As an honors student at the Polytechnic, you have the chance to collaborate with a faculty member to enhance your educational experience and fulfill the requirements for honors credit through an honors contract.
An honors contract is an agreement between an undergraduate student and a faculty instructor that lets the student transform a standard course into an honors course. This allows the student to explore beyond the regular course material and produce more advanced work. For example, a student might delve deeper into methodology, structure, theory, or application; conduct additional or alternative research; develop a service project; or present findings in a specific format.
Before You Start
Before deciding to enter into an Honors contract for a specific course, you and the course instructor should carefully review the Honors Contract Overview and Procedures (PDF).
Once you and the instructor agree to pursue an honors contract, you will work together to determine the specific coursework to be included. The instructor will provide you with an updated Honors course syllabus detailing the additional work required. This work should meet higher quality standards, exceeding the regular syllabus, and align with the pillars of the Honors College. The Honors contract should also include plans for regular meetings with your instructor throughout the semester.
Instructions for Submitting Your Honors Contract for Approval
Students interested in taking a College of Science course with an Honors contract during the semester must complete the following steps:
- Contact the instructor teaching the course you wish to contract to ensure they are willing to support an Honors contract.
- Request a Grade Mode Change using the Scheduling Assistant in myPurdue.
- To ensure proper processing, remember to submit all Honors Grade Mode requests and accompanying documents before the H (Honors) Grade Mode deadline at 11:59 PM, according to the Office of the Registrar Add/Modify Deadline Calendar.
- For each course you plan to contract with the Polytechnic, complete the Qualtrics Survey. This survey replaces the need for a PDF form. Make sure to upload the standard course syllabus and the modified honors syllabus, which should include the honors project description and modified grading scale.
- To confirm your current grade mode, simply log into myPurdue and go to the Academic tab and Current Registration.
Important Note: Submitting a Polytechnic Honors Contracts no longer requires hard copies of the Honors Contract Form. Instead, an online process has been implemented, rendering the previous PDF form unnecessary. However, it's important to note that courses offered by other colleges may still require hard copies of the paperwork. To ensure you follow the correct process, please refer to the Honors College website for specific instructions.
Should you encounter any challenges in locating answers to your questions within the provided websites and information, as a final option, please email the Polytechnic Honors Liaison, Steve Elliott, at elliott@purdue.edu