Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, these documents will be accepted late, within reason. Course contract forms, for example, are not accepted after the course has finished. Thesis/Senior Project Proposal forms will not be accepted if you are within a month of graduation. Please note that late forms may result in the loss of an Honors scholarship, if you are receiving one, so it is advisable to turn the forms in on time. If you are aware that you may not be able to submit a form on time, please contact the Honors Office or an Honors advisor as soon as possible.

When you submit a form, you are automatically emailed a copy of the information, as is any relevant faculty member whose email you provided on the form (e.g.: the instructor for a course you are contracting). You may also always check information you have submitted, by following these directions.

These forms can be submitted online. If you cannot submit them during your time abroad, you may email the Honors Program office requesting an extension.

First, check basic requirements:

• Do you have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above?
• Have you completed the required number of Honors hours with grade of B minus or better?
• Have you met University standards for enrollment (12 hours, 9 of which are graded rather than pass/no pass during each fall and spring semester)?
• Second, make sure you have turned in appropriate Honors Program forms:
• Thesis/Senior Project Prospectus (due one year prior to graduation)
• Appropriate thesis/senior project paperwork during your final semester

If you would like help checking your Honors hours or form submissions, please email the Honors Program office or come to the Honors Program Office in room 213 in Knoll Residential Center.

If you are graduating EARLY and would like to graduate from the Honors Program, you must fulfill all graduation requirements (Required number of Honors hours, a 3.5 cumulative GPA or above, and an Honors thesis/senior project) by the time you graduate. The thesis/senior project and all final semester paperwork related to it are due mid-way through the semester you wish to graduate. The Thesis/Senior Project Proposal should be turned in one year prior to the semester you intend to graduate.

If you are graduating LATE and would like to graduate from the Honors program, you must fulfill all graduation requirements (Required number of Honors hours, a 3.5 cumulative GPA or above, and an Honors thesis/senior project) by the time you graduate. The thesis/senior project and all final semester paperwork related to it are due the semester you wish to graduate. The Thesis/Senior Project Proposal should be turned in one year prior to the semester you intend to graduate. If you are interested in an extension to turn in your Thesis/Senior Project proposal late, you must meet with an Honors Program faculty member for special permission. Please stop by the Honors Program Office, 213 Knoll Residential Center, or e-mail the office at honors@unl.edu

If you lose an Honors scholarship you are absolutely still welcome in the Honors Program. While loss of your Honors Scholarship is regrettable, students who lose the scholarship are still considered members of the Honors Program and may still graduate with Honors, provided they meet all requirements. We encourage you to work to return to good standing within the program.

Unfortunately, once an Honors Scholarship is lost, it cannot be reinstated.

Contact the Honors Program main office at honors@unl.edu or (402) 472-5425.

You will lose your status as being in good standing with the Honors Program, and may lose your Honors scholarship, if you are receiving one. However, so long as you complete the required number of Honors hours with a grade of B minus or better and have an overall 3.5 cumulative GPA by the time you graduate, you may still graduate from the Honors Program.

Please remember that all Honors scholarships require a CUMULATIVE GPA of 3.5. If your semester GPA is below 3.5, but your cumulative GPA is 3.5 or above, your scholarship will not be impacted.

Honors Advising is a complement to your major advising. You should plan to meet with your major advisor each semester. However, please be aware that your major advisor may not be fully aware of all Honors requirements, and it is your responsibility to ensure you are fulfilling all Honors requirements on time. The Honors Program faculty are available throughout the year to help students plan for meeting Honors requirements and for integrating important co-curricular experiences like research and education abroad into a 4-year plan.

You will need to complete a brief exit survey. Contact the Honors Program office in 213 Knoll Residential Center or honors@unl.edu for the survey.

Permission codes for most UHON courses or MNGT 475H may be obtained from the Honors Office in 213 Knoll Residential Center or by emailing honors@unl.edu. Permission codes for UHON 499H may be obtained by emailing Tamy Burnett. Permission codes for courses in other departments (e.g.: CHEM, MATH, etc.) can be obtained from the department. Check with the department’s main office, advising center, or the faculty member teaching the course.

You will need to speak with your professor to obtain her/his agreement that you may contract the course and to discuss what your will do to earn Honors credit. You should have some ideas or suggestions prepared when you approach your professor. Once the two of you reach an agreement, you will need to submit the form via the "Enrollment" tab in your MyrRED account. When you submit an Honors Course Contract, you should strive to articulate how the added project required by your contract will facilitate greater interaction with the supervising faculty, and be specific about the expectations agreed upon with your professor. The Honors Program will review your submission and your professor will be contacted to confirm agreement. Contracts are due no later than the 5th week of the semester. Contracting summer courses is not always recommended, but if you choose to do so, the contracts are due the 1st week of the session.

Enrollment in these courses will follow regular University enrollment procedures and occur on a first-come, first-served basis in accordance with your assigned priority registration times. You should have junior standing or higher to register for a UHON 395H course.

If you are out of the country and for some reason you cannot register via MyRED, you may email the Honors Program Office at honors@unl.eduwith your Name and NUID.

In general, online classes are not ideal for contracting for Honors credit, because a key aspect of contracting courses is increased interaction with faculty - something that is not always possible with online courses. However, if you and your instructor can come to a good agreement about a contract project, it is possible to contract an online course.

No, contracted classes must be offered through UNL.

It’s never too early to start thinking about what kind of project you’d like to do! Many students get involved in research during their sophomore or junior year. The prospectus is due by the middle of the third semester before you intend to graduate - that is, one year prior to the due date of the thesis/senior project. Students who plan to graduate earlier than 8 semesters may submit the prospectus earlier than the 6th semester. The thesis/senior project will need to be completed about half-way through the student’s final semester. Many students create a timeline for completing their theses/senior projects by working backwards from when they plan to graduate. For example, a student planning to graduate in May might identify March as the thesis completion date, January-March as the time for revisions, August-December as the time for drafting the thesis/senior project, May-August as the time for doing research, reading, or other initial work for the thesis/senior project, and March as the deadline for submitting the prospectus/senior project proposal.

There are many ways to get involved with research as an undergraduate student. Each year, many students participate in UNL’s Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience (UCARE) program. Other students simply reach out to professors engaged in research in which the student is interested and ask about lab openings; many lab opportunities at UNL are paid positions. Contact an Honors advisor if you would like to discuss pathways to finding research opportunities.

Please feel free to contact any Honors Advisor with questions about the Honors Thesis or Senior Project.

You may ask any full-time, permanent UNL faculty member to serve as your senior project mentor. Generally this faculty member will be in your major field of study (and this is usually required if you intend to use the thesis to graduate with distinction), but they may be in your minor or someone you have worked with through elective classes. The faculty mentor’s academic area should match the topic of your senior project. We recommend students first think about faculty with whom they already have a positive relationship, through classes or student organizations.

Some students will have a second co-mentor. Possible reasons for this include a topic that spans multiple disciplines, research conducted with faculty outside of UNL (for example: UNMC), or co-mentors are required by the student’s college if using the thesis to graduate with distinction.

If you are completing your Senior Project through a Capstone project attached to a course and you do not yet know who the instructor will be (e.g.: MGNT 475H), you will be instructed to put Dr. Tamy Burnett’s email address, tburnett2@unl.edu, as the thesis mentor contact email on your Senior Project Prospectus form.

You may take thesis hours while working on your senior project. Each student may earn up to 6 such hours, which count as Honors hours.

In many departments, you may take thesis hours as either 399H or 499H. Check with your senior project mentor or your academic advisor about this possibility. You will likely need to obtain a permission code to register for these hours.

If your major department does not offer this option, you can take UHON 499H. Dr. Tamy Burnett can issue you a permission code to register, but your senior project faculty mentor will need to email her (tburnett2@unl.edu) indicating that they are willing to provide a grade for the credit hours.