Requirements For Current UCI Students

Although most students in the CHP are selected before their matriculation to UCI as freshmen, continuing UCI students may also be considered during their first two years on campus. Continuing students should apply before the end of fall quarter, in their junior year, in order to have enough time to complete the CHP curricular, research, and thesis requirements for graduation, as well as those for their school and major requirements.

The CHP is highly selective. Continuing UCI students must have a minimum overall GPA of at least a 3.5 in college courses taken at UCI in order to be eligible for consideration. Please note that students who are admitted to the CHP often have GPAs higher than the 3.5 minimum required for consideration.

In addition, we are looking for a demonstrated passion for learning, a willingness to explore and take risks, and academic excellence in a broad range of disciplines, not just in the area of one’s major.

You may obtain the form by contacting the Honors Office or download one from this website.

Complete the entire application and hand-deliver/mail to us with your college transcript(s). The first question has two parts, the second of which asks which of the Honors Core Courses you propose to take. The CHP core courses refer to those that are part of the CHP course requirements and not honors sequences in general or organic chemistry or ICS, or one of the honors calculus courses, or those courses required by major-specific upper-division honors programs. (Is this followed quickly by the curriculum and application or should we have them click here?)

As you answer the questions on the application, keep in mind that we are looking for a demonstrated passion for learning, a willingness to explore and take risks, and academic excellence in a broad range of disciplines, not just in the area of one’s major.

What is required for graduation from this program? In order to graduate from the CHP, transfer students and those who enter the program after fall quarter of the freshman year will need to complete at least one of the year-long CHP core course sequences. Depending upon their class level, major, and coursework already completed, it could be more. In addition, they must undertake an undergraduate research project and it write up in the form of an approved honors thesis.

The CHP core course sequences are interdisciplinary in nature and often team-taught. They are designed to challenge students by exposing them to some of UCI’s best and most exciting faculty, while introducing important topics, issues and methods of inquiry across disciplines. They also help students develop and sharpen their reading, writing, mathematical, analytical, and communication skills. The purpose of the honors curriculum is NOT just to meet breadth requirements, but to engage in, with other honors students and selected UCI faculty, an honors-level academic experience. While most transfer students and some continuing UCI students may have already satisfied part or all of the UCI breadth requirement, should any of them still need to fulfill Category II, III, IV, or VIIa, they will be expected to complete their remaining breadth requirements with the honors curriculum, which has been approved to meet part or all of these areas of breadth.

1. Honors Humanities Core (Humanities H1A-H1B-H1C).
   This year-long sequence is team-taught by faculty from the various Humanities disciplines (English and Comparative Literature, History, and Philosophy), and is organized around major themes, which change every 3 years. The current theme, that started its three-year cycle in fall 2004, is "Associations/Dissociations: The Social Instinct and Its Consequences." Throughout the year the course explores various sub-themes and concepts; in fall the focus will be on “Family and State,” in winter it will be “Nation and Empire,” and in spring it will be “Globalization and Society.” Honors sections are taught by faculty and advanced lecturers from various academic disciplines. (This core course is offered for 8 units each quarter.)
   
   
2. Honors Social Science Core (Critical Issues in the Social Sciences).
   Offered as Social Sciences H1G-H1F-H1E. This year-long sequence is team-taught by professors from the Schools of Social Science and Social Ecology. The topics presented in this sequence are studied from the perspectives of various social science disciplines, including anthropology, cognitive sciences, economics, international studies, linguistics, political science, psychology, social ecology, and sociology. Sample topics have included authority, (dis)obedience and human society; decisions, compromises, and their rewards and penalties; human vision/perception, learning and memory; human language - how do we learn it and what is its effect on our acquisition of knowledge; and exotic societies (including our own). (This core course is offered for 6 units each quarter).
   
   
3. Honors Science Core (The Idiom and Practice of Science).
   Offered as Biology, Chemistry, Earth System Sciences, Mathematics, or Physics H90. This year-long sequence gives students an understanding of the role science plays in addressing socially significant problems. Students develop the ability to understand scientific models and to judge the content, merit, and limitations of many issues of science in the modern world. Emphasis is placed upon the development of analytical and writing skills. Topics have included ozone depletion/global warming, earthquakes, biodiversity/conservation, genetic plant engineering, calculus and partial differential equations, evolution/aging, radiation/diseases, the mathematics of power, and the physics of music. (This core course is offered for 4 units each quarter.)
   
   
4. The Research/Thesis requirement:
   In addition to the required honors core courses, CHP students participate in a minimum of two quarters of research. This experience culminates in the production of an honors thesis, creative project, or publication-quality paper. Most students actually end up spending 3 or more quarters on their research/thesis experience. How much will depend upon the discipline in which a student elects to do their research, the arrangements they make with their faculty mentors, and often, the nature of the project itself. For more information and details, see the CHP Research/Thesis and Senior Year Handbook, found on the CHP Web. (Click here to go to that page).