Honors Programs

To graduate with honors, students must achieve the following:

• GPA of at least 3.50 in nutritional science coursework 
• Overall GPA of 3.30 in all other coursework
• Completion of UGS 018 – Freshman Interest Group Seminar 
• Completion of UGS 303 – Personalized Health Research
• Completion of 2 semesters of NTR355H and 2 semesters of NTR 379H
• (Optimal) Completion of honors versions of other science and math courses whenever possible
• Presentation of student research in an approved public forum, such as the college's annual Undergraduate Research Forum
• Active participation in the Leaders in Nutrition Science (LINS) Student Organization

Students who fail to maintain the required GPA may be subject to dismissal from the HANS program. Under special circumstances and at the discretion of the nutritional sciences honors advisor, a student may be allowed to continue under academic review.

Incoming freshmen should complete the College of Natural Sciences Honors application when applying to UT. The recommended deadline for incoming freshmen is October 15. The regular deadline for incoming freshmen is December 1.

If you are, or soon will be, a High School Graduate and have not enrolled in college after high school:

1. Complete the ApplyTexas application for Freshman Admission and select Nutritional Sciences (E 71900) as your first or second major preference.
2. At the end of the ApplyTexas application, check the box that states that you are interested in applying for an honors program. 
   • Note: You will not be able to begin the honors program application until you have submitted your admission application. (It can take up to 24 hours for you ApplyTexas application to be received by UT Austin once you submit it on the ApplyTexas site. Please submit early to avoid complications and delays.)
3. Complete and submit the honors program application by the DECEMBER 1 deadline. All students who select Nutritional Sciences as a major preference and apply to the College of Natural Sciences Honors will also be considered for HANS regardless of which honors program you indicate as your preference.

**If you are an incoming freshman student interested in HANS, but you did not list Nutritional  Sciences as your major preference and/or you did not complete the CNS Honors application, please contact the Department of Nutritional Sciences office at (512) 471-0337.

1. Complete the HANS Continuing and Transfer Student Application and submit the form to ntr-admin@austin.utexas.edu. Have a faculty member complete and submit the HANS Reference Form.
2. Your reference must know about you as a person in addition to your academic abilities. If you do not have a professor who knows you well enough, we will also accept references from a high school teacher or advisor. Your application will not be considered complete until the reference is received. Give your reference plenty of time to submit the form before the deadline.

**Continuing and transfer students are admitted to the HANS program on a rolling basis. Please submit your application as soon as possible.

From their first semester to their last, HANS students meet regularly in small groups with some of the university’s most gifted teachers and researchers. In the upper division courses, HANS students develop research projects in their field of study and write a substantial thesis on a related topic under the supervision of a nutrition faculty mentor.

HANS affords talented, ambitious, and highly motivated students the opportunity to perform cutting-edge research to optimize human health and disease prevention. HANS students have the opportunity to participate in active exchanges with faculty and experts in the field. The community of HANS scholars will form bonds with one another and with their professors that will last a lifetime. By participating in HANS, students will prepare themselves for exciting new opportunities in graduate study, industry, government or professional schools (medicine, nursing, dentistry, etc).

• Must have 3.3 GPA overall and 3.5 GPA in Human Ecology courses
• Approval of Honors Adviser
• Must apply Spring semester of Junior year or 2+ long semesters before graduating
• Completed at least 60 hours of coursework before beginning thesis
• Some faculty members require additional lab or field experience, so inquire early if interested in pursuing special honors.

Receiving Honors:

• Maintain the GPA requirements listed above
• Submit a Special Departmental Honors Thesis Application Form/Thesis Proposal and receive approval before registering for the 379H thesis course
• Earn a letter grade of at least a B on the 379H thesis course
• Present at the School of Human Ecology Honors Symposium
• Submit a bound/ signed copy of the thesis to the School as well as a digital copy to archive in the UT Digital Repository. 

Students should apply no later than the spring semester of their Junior year or 2+ long semesters before graduating.    

1. Set up a meeting with Department of Nutritional Sciences Faculty (ntr-admin@austin.utexas.edu). At the meeting, you will review and discuss the guidelines for Special Departmental Honors.
2. Set up a meeting with the faculty member you want to be your Honors Thesis Supervisor (must be a SoHE faculty member in your major). 
   At the meeting, you will discuss possible thesis projects.  You may be asked to spend a semester in the faculty member’s lab before beginning your thesis project. If the faculty member agrees to supervise your thesis project, you will need to complete the Special Departmental Honors Thesis Application Form/Thesis Proposal.  See Honors Thesis Guidelines for details.  Discuss a choice for a second reader with your supervisor before you approach your second reader (details in step 4).
3. Write a Thesis Project Proposal.
   You will need to provide a Thesis Project Proposal when you submit your SoHe Honors Thesis Application.  Once you have completed the proposal and the faculty member has approved the proposal, obtain the faculty member's signature of approval on the application form.
4. Set up a meeting with the faculty member you want to be your Honors Thesis Second Reader (any UT faculty member). 
   Provide the final version of your Thesis Project Proposal to the faculty member in advance of the meeting. Bring a copy of Thesis Project Proposal and the SoHE Honors Thesis Application (with all portions complete except the Second Reader signature section) to this meeting.
5. Turn in your completed SoHE Honors Thesis Application and the most recent version of your Thesis Project Proposal to the Department of Nutritional Sciences by December 1 to start in the spring semester and May 1 for fall semester. 
   **Do not be discouraged by this deadline. If you are interested in earning Special Departmental Honors, but have missed this deadline, contact the department at 512-471-0337 to discuss your options.
6. Your application and proposal will be given to the Honors Faculty Adviser in your department for final approval. 
   You will be contacted if any changes need to be made to your project before beginning your work. If everything is approved, you will be allowed to register for the appropriate Honors Tutorial Course.  See Honors Course Registration page for instructions on how to register.