Honors Program

Honors Degree Requirements

Honors Degrees are available to students admitted to the University Honors Program. Along with completing the requirements for their home college or school, students must also fulfill Honors-specific requirements (see below) to earn an Honors Degree. Students must submit the appropriate form before registering for courses in their senior year to declare an Honors Degree.

Honors students are not required to complete an Honors credential to remain in the Honors Program. Students that choose to pursue an Honors credential may only earn one —either an Honors Degree (which may include elective concentrations) or one of the Honors Minors. Information about each college’s Honors Degree requirements and requirements for all the Honors minors is in this section.

The College of Engineering requires 30-31 credits of Honors coursework, depending on major, to earn an Engineering Honors degree. Refer to the College of Engineering section of the catalog for detailed curricular requirements.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Honors Degree requires 30 or 31 credits of Honors coursework depending on which concentration the student selects for the Honors Degree. If the Thesis concentration is selected, at least 9 credits must be upper-level Honors courses, including Thesis l & ll, for a total of 30 credits. If the Integrative Capstone concentration is selected, 9 credits of upper-level Honors coursework is required, along with a 1-credit Integrative Capstone course during senior year, for a total of 31 credits. Refer to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section of the catalog for detailed curricular requirements.

The Fitzpatrick College of Nursing requires 30 credits of Honors coursework to earn a Nursing Honors degree. Refer to the Fitzpatrick College of Nursing section of the catalog for detailed curricular requirements.

The Villanova School of Business requires 31 credits of Honors coursework, including VSB 2121 (1 credit), to earn a Business Honors Degree, and at least five of the 11 must be in Business. Refer to the Villanova School of Business section of the catalog for detailed curricular requirements.

Additional Honors Curricular Options

In addition to taking HON subject classes and H sections of classes, Honors students may obtain Honors credit for certain credentials using additional curricular options like contract courses, eligible study abroad courses, independent study, graduate courses, and Honors colloquium bundles.

• Contract Courses: Sophomores, juniors and seniors may "contract a course" by submitting a proposal to do an Honors-level project in a non-Honors course to earn Honors credit towards their Honors Degree. This proposal must be approved by the Honors Program and by the professor of the course. The student must submit the appropriate form to the Honors Program with the signature of the professor within one week after the end of the drop/add period of the semester. Students may use this option twice in the pursuit of an Honors Degree. Only 3-credit classes with a course number of 2000 or higher (excluding ETH 2050) are eligible to be contracted.
• Study Abroad Courses: Students studying abroad may count up to two eligible Honors-level study abroad classes or six credits of study abroad coursework towards their Honors Degree. Students must submit the appropriate form, which contains more information about course eligibility, to the Honors Program within 3 months of returning from their study abroad experience. Students are encouraged to notify the Honors Program about their intention to count study abroad coursework towards an Honors Degree ahead of time.
• Independent Study: Students may enroll in HON 5501: Ind Study & Research to complete an independent study counting towards their Honors Degree or any of the Honors minors. Up to one independent study course may count. Students must submit their independent study proposal using the appropriate form to obtain the approval of the Honors Program and the professor overseeing the study by noon on the last business day of the add/drop period of the semester.
• Graduate Courses: Students may apply credits from two courses or six credits of graduate coursework as long as the classes are counting towards the student’s undergraduate degree. Graduate coursework credit may be applied to an Honors Degree, or any of the Honors minors.  Honors students must submit the appropriate form by the end of the fall semester of their graduating year to apply these credits.
• Colloquium Bundles: Students may take three 1-credit Honors colloquia to form the equivalent of one upper-level 3-credit Honors course and have those credits applied to an Honors credential. Colloquia are letter-graded courses; the Honors enrichment workshops graded at the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory level do not count. Colloquium courses are designated as bundle-eligible in the master schedule.  Honors students must submit the appropriate form by the end of the fall semester of their graduating year to apply these credits.

Honors Medical Humanities Concentration (15 credits)

The Honors Medical Humanities Concentration (MDH) is an interdisciplinary specialized concentration offered within the Honors Degree focusing on the intersection of the humanities, medical care, medical ethics, and a holistic approach to medicine. Students pursuing the MDH Concentration must participate in the Honors Medical Humanities Cohort upon entrance to Villanova.

If a student is unable to enroll in ETH 2050 - HON:GoodLife:Eth&ContProb(MH) or PHI 2117 HON:The Good Doctor, they may contract a course to replace up to 1 of those requirements with approval from the Honors Program. Refer to the Honors Program section of the Catalog for more information on contracting courses.

Requirements:

To achieve the Honors Medical Humanities Concentration students must take 5 courses from among the following classes within the Honors Degree requirements within their respective college. A minimum 3.33 cumulative GPA and active status in Honors required.

Honors Minor Requirements

Honors Minor (15 credits)

Requirements:

Honors students may earn an Honors minor by taking 15 credits of Honors coursework, at least six of which must be upper-level courses with a number of 2000 or higher and HON attribute. Graduate courses (up to 6 credits) colloquium bundles (up to one trio of 1-credit Honors courses) may also count towards the Honors minor. Contract courses and study abroad courses do not count towards the Honors minor. See the Honors Program section of the catalog for more information on these options. Students cannot contract a course to fulfill an Honors minor requirement. Study abroad courses cannot be used to fulfill an Honors minor requirement. All courses must be taken at Villanova. Honors students must maintain a minimum 3.33 cumulative GPA.

Honors Philosophy, Politics & Economics Minor (15 credits)

The Honors PPE minor is an interdisciplinary minor offered to Honors students through the Honors Program focusing on the intersection of the disciplines of philosophy, politics and economics (PPE). The Honors PPE minor requires participation in the Honors PPE Cohort upon entrance to Villanova. 15 credits of Honors coursework are required for the Honors PPE minor. Students pursuing the Honors PPE Minor may contract up to 1 Villanova University course to fulfill the minor's Economics or Upper-Level elective requirements with permission from the Honors Program. Students may not use a contract course to fulfill both of those requirements.

Students may only receive one credential from the Honors Program. If a student completes Honors degree requirements and completes the PPE courses below, they will have earned the PPE concentration of the Honors degree. 

Requirements:

To achieve the Honors PPE minor, students must take 5 courses from among the following requirements (minimum 3.33 cumulative GPA and active status in Honors Program required).

Honors Medical Humanities Minor (15 credits)

The Honors Medical Humanities minor (MDH) is an interdisciplinary minor offered within the Honors Degree focusing on the intersection of the humanities, medical care, medical ethics, and a holistic approach to medicine. Students pursuing the MDH minor must participate in the Honors Medical Humanities Cohort upon entrance to Villanova.

If a student is unable to enroll in ETH 2050 - HON:GoodLife:Eth&ContProb(MH) or PHI 2117 HON:The Good Doctor, they may contract a course to replace up to 1 of those requirements with approval from the Honors Program. Refer to the Honors Program section of the Catalog for more information on contracting courses.

Students may only receive one credential from the Honors Program. If a student completes Honors degree requirements and completes the Medical Humanities courses below, they will have earned the Medical Humanities concentration of the Honors degree.

Requirements:

To achieve the Honors Medical Humanities minor students must take 5 courses from among the following requirements (minimum 3.33 GPA and active status in Honors required).