Apply to Â鶹´«Ã½ Honors Program!
High School Seniors and New Â鶹´«Ã½ First Year Applicants
Incoming first year students are urged to apply to join the Honors Program at the same time as they are applying to admission to Â鶹´«Ã½, but students may apply after they are also students at Â鶹´«Ã½ . Students entering Â鶹´«Ã½ directly from High School, regardless of the number of college credit hours already earned, should begin their first semester at Â鶹´«Ã½ in the First Year Honors Program.
Transfer Students and Current Â鶹´«Ã½ Student Applicants
Transfer and current Â鶹´«Ã½ students may also apply for the University Honors Program. Transfer students should apply through their Admissions portal after applying to Â鶹´«Ã½. Current Â鶹´«Ã½ students should go to this page to find the Current Â鶹´«Ã½ Student Honors Application information.
Qualifying Criteria
Successful applicants must demonstrate intellectual curiosity, a willingness to ask challenging questions, an interest in exploring their world, and/or a desire to create new ways of doing things. No specific minimum standardized test scores nor minimum GPA is required. Students often demonstrate their academic potential through achievement in high school, but that is not the only way to demonstrate potential, and we understand that there may be many extenuating circumstances that impact a student's GPA. We do not require standardized test scores, and Â鶹´«Ã½ is test-optional for admissions.
Deadlines
The Honors Application has a rolling deadline that follows this timeline.
November 1st (preferred)December 1st (final)
Spring Semester Applications:
For any student wanting to begin Honors Program in a Spring Semester.
December 10th
Fall Early Action Deadline
Early Action deadline High School Seniors and First Time/First Year students.
For the best chance to receive Honors Scholarships.
March 1st
Transfer and Current Â鶹´«Ã½ Student Preferred deadline
If you are a current Â鶹´«Ã½ student or transferring from another college or university, please apply by this date in order to have the best opportunity to enroll in honors courses in Fall.
March 10th
Fall Regular Decision deadline
For High School Seniors and First Time/First Year students:
Receive priority review and acceptance into Honors. Deadline for students who would like to live in the Honors Residential Community.
August 1st
Fall Applications are accepted throughout the summer:
Acceptances are granted for highly qualified students on a space available basis. LAST CHANCE by August 1.
The Application
We recommend that you draft your answers to the questions in a separate document, and then copy and paste the answers into the application answer blocks.
Questions for First Year/First Time College Students for FALL 2025 or Spring 2026
The Honors application requires you to answer a few short answer questions. You are encouraged to draft your responses in a separate document and then copy and paste your response into the application. You must use your own words and may not use A.I. generated text as your response. We want to hear your voice and read your story. The responses are not evaluated on grammar. You may use a spell checker.
Question 1)
Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s Honors Program fosters a diverse and inclusive community of intellectually curious student scholars. We seek students who want to engage deeply in their learning, not simply for the sake of achieving good grades, but for the intrinsic reward of discovering more about the world around them. The Honors Program accepts students who tend to ask complex questions and challenge themselves to seek solutions where none seem to exist. The Honors Program values creativity and originality as well as hard work, motivation and critical thinking.
Please tell us about one area of interest that you are passionate about and would like to explore or engage with further. Your chosen area of interest can be from any domain: academic, artistic, cultural, scientific, athletic or any other area. Please showcase your curiosity and your engagement with the world through your response. (Responses should be 200-400 words).
Question 2)
By joining the University Honors Program, you will become a member of our community of scholars, who all have different backgrounds, experiences, and stories. Please tell us what aspects from your background, experience, and story will enrich our University Honors Program community. (Responses should be 100-300 words).
If you can't find the Application in your Â鶹´«Ã½ Admitted Student Portal,
please email us at honors@unco.edu.
Questions for Current Â鶹´«Ã½ Students
Question 1)
Discuss one issue, problem, concern or research question that you would be interested exploring in more depth? Or discuss one creative project that you would like to endeavor to create. Why have you chosen this issue or creative project? In what ways would you be interested in exploring the issue/would you pursue this project? Do not use AI generated text as your response, we want to hear YOUR voice. (500 words or less)
Question 2)
What are your future educational, graduate school and/or professional goals? How does the Honors Program fit into your plans? (200 words or less)
Apply Today to Honors!
Are you a newly accepted Â鶹´«Ã½ student, but can't find the honors application? Please email us at honors@unco.edu
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