honors Learn. Engage. Transform.
Honors College UMass Dartmouth is ranked as a National University by U.S. News and World Report. Our Honors College will immerse you in a vibrant and innovative learning environment that engages and challenges academically talented students across all majors. We offer our honors students transformative learning experiences, in the classroom and through extracurricular activities.
The college fosters a spirit of regional, national, and global responsibility by emphasizing community-engaged learning that focuses on real-world problems.
umassd.edu/honors
4.04 Average GPA of Honors College students in the Class of 2023
40+
Honors College course sections offered each year
1:1
Student to faculty research ratio
Transformative learning The Honors College will provide highly-motivated students with an educational experience that draws on the regional resources that make UMass Dartmouth unique—a local focus with a global vision. First-year seminars, small group discussions, collaborative projects, and enrichment opportunities prepare honors students to thrive in their careers.
The opportunity to engage with and learn from students in class is what makes teaching honors courses truly unique.� Brian J. Ayotte Associate Professor of Psychology
Honors students visited the Dexter Avenue Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where Martin Luther King lived and worked during the bus boycott. They are pictured with Wanda Battle (center), director of tour ministry.
Enjoy special opportunities Honors College students join an exciting educational community that provides physical space for living and learning.* You’ll enjoy other benefits like registering early for small and engaged classes, working on groundbreaking research with top university faculty, and completing an honors thesis that demonstrates rigorous and impactful learning. You’ll also graduate a Commonwealth Scholar, a statewide recognition. * Honors housing is on a first come, first serve basis
As an honors student, you can: • apply for competitive national awards such as Truman, Marshall, Fulbright, and Goldwater scholarships • a ssume leadership roles on the Honors Student Council • c ompete for top jobs and admission to prestigious graduate schools
umassd.edu/honors
Engaged learning You can take tranformative classes like: • Mind/Machine: an interdisciplinary study of artificial intelligence • Flight from the Third Reich: Austrian Jews and the Holocaust accompanied by a field trip • The U.S. Civil Rights Movement with an alternative spring break trip to Alabama
You’ll make an impact Our Honors College students have completed the following research projects: • the impact of celebrity endorsements • the link between real-life and virtual violence • the relationship between resilience and positive outcomes in young adult friendships • diagnostic methods in non-industrialized countries • the production of materials to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and waste streams
I love teaching honors courses because of the engagement of all participants; the group becomes a team. It is special to have that atmosphere and camaraderie in the room.” Tracie Ferreira Associate Professor of Bioengineering
National and local recognition Our honors students have been awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the Marshall Scholarship, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, and the Michael S. Dukakis Internship in Public Service. UMass Dartmouth honors students have been among the approximately 60 students from across the U.S. selected to present their research in the national “Posters on the Hill” annual event for members of Congress and their staffs.
Honors students have published work in academic journals for the National Institutes of Health as well as the National Collegiate Honors Council’s Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ American Journal of Critical Care, and Hogrefe Publishing’s Journal of Individual Differences.
umassd.edu/honors
The Honors College pushes you to do your best and provides so many connections.” Priscilla Amuma ’19 Quality Control Analyst at Thermo Fischer Scientific
Admission to the Honors College You will automatically be evaluated for admission to the Honors College based on your application to UMass Dartmouth. Criteria includes: • Minimum GPA of 3.3 • SAT 1180/ACT 24 • CVPA portfolio for art majors
Graduation requirements for the UMass Dartmouth Honors College • Complete at least 24 honors credits (21 credits of coursework and a minimum of 3 credits of an honors project) • Maintain an overall GPA of 3.2 • Earn a B or better in honors courses