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Create an Honors Course by Contract

Only students participating in the University Honors Program can create a course contract.

  1. An Honors Student will contact the professor who teaches the course in which they wish to complete a contract (preferably prior to registration or before the start of the semester). The contract proposal must be submitted before the Add/Drop Class Deadline (usually the third week of instruction). The student and professor will agree upon the requirements and expectations for the contract.
  2. The student will fill out the Honors Course by Contract Proposal Form and send to the professor for their approval and signature.
  3. Once the form is signed by both the professor and the student, the student will email the completed form to honors@ucmerced.edu for review and comments by the DUE-EC Honors Subcommittee who will notify both the student and professor upon approval.
  4. At the end of the semester, the professor will fill out the Honors Course by Contract Completion Form and send to honors@ucmerced.edu. This must be accomplished prior to the semester's grade submission deadline. Students may not see the Honors designation on transcripts until two to three weeks after grade submission.

Enhanced Projects/Assignments

Examples might include:

• a traditional research paper or elevated class paper

• a case study or series of case studies

• a specialized lab experiment

• an art project, musical, or literary composition

• an original software or hardware creation

• an empirical research study or fieldwork

• an extensive gathering and analysis of quantitative or qualitative data

Considerations

While students are deciding if they would like to complete an Honors Course by Contract, here are a few things to consider: 

  1. Contemplate passions, interests, and goals for the academic year - what is the motivation behind the Honors Course by Contract?
  2. Think about projects, activities, and tasks that can be accomplished in an Honors Course by Contract that can not be completed in a non-Honors course
  3. Anticipate timelines, deadlines, and schedules - what is the amount of time/effort needed for this contract to be impactful?

As always, feel free to reach out to Honors Program staff for further discussion and information. We are here to help you succeed!