Advantages of Being an Honors Student
By joining the Commonwealth Honors Program, you become a member of a prestigious community of scholars.
- Engage in smaller, discussion-based classes that address compelling topics, and benefit from more personalized, one-on-one mentoring with your professors.
- Receive Honors Program credit for completing Honors-designated courses. These courses are based on a regular course, with the additional component of an Honors research project.
- Explore intriguing topics and create your own research project in an Honors Seminar. The Seminar is an intense, multi-disciplinary course based around a theme, which students will explore through multiple perspectives.
- Work with a professor on an Individual Honors Project in a regular course and receive Honors Program credit for that course.
- Use the Commonwealth Honors Center (E-145) for studying, relaxing, and connecting with other Commonwealth Honors members.
- Enrich your academic experience by engaging in additional Honors activities.
- Present your research project from an Honors Seminar or other Honors courses at the annual Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference at UMass Amherst. The conference occurs in late April every year.
- Participate in regional and national meetings of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) and network with other Honors students across the country.
- Increase your prospects of acceptance to four-year colleges and universities, and enjoy guaranteed transfer, if you qualify, into any Massachusetts Commonwealth Honors Program.
- Enjoy increased access to scholarship opportunities and enhance your scholarship applications.
Transfer Opportunities
Commonwealth Honors scholars are guaranteed transfer to the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. You will also be accepted into the Commonwealth Honors Program at any state college or university that is a member of the statewide program. Students in the Commonwealth Honors Program can also participate in the Commonwealth Transfer Compact, the Joint Admissions Program, and the Tuition Advantage Program for transfer to four-year public colleges and universities in Massachusetts.
Participation in the program will also enhance applications to private four-year institutions. Members of the Commonwealth Honors Program have transferred to prestigious schools such as Tufts University, Wellesley College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University.