Department reviews the transcripts of Honors-In-Major students each  January and June and warns students who fail to meet GPA requirements that they should petition to stay in the program or they will be asked to withdraw from the program. Cases are then decided on a case-by-case basis  by  the Department faculty. Students allowed to proceed in the Honors-In-Major program, continue to be subject to the semester-end review in subsequent semesters. The Hamel Honors and Scholars College is informed each semester of all such actions and results.

To achieve the Civil Engineering Honors-in-Major, students are required to fulfill the following requirements:

• A cumulative GPA of 3.40 or greater achieved by the beginning of the junior year and maintained throughout the junior and senior years.
• An Honors-In-Major student needs to complete three honors courses each with a minimum of 3 credits during the junior and senior years, and CEE 799H during the senior year.
• Honors courses: Honors courses will involve increased work assignments (e.g., laboratory experiments/analysis, research, design projects, literature review, term papers, lectures, comprehensive examination). Students registering for honors courses must follow the Hamel Honors and Scholars College Course Designation Guidelines. A minimum grade of B is required for all honors courses to achieve the Honors-in-Major designation.
• Honors thesis: Students need to complete a total of 4 credits of honors thesis (CEE 799 Honors Thesis) during the senior year, which may be used to fulfill an CivE non-design elective. CEE 799H is a two-semester thesis project guided by a faculty advisor and resulting in a written thesis in a journal article format. Students are to register for 1 credit of honors thesis during the fall semester of the senior year* and 3 credits of honors thesis during the spring semester of the senior year. The student should meet with potential honors thesis faculty advisors in advance and work out what will be required with the professor willing to serve. The thesis is to be presented at a professional conference or the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference, or to a group of at least two faculty members in the spring semester of the senior year. The course grade will be assigned by the honors thesis faculty advisor. A grade of at least B is required for the honors thesis.

*Students will receive a grade of IA for the 1-credit honors thesis during the fall semester of the senior year.

To achieve the Environmental Engineering Honors-in-Major, students are required to fulfill the following requirements:

• A cumulative GPA of 3.40 or greater achieved by the beginning of the junior year and maintained throughout the junior and senior years.
• An Honors-In-Major student needs to complete three honors courses each with a minimum of 3 credits during the junior and senior years, and CEE 799H during the senior year.
• Honors courses: Honors courses will involve increased work assignments (e.g., laboratory experiments/analysis, research, design projects, literature review, term papers, lectures, comprehensive examination). Students registering for honors courses must follow the Hamel Honors and Scholars College Course Designation Guidelines. A minimum grade of B is required for all honors courses to achieve the Honors-in-Major designation.
• Honors thesis: Students need to complete a total of 4 credits of honors thesis (CEE 799 Honors Thesis) during the senior year, which may be used to fulfill an EnvE non-design elective. CEE 799H is a two-semester thesis project guided by a faculty advisor and resulting in a written thesis in a journal article format. Students are to register for 1 credit of honors thesis during the fall semester of the senior year* and 3 credits of honors thesis during the spring semester of the senior year. The student should meet with potential honors thesis faculty advisors in advance and work out what will be required with the professor willing to serve. The thesis is to be presented at a professional conference or the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference, or to a group of at least two faculty members in the spring semester of the senior year. The course grade will be assigned by the honors thesis faculty advisor. A grade of at least B is required for the honors thesis.

*Students will receive a grade of IA for the 1-credit honors thesis during the fall semester of the senior year.