Graduating With Honors
You do not have to participate in the CALS Honors Program to graduate from the University of Florida with Honors.
Graduating with Honors from UF requires only the following:
- Cum laude (with honors) - a 3.5 minimum upper-division GPA
- Magna cum laude (with high honors) - a 3.75 minimum upper-division GPA, PLUS an Honors Thesis. You are not required to sign up for honors research credits (XXX 4915). If you need the credits, you can sign up for 1-3 credits of XXX4915. At a minimum the University would like you to sign up for the zero credit XXX 4915 every term you are conducting research.
- Summa cum laude (with highest honors) - a 3.85 minimum upper-division GPA PLUS an Honors Thesis. You are not required to sign up for honors research credits (XXX 4915). If you need the credits, you can sign up for 1-3 credits of XXX4915. At a minimum the University would like you to sign up for the zero credit XXX 4915 every term you are conducting research.
However, students who complete the CALS Honors Program will graduate from UF magna cum laude or summa cum laude automatically, since the CALS Honors Program requirements exceed the UF and CALS requirements.
Special note for Microbiology and Cell Science students:
In addition to the thesis and GPA requirements noted above, you will need to enroll in a minimum of 4 credits of MCB 4911 (Supervised Research) or MCB 4915 (CALS Honors Supervised Research) to conduct research that will be used for the Thesis. These may be taken for a maximum of 6 credits and a maximum per semester total of 0-3 for the fall and spring semesters. For summer A or Summer B, you can register for a maximum of 0-1 credits and for Summer C a maximum of 0-2 credits. Once you max out at 06 credits, you may continue to register for 0 credit hours. Summer enrollment: if MCB4915 or MCB4911 is the only course on your schedule and you choose to register for 0 credits, you will be charged fees for 01 credit.
Please see the Microbiology and Cell Science Department web site.
Be sure to double check with your departmental for any additional requirements.
The CALS Honors Scholars Certificate Program is for students who have:
- Declared a major in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
- Accumulated at least 60 credits toward graduation
- A 3.75 or greater overall Upper-Division GPA
CALS Honors coursework is identified as such on the transcript. Students that successfully complete the CALS Honors Program are designated as CALS Honors Scholars, and receive a Scholars Medallion and certificate. Successful completion of the CALS Honors program (GPA, courses, and thesis) automatically qualifies students for graduation from UF with magna cum laude or summa cum laude honors.
CALS Honors Scholars Certificate courses are designed to give you individual and small-class interactions with faculty and fellow students. Faculty get to know CALS Honors Scholars Certificate students, and can help with letters of recommendation and advice on employment and higher degree opportunities.
To complete the CALS Honors Scholars Certificate, you must take ALS 3923 (1 credit Honors Orientation), XXX 4915 (3 credit Honors Project) plus 4-6 additional credit hours of honors courses taken as part of an Honors Course Contract (see below). The 4-6 additional hours must come from upper division courses not previously counted for credit.
To graduate with Honors from UF without completing the CALS Honors Scholars Certificate you must write an honors thesis as part of the coursework requirement.
NOTE
You can write an Honors Contract on upper-division courses in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences only! We cannot change course titles in other colleges to include Honors - only CALS.
Graduate Courses and UF Honors Courses: UF Honors courses numbered 3000 or above and not previously counted for credit will also satisfy CALS Honors course requirements if you go through the CALS Dean's office, using an Honors Contract form signed by your instructor to create an honors section of a course you are currently enrolled in. Graduate courses are those numbered 5000 and above, and they require the consent of the instructor for you to enroll; contact the instructor directly.
Questions about coursework? Ask your Departmental Honors Coordinator, or the CALS Dean's office.
- ALS 3923 -- Honors Orientation (1 cr)
- This course orients students to the CALS Honors Program and assists them in getting started with a thesis project. The course features guest lectures, class discussions, interactive exercises, and online assignments.
- XXX 4915 - Honors Project (0-3 cr)
- Each CALS department has "Honors Project" or "Honors Research" courses, to be taken while you are working on your thesis project. Outside of CALS, departments may not have a XXX 4915 course, so consult your to determine what to take if your mentor is not a member of CALS. You can use ALS 4915 for this purpose. View the ALS 4915 undergraduate honors project student contract that must be completed before you register for this honors project class.
- Honors Course Contracts involve scholarly inquiry and faculty mentoring linked to upper division courses within your major. Together with your instructor, unique course requirements are developed, and the course receives Honors status. Students must submit the Honors Contract form to the Dean's office no later than 3 weeks after the first day of classes of the semester in which the course is taken. This is the most common way that CALS Honors coursework is completed.
Consider applying to the CALS Honors Scholars Certificate program if you meet the following admission requirements:
- You are a student in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
- You have earned at least 60 credits toward graduation
- You have an overall UF upper-division GPA of 3.75 or greater (check your degree audit to see this)
Hours: 9 credits with minimum grades of C or S
Students earning the CALS honors scholar certificate must complete at least nine credit hours of honors coursework and an undergraduate honors thesis. The coursework, thesis topic and thesis adviser are unique to each student and are subject to approval by the CALS honors program director.
- Maintain an upper division GPA (last 60 hours) of at least 3.75.
- ALS 3923 Honors Orientation (1 credit).
- XXX 4915 Honors Project (or similar independent study/research course to be completed as the student is working on their thesis research) (3-4 credits). In each department, there is a course designated for this purpose; register for this during the semester that you are performing or writing your honors project. The zero credit option for XXX 4915 will NOT count towards the CALS Honor Scholar Certificate.
- Additional Honors courses. Honors course work is identified as such on your transcript. These additional credits of honors coursework (4-5 credits) are taken as:
- Existing 3000/4000-level honors courses, approved by the honors program director
- Existing 3000/4000-level CALS courses taken as honors contract courses, approved by the honors program director
- CALS graduate-level courses, approved by the honors program director
- Complete an Honors thesis, approved by the research mentor, department honors coordinator and honors program director.
- Be sure to double check with your Departmental Honors Coordinator for any additional requirements.
CALS Honors students may qualify for paid research opportunities such as those available through the University Scholars Program.
Application Deadline to submit to CALS: February 6, 2026
Eligibility & Selection of Scholars: 2026-2027 Academic Year
Undergraduate students from any college who wish to conduct research with a faculty member in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (this includes the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences and School of Natural Resources and Environment) are eligible to compete for this award although preference is given to students in the college. Students should complete the University Scholars’ Program Application (link above) and submit to the Dean's office.
We anticipate a total of 20 awards will be given to students with CALS faculty mentors. A CALS student who wishes to work with a faculty member in a college outside of CALS, MUST apply in the college of the faculty and not in CALS. Each award is a $1,750 student stipend for the supervised research, disbursed in two payments (Sept. and May). The faculty mentor will also receive $500 that can be used for travel or other research-related needs.
Selection Process
The college will choose the student research projects from all applications submitted based on the following criteria:
- Sound background and justification
- Clear objective(s)
- Sound methodology and approach
Students and faculty mentors will be notified of their selection approximately four weeks after the application deadline.
Expectations During Scholars Program
Students are encouraged to register for undergraduate research during at least one of the semesters within the award period. See your departmental advisor on how to sign up for undergraduate research as part of the University Scholars program.
If you are using the University Scholars program as part of the CALS Honors Scholar Certificate then you will need to sign up for XXX4915 Honors Thesis Research (you will need a total of 3 credits for the certificate) in the name of your major (substitute your departmental code for the XXX).
If you want to use this research experience for both the University Scholars program and graduating magna or summa cum laude you can sign up for honors thesis credit (XXX4915) or supervised research credit (XXX4911) in the name of your major (substitute your departmental code for the XXX). You can sign up for 0-3 credits.
If you want to use this research experience for just the University Scholars program, sign up for supervised research credit (XXX4911) in the name of your major (substitute your departmental code for the XXX). You can sign up for 0-3 credits.
Students must be in good standing to receive the second payment, defined as adequate progress on the project determined by the faculty mentor, completion of all required documentation, and good academic standing. Students must submit a final typed report of the project to their mentor. Students are required to submit a final report for publication in The Journal of Undergraduate Research or another journal. The report can serve as an Undergraduate Honors Thesis to fulfill requirements for magna and summa cum laude Honors at UF.
Successful applicants are expected to attend an orientation in April 2026 and students must present their results at a university-wide symposium in April of 2027. Faculty mentors are expected to attend if their mentee's work is selected. Students will be selected for the University symposium based on an evaluation of their effectiveness in presenting and understanding their overall research project and goals achieved.
General questions should be directed to:
Dr. Al Wysocki, Associate Dean
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
2020 McCarty Hall D
352-392-1963
Applications should be emailed to:
Matt Brannan
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
2020 McCarty Hall D
352-392-1963
