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 Honors College offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts. This baccalaureate degree program provides the opportunity for students in the Honors College to develop a broad, interdisciplinary and experiential liberal arts education, similar to that offered by many small liberal arts colleges, but within the context of a flagship research institution. 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 at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA. To be admitted, Honors College majors develop a program of study approved by the Honors College Degree Committee. That program includes a minor or a second major from a field of study that complements or enhances a student’s area of research interest, methodological instruction to support the student’s thesis, and 18 credit hours of upper-division courses (300- or 400-level) from any UNM department 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; and
• Research fundamentals and methodology.

The program of study also must meet the following requirements:

1.   A minimum of 120 total credit hours;

2.   At least 36 credit hours completed in UHON courses, including completion of the following:

• • 3 credit hours at each of the 100-, 200-, and 300-levels.
  • 6-9 credit hours of an interdisciplinary honors thesis/project (UHON 490, 491).
  • 3 additional credit hours at the 400-level.
  • 18 elective credit hours of UHON courses, of which at least 12 credit hours must be upper-division (300- or 400-level) and of which at least 9 credit hours must be an honors integrative block.

3.   A minimum of 12 credit hours of a single non-English language or evidence of equivalent proficiency. 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.

4.   Completion of UNM core requirements, some of which can be completed through UHON courses.

Shared-Credit Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts and Master of Arts in Latin American Studies

The shared-credit degrees program offers students enrolled in the Honors College an accelerated route to earning in five years both a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts, and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Latin American Studies. Through this program, students can earn graduate M.A. in Latin American Studies credit during their undergraduate career, thereby reducing the time needed to complete both degrees.

The M.A. in Latin American Studies requires 36 credit hours of graduate work (see the Latin American Studies-Graduate Program section of this Catalog). Honors College Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts students can take a maximum of 18 shared credit hours (credit hours to be counted for both degrees) in M.A. in Latin American Studies courses during their undergraduate program. Students design their 18 shared credit hours in coordination with their academic advisors in both Honors College and Latin American Studies. With the highly harmonious academic requirements of both programs, this could be done, among other ways, through a combination of the following: 

• Honors College students can choose a minor or double major that would also satisfy M.A. in Latin American Studies requirements. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the M.A. in Latin American Studies, this could be done in any of the concentrations within the M.A. degree. Students would choose courses that satisfy both their undergraduate minor or double major, and the M.A. in Latin American Studies requirements.
• Honors College students are required to take 18 credit hours of upper-division courses that enrich a student’s knowledge in:  New environments and developing technologies; intercultural knowledge and competence; personal and social responsibility, including civic knowledge and engagement; and research fundamentals. Students could choose these courses so as to also satisfy M.A. in Latin American Studies requirements.
• A minimum 12 credit hours in a non-English language is needed for the Honors degree, which could additionally fulfill the M.A. in Latin American Studies language requirement. M.A. in Latin American Studies students are required to take one upper-division course in a Latin American language. 

To apply, students must be in good standing and nominated by the Honors College. The Interdisciplinary Committee for Latin American Studies (ICLAS) then reviews students’ applications. Shared-credit degrees students need to meet regular M.A. in Latin American Studies admission requirements, with two exceptions: students applying through Honors have the the GRE requirement waiver, and only two letters of recommendation are needed.

Students who choose not to complete the graduate portion of the program are still awarded the undergraduate degree when all undergraduate requirements are met. Completed graduate-level courses may be applied to either an undergraduate major or minor, as per existing policy.  Where Latin American Studies chooses not to advance a student to the graduate portion of the program, completed graduate-level courses may be applied to either an undergraduate major or minor, as per existing policy.

Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts Minor

The Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts minor in the Honors College is intended to complement, broaden and enhance a student's educational choices while at UNM. Students who complete the minor in Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts 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.

Requirements

All candidates for the Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts minor must be admitted to the Honors College and maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA.

Successful candidates for the minor must complete 24 credit hours in UHON courses, or other approved courses, including:

• 3 credit hours at each of the 100-, 200-, 300-, and 400-levels.
• 12 additional credit hours, of which at least 6 must be upper-division (300- or 400-level).

At least 15 credit hours must be completed in UHON courses. Up to 9 credit hours in approved courses offered by other units may be used to satisfy minor requirements.

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 substantive Honors experience by completing a program of Honors course work.  

Requirements

All candidates for the Honors College designation must be admitted to the Honors College and maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA.

Successful candidates for the designation must complete 15 credit hours of Honors College (UHON) or other approved courses, including:

• 3 credit hours at each of the 100- and 200-levels.
• 9 additional credit hours, at least 6 of which must be upper-division (300- or 400-level).

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