About the Honors Contract

As an honors student taking a class in the College of Science, you have the opportunity to work with a College of Science faculty member to create an elevated educational experience to meet the requirements of obtaining honors credit via an honors contract.

An honors contract is an agreement between an undergraduate student and a faculty instructor that allows the student to modify a standard course into an honors course. Honors contracts allow the student to go beyond the material of the regular course and to produce more sophisticated work. A student may, for example, delve more deeply into methodology, structure, theory, or application; perform additional or alternative research; develop a service project; or present findings in some format.

Before You Start

Before determining your intent to enter into an Honors contract in a specific course, you and the course instructor should carefully review the Honors Contract Overview and Procedures (PDF).

After you and the course instructor agree on pursuing an honors contract, you will collaborate with the instructor to decide on the specific coursework that will be included in your Honors contract. The instructor will provide you with an updated Honors course syllabus that outlines the additional work expected for the Honors contract. This work should meet elevated quality standards, surpassing the regular course syllabus, and align with the pillars of the Honors College. Additionally, the Honors contract should include arrangements for regular meetings with your instructor throughout the semester.

Instructions for Submitting Your Honors Contract for Approval

Students interested in taking a College of Science course with an Honors contract during the semester must complete the following steps:

1. Contact the instructor teaching the course you wish to contract to ensure they are willing to support an Honors contract.

2. Request a Grade Mode Change using the Scheduling Assistant in myPurdue.

3. To ensure proper processing, remember to submit all Honors Grade Mode requests and accompanying documents before the H (Honors) Grade Mode deadline at 11:59 PM, according to the Office of the Registrar Add/Modify Deadline Calendar.

4. For each course you plan to contract with the College of Science, complete the Qualtrics Survey. This survey replaces the need for a PDF form. Make sure to upload the standard course syllabus and the modified honors syllabus, which should include the honors project description and modified grading scale.

5. To confirm your current grade mode, simply log into myPurdue and go to the Academic tab and Current Registration. Please allow two weeks for requests to process after the student submit deadline has passed. There are several levels of approvals that need to take place prior to receiving confirmation of your request.

Important Note: Submitting College of Science Honors Contracts no longer requires hard copies of the Honors Contract Form. Instead, an online process has been implemented, rendering the previous PDF form unnecessary. However, it's important to note that courses offered by other colleges may still require hard copies of the paperwork. To ensure you follow the correct process, please refer to the Honors College website for specific instructions.

 

Should you encounter any challenges in locating answers to your questions within the provided websites and information, as a final option, please email the College of Science Honors liaison, Nicki Morris at morri333@purdue.edu.