Introducing the New Honors Scholars Program (HSP)

In response to calls from students and faculty to update and make honors programs at the university more accessible and dynamic, several people in the CLAS community stepped up to help create the new Honors Scholars Program. This flexible certificate program encourages students to set their own goals and design their own honors path. Combining challenging coursework with co-curricular/extra-curricular activities, this new program makes it possible to add a Certificate in Honors to students’ diplomas. This kind of expansive, interdisciplinary, inclusive program is what providing a world-class liberal arts and science degree is all about.

This innovative approach to challenging our students both academically and personally provides highly motivated students with unique learning experiences aimed at pairing curiosity and critical thinking with flexible and personalized learning options. A lot of hard work went into formulating the best possible approach to help more of our students achieve educational goals, develop their talents, explore their passions, and feed intellectual curiosity – this program is the exciting result. The criteria for the program include:

• Current CU Denver student or applicant with a GPA of 3.25 or better
• Students must begin the program before completing 75 credit hours
• Students must maintain a 3.25 GPA or higher to maintain eligibility

I encourage everyone to check out the program website and familiarize yourself with this incredible opportunity for our students. Faculty and staff are invited to nominate undergraduates for the program on that site. I’d like to thank Professor Jennifer Reich and the Honors Taskforce (including Richard Allen, Michael Berry, Terri Cooney, Larry Erbert, Brooke Krencik, Marjorie Levine-Clark and John Swallow) for all their hardwork making this happen.