Undergraduate Program

Honors College Grading System

Courses offered in the Honors College under the UHON subject code use a unique grading system. Students receive grades of A, CR, NC, and I. This grading system is designed to encourage students to broaden their general education by challenging themselves and taking courses outside their areas of specialty. Under this system students may be rewarded for superior performance (A) but not penalized for ordinary, satisfactory performance (CR) or for failure to complete the seminar or do poorly (NC). The program is designed to offer intellectual challenge, and students are expected to achieve at their highest levels; at the same time, competition for high grades is minimized. Taking Honors seminars under this grading system does not cancel the right of students to elect other University of New Mexico courses on a Credit/No Credit basis up to a maximum of 24 credit hours. In addition, Honors faculty provide individual written evaluations of each student in their seminars. These evaluations are kept in the student’s confidential, personal file. Students are encouraged to review their evaluations and write a response to an evaluation if they disagree.

Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts

Introduction

The faculty of the University of New Mexico offers one Bachelor of Arts degree to high achieving students in the Honors College, Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts. This baccalaureate degree program provides the opportunity for students in the Honors College to develop a broad-based and flexible interdisciplinary liberal arts education, similar to what many small liberal arts colleges offer. The Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts major provides students with a foundation in social and behavioral studies, physical and natural sciences, humanities, communications, mathematics, and fine arts and allows students to focus on a specific area of interdisciplinary study.

Students majoring in Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts have the opportunity to discover connections among disciplines and analyze and evaluate primary and complex texts across diverse genres and styles and from different historical periods. They perform research and produce original work that integrates ideas and methods from different disciplines and learn to adapt to new environments and developing technologies. Students are expected to have intercultural knowledge and competence and develop personal and social responsibility, including civic knowledge and engagement—local and global. 

Requirements

All candidates for the Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts major must be admitted to the Honors College and maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA. The students develop a program of study approved by the Honors College Degree Committee. The following are required:

1. A minimum of 120 credit hours is required in all curricula. Of these, at least 36 credit hours must be completed in courses with a UHON designation.
2. The ability to communicate in a language other than English is becoming imperative to participate and lead in today's global marketplace. Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts majors must complete 12 credit hours of a single non-English language or provide an equivalent proficiency document. Information about non-English language programs can be found at the Foreign Languages and Literatures department Web site, or the Spanish and Portuguese department Web site.
3. Completion of UNM core requirements, some of which can be completed through Honors (UHON) courses.
4. A student must choose a minor or a second major from a field of study that complements or enhances a student’s area of research interest. This must be approved by the Honors College Degree Committee.
5. Students must complete the following in the Honors College:

• 3 credit hours of UHON 121 or 122;
• A minimum of 3 credit hours of UHON 200-level courses;
• A minimum of 6 credit hours of UHON 300-level courses; and
• A minimum of 3 credit hours of UHON 400-level courses in addition to UHON 490, 491, or 498 to satisfy the honors thesis/project requirement.
• A minimum of 6 credit hours of experiential seminars as approved by the Honors College Degree Committee. International experiential programs and courses are preferred, but not required.
• 6-9 credit hours of an interdisciplinary honors thesis/project (UHON 490, 491, and 498).
• 9-12 credit hour integrative honors block to be taken concurrently in one semester. The honors block must include an integrative synthesis seminar, and must be approved by the Honors College Degree Committee.  It may be structured as one of the following:

1. Designated Honors College International Programs
2. Theme-based courses or modules
3. Research and experiential tracks

6.  18 credit hours of upper-division courses (300- to 400-levels), approved by the Associate Dean of Honors, in courses that enrich a student’s knowledge in the following:

• • • New environments and developing technologies;
    • Intercultural knowledge and competence;
    • Personal and social responsibility, including civic knowledge and engagement;
    • Research fundamentals and methodology.

Interdisciplinary Studies Minor

The Interdisciplinary Studies Minor in the Honors College is intended to complement, broaden and enhance a student's educational choices while at UNM. Academic standards for the minor are rigorous. Students who complete a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies are expected to produce original work that integrates ideas and methods from different disciplines, to analyze and evaluate foundational and primary works, to gain knowledge of diverse cultures and to acquire civic knowledge and apply ethical reasoning. These expectations form the minor’s learning outcomes and are the basis for program assessment. 

Requirements

1. Admission to the Honors College.
2. Maintenance of a 3.20 GPA.
3. Successful completion of 24 credit hours:

• • • 3 credit hours of UHON 121 or 122.
    • 3 or more credit hours of UHON selected from: 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 207, 221, 222, 299.
    • 12 or more credit hours of UHON courses taken at or above the 300-level.
    • 3 or more credit hours of UHON courses taken at the 400-level.
    • 6 or more credit hours of Honors College experiential interdisciplinary seminars selected from: UHON 324L, 492, 493, 495, 496, 498.

Honors College Designation

The Honors College designation is awarded to Honors College students who do not earn a major or minor in the Honors College, but who gain an Honors experience by completing a program of Honors coursework. Students who complete the requirements for the designation are expected to produce work that integrates ideas and methods from different disciplines, to analyze and evaluate foundational and primary works and to demonstrate strong skills in written and oral communication. 

Requirements:

1. Admission to the Honors College.
2. Maintenance of a 3.20 GPA.
3. The successful completion of 15 credit hours in Honors classes to include:

• • • A minimum of 3 credit hours in 100-level Honors College courses.
    • A minimum of 3 credit hours in 200-level Honors courses.
    • A minimum of 6 credit hours in 300- and/or 400-level Honors courses.

At least 9 credit hours must be completed in Honors College (UHON) courses. Up to 6 credit hours in Honors courses offered by other units may be used to satisfy designation requirements.