Apply for graduation with honors.
The Department of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences at University of Colorado Denver offers a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors. This distinction may be earned in any of the options of the undergraduate program. The requirements for graduation with honors are:
- The candidate must have at least a 3.2 overall average for the last 60 credit hours taken at UCD.
- The candidate must have at least a 3.5 average in all upper division mathematics courses counted toward the degree, no matter where they were taken.
- An Honors Project must be completed. The Honors Project involves an individual research effort that includes the writing of a paper and/or a presentation. The Honors Project must be done in conjunction with either MATH 4840, Undergraduate Independent Study, or a graduate course numbered 5000 or above.
In either case the student must complete the form linked above with a supervising full-time faculty member of the Department of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences in the semester that the project is undertaken. The supervising faculty member must certify that this requirement has been satisfied. When this form is completed, it must be given to the Chair of the Undergraduate Committee so that the CLAS advising office can be properly notified in time.
Completion of the above minimal requirements shall automatically qualify the candidate for honors at the cum laude level. An honors candidate who satisfies the above requirements with an overall grade point average of 3.5 or higher, and a grade point average of 3.7 or higher in all upper division mathematics courses counted toward the degree, may also qualify for honors at the level of magna cum laude or summa cum laude. To qualify for magna cum laude, in addition to satisfying the criteria listed above, the candidate should have exhibited a special fervor for mathematics. Normally this would be manifested by an outstanding Honors Project and by vigorous activity in the life of the department outside the usual classroom setting. Typically this means attending and participating in seminars. It might also mean participating at a distinguished level in one of the contests (Modeling, Putnam, etc.) in which our students compete. It could mean presenting a student paper at a meeting of the Rocky Mountain Section of the M.A.A. or some other professional organization.
The supervising faculty member should bring to the attention of the Undergraduate Committee any candidate who might qualify for this higher level of honor. If the Undergraduate Committee concurs, it will send a recommendation to this effect to the entire department for final approval.
Occasionally there will be a student who clearly qualifies for honors at the magna cum laude level, but for whom this level of honor does not seem sufficient. Perhaps the honors project results in a publishable paper. In some way, such a candidate should clearly stand out above the rest. The distinction of graduation with honors at the level of summa cum laude is designed for such a student. This level of honor should be bestowed only infrequently, certainly not at every graduation and almost never twice in the same semester.
When a recommendation from the Undergraduate Committee for honors at the level of magna cum or summa cum laude is brought to the department as a motion, a vote will be taken and such a motion must be passed by a two-thirds majority of those voting at the meeting.