Maintaining Honors Status

 Requirements

• Students must first be officially admitted into the program to receive honor designation for graduation
• All students must maintain throughout their college career and graduate with a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA to receive recognition and remain a part of the program
• Students must complete one (1) High Impact Practice per year to remain an active member of the UHP
• Deadlines for the submission of high-impact practice evidence must be met to receive credit. Information on deadlines will be made available to students on the UHP website at the Helpfull Forms section
• Proof of participation in an official UTEP or externally sponsored high impact practice is required to receive credit. Acceptance of credit is at the discretion of the UHP office.
• Students must be a part of UHP Group Events. Mandatory attendance at events will be announced during the academic school year. Student mus attend at least one UHP Group Event to remain active
• Students should be proud and enjoy being a part of the UHP!

Important notice

For inactive members, we understand that you may have had your GPA drop below 3.5,  forgotten to submit the member agreement, or had some other event occur that has resulted in you becoming inactive. In order to reduce confusion and ensure that the Honors program is beneficial to you,  we will allow you reapply to the Honors program only once. Hopefully, this will encourage you to think strategically and provide you with another opportunity to apply if you have become inactive

University Honors Degree (Includes Transcript and Diploma Designation):

Participation in High Impact Practices/UTEP EDGE Experiences, 1 per year, for 4 years, or until graduation. Acknowledging that Student must participate in a UHP Group Event in the semesters. UHP Events and Practices/Experiences are not the same activities 

 NOTE: Refer your college guidelines for more information on the requirements and times allowed for each activity.

How do I get my Honors Degree? 

Requirements

Completion of College Requirements

Cumulative GPA of 3.5 and above

Attend UHP Group Events

 

High Impact Practice information 

The UHP will count your participation in UTEP EDGE experiences as honors credit. Below is a list of experiences that are counted for honors. Student must participate in at least in three (3) different categories 

● Capstone Experiences	● Study Abroad/Study Away
● Community Engagement	● Student Employment
● Creative Activies	● Student Leadership
● Internships	● Research and Scholarly Activities
● Professional Preparation

 

1. Capstone Experiences: Involves exploring or researching a topic of interest. This experience is for a year-long research on the last year of your college career 

2. Community engagement: Through a variety of community activities, students learn about social contexts and challenges as well as how to positively impact their community. Students may engage in the community in a variety of ways. In order to receive credit, students must participate in at least 40 hours thought the community service involvement website The Cue or through a UTEP registered organization.  It is mandatory to register service provided on THE CUE platform in order to received credit. For UTEP registered organization, student must stay in the organization and actively participate on community service for one year.  Although the maximum accreditation allowed by UHP is one (1), we encourage you to continue to participate in UTEP community service throughtout your college career

3. Creative Activities: At UTEP, students can expand their learning through participating in a creative project under the mentorship of a faculty expert. Each project is unique and depends on the discipline and the type of work the student and mentor decide to pursue. To be considered a High Impact Practice, the project must be to be published or in an exhibition

4. Internships: Are a type of experiential learning that allows students to “test-drive” their career and professional goals. Completing an internship through your academic department or through the Internship Program at the University Career Center can make students more marketable in their future careers and can promote the application and integration of knowledge. At The University of Texas at El Paso, we encourage our students to partake in self-discovery and exploration. Internship opportunities are accessible via the Job Mine portal for students to view and apply to positions. In order to receive credit, the student must register the activity in job mine unless it is a formal internal course and must be completed within the academic or pre-professional field.  

5. Professional Preparation: It is important to lay the groundwork for professional success early in one's academic career. Students who can submit evidence of extensive preparation for their intended profession, such as time spent with a professional mentor or "shadowing" a professional, can be said to have completed this form of EDGE experience. In order to receive credit student must complete at leas 40 hours within the same activity in their field; different activities cannot be combined to meet the minimim required 

6. Research and scholarly activities: This high impact practice introduce undergraduate students to the culture of learning by doing, through self-directed inquiry under the guidance of an expert faculty mentor. Students and their research mentors collaborate as partners while exploring topics of interest of them. Each project is unique and depends on the discipline and the type of work the student and mentor decide to pursue 

7. Student Leadership: The University of Texas at El Paso views student leadership as a critical process for students to understand in order to become effective agents of positive change in their own lives, the organizations they work in, and communities where they reside.  We recognize that students come to the University with varying degrees of leadership experience and commit to the enhancement and development of our students as future global leaders. In order to receive credit, student must hold an officer position and be involved in a UTEP registered organization at least one (1) year. Although the maximum accreditation allowed by UHP is one (1), we encourage you to continue to participate in UTEP organizations throughtout your college career.
 
8. Study away/study abroad:  This experience prepares UTEP students for the challenges and complexity of a 21st century world. Study abroad, study away or faculty-led academic and cultural experiences are credit-based and include a culminating experience in which students obtain increase understanding of his/her academic discipline, language proficiency, field research techniques, service learning or career-related knowledge.

UTEP students have traveled the world participating in study abroad/study away activities in a variety of countries   including:

Argentina	Germany	Peru
Australia	Greece	Scotland
Bhutan	Hungary	South Africa
Colombia	Indonesia	South Korea
Czech Republic	Italy	Spain
England	Mexico	Switzerland
Estonia	Morocco	United Kingdom
France	New Zealand	United States

Note: The student should submit their unofficial transcript together with the Completion Form in order to obtained credit. 

As a result of studying abroad or away, a student will:

Possess an understanding of similarities and differences across many dimensions including gender, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, religious belief, ability, generation, nationality, family status and more. Appreciate personal and cultural differences and seeing their value, particularly in a collaborative setting. Expand their cultural awareness and understanding their connection to the global community. Demonstrate greater autonomy, evaluate problem solving-strategies and demonstrate independent decision-making enhance his/her resume and increase job opportunities.

9. Student Employment on-campus: Working through college is a proud UTEP tradition. Employment through the university also helps students spend more time on campus, in the academic environment.  As key contributors to the UTEP community, on-campus student employees purposefully connect to faculty, staff, and fellow students, grow personally and professionally, and offset their educational costs.  And they do all of this while going to classes and pursuing their educational and career dreams. In order to receive credit, it mus be on-campus and work at the same palce for at least one consecutive (1) year.