Program Requirements

Requirements for the Commonwealth Honors Program

Participants in the Framingham State University Honors Program complete a minimum of six (6) course credits bearing the honors designation, which includes HNRS 101 First-Year Honors Seminar and the honors capstone course HNRS 480 Honors Program Thesis/Project.

Please note: the program requires that students not go more than one semester without taking an Honors course. Students who complete their 5 honors classes early, however, may wait to take Honors Program Thesis/Project without penalty.

There is also a minimum GPA requirement to stay in the Program. Freshmen and sophomores must maintain a 3.00 overall, while juniors and seniors must maintain a 3.25. Also, students need at least a B in each Honors course for it to count toward the Program.

Contract Course Information

Most honors courses are specially designed sections of regular 100 and 200 level courses that fulfill one or more general education goals and may be used toward the general education requirements. However, students may choose to substitute one upper-division course in their major program of study (300 or 400 level) for one of the five designated honors courses. This is done by submitting an honors contract in which the student and instructor devise a project within the course that emphasizes advanced, independent research on a particular subject. (Note that upper-level contract courses do not count toward the general education requirements).

 The form below can be used for this substitution.

Link to Contract Course Request Form