Graduating with Honors

There are two ways to graduate with honors at the University of Iowa: University Honors and honors in your major.

University Honors

By submitting your graduation degree application, you will automatically be considered for graduation with University Honors. No extra box needs to be checked at application submission to indicate you would like to be considered for University Honors.

After the degree application deadline, one of two things will happen:

1. If you complete your degree application and your honors degree audit shows that you have fulfilled University Honors requirements*, you will receive pre-approval to graduate with University Honors within a month after the degree application deadline.
   Students in the College of Engineering do not need to notify us if they plan to use the Engineering Exception. Similarly, students who began in the program prior to Fall 2016 may be following a slightly different coursework and experiential learning requirement. Even though your degree audit will not say "requirements complete", you will still be cleared for graduation if you meet the exception requirements.

2. If your honors degree audit shows you have completed the required coursework but does not reflect 12 experiential learning credits*, you will receive an email within a month after the degree application deadline to encourage you to report any missing experiences from your Honors degree audit. If you believe you should have received this email and have not, please contact us at honors-program@uiowa.edu.

*Students completing honors in the major will not see this on their University Honors degree audits. However, your work towards honors in the major should otherwise be clear to us; if you have 12 s.h. of honors coursework and are working towards honors in the major, you should fall into category 1. If, however, you are working towards honors in the major and do receive the form referenced in category 2, it will be imperative to respond in a timely way so that we can clear up the missing information with you and your department or college.

Spring Commendation Ceremony

Due to COVID-19, there will be no in-person spring commendation ceremony. Graduating seniors received a survey via their UI email address on Monday, March 1st. Seniors were required to fill out the survey by March 22nd if they wished to receive an honors medal or to submit a photo for our slideshow.  Medals were mailed Friday, April 23rd. If you are graduating with honors and missed the deadline to receive a medal, email heidi-schmitt@uiowa.edu to make alternative arrangements. The Honors Program does not provide graduation attire. Phi Eta Sigma students will receive a cord with their medal. 

To commend and recognize students who graduate from the University of Iowa with University Honors, we gather at the end of each spring semester for the University Honors Commendation Ceremony. Honors staff and faculty bestow honorary regalia to recognize our students' extraordinary academic achievements.

Information will be shared with spring graduates after the preapproval process described above has been completed. December and August graduates are welcome to participate as well and should contact the program at least a month before spring commencement weekend if they would like to attend.

Honors in the Major

Honors in the major is based on the college and department you are earning your degree from. Information on honors in the major for each undergraduate degree granting college can be found at:

• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Nursing
• College of Public Health
• Tippie College of Business

There is no distinct universal application for graduating with honors in the major. It is associated with your degree application. Information on the Degree Application process can be found here. Questions about your eligibility to graduate with honors in the major should be directed to your department or college.