Departmental Honors in Sociology

Focusing on a project or thesis, honor students search for answers on a topic of their own choosing. This is a great way to discover a focus that you can take with you when you graduate, granting you with a portfolio and history of distilled research that's your own.

 The Department of Sociology offers honors status in:

•  cum laude (3.2 GPA)
•  magna cum laude (3.5 GPA)
•  summa cum laude (3.5 GPA)

 The requirements for the three honors categories vary slightly among the three categories. There are three steps in planning and establishing your status as an honor student:

1. Establish that your GPA fulfills the honors category that you seek.
2. Determine what additional classes to take for your honors status.
3. Write a plan of action with the help of an advisor. All honor students explore an independent study/research, or independent study/research and a thesis project.

Cum Laude

If you wish to graduate with departmental honors (cum laude) in sociology you must fulfill the following requirements (in addition to completing all of the requirements for the sociology major):

• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better while enrolled at University of Colorado Denver
• Have a GPA of 3.2 or better for all coursework done in sociology while enrolled at UCD. 
• Complete at least six hours of SOC 4880, Directed Research, spread over at least two semesters, which will serve as the basis for the research project. 
• Complete an independent research project under the supervision of a University of Colorado at Denver Sociology faculty member.

Magna Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude

For high departmental honors (magna cum laude or summa cum laude) students must meet the following requirements (in addition to completing all of the requirements for the Sociology Major):

• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or better while enrolled at University of Colorado Denver.
• Have GPA of 3.5 or better for all course work in Sociology while enrolled at University of Colorado Denver.
• Complete six hours of SOC 4880, Directed Research, and spread over at least two semesters, which will serve as the basis for the research project.
• Prepare an honors thesis based on an independent research project directed by a Sociology faculty member and present the thesis to a departmental colloquium at least six weeks before the end of the semester in which you intend to graduate.

Prior to beginning SOCY 4880, students are required to take Understanding the Social World (previously Intro to Sociology) (1001) Qualitative Methods (3119), and Quantitative Methods (3115), and earn a "B" (3.0) or higher in each of these courses.  Occasionally students may obtain special permission from their faculty supervisor to begin Directed Research before taking all of the courses listed above.

The level of honors (magna or summa) conferred by the department will be determined by the honors committee's evaluation of the your thesis and your GPA. For more information, please contact the Sociology Advisor, Dr. Maren Scull, maren.scull@ucdenver.edu.