Mission

The Honors College at UMBC

The Honors College is for students who seek exceptional intellectual stimulation and challenge. Students are offered a rich liberal arts experience through honors classes, internships, study abroad, and other extracurricular opportunities. One of the hallmarks of the program is specialized attention. Each semester, students receive individual advising from Honors College staff who are also available for consultation throughout the year. Membership in the Honors College is intentionally kept small. With a total enrollment of approximately 500, the Honors College seeks to matriculate 100-150 students each year. Students admitted to the Honors College undertake general honors study in honors versions of regular classes and specially commissioned honors seminars. Honors seminars, the subjects of which vary from semester to semester, cover a wide variety of interdisciplinary topics. Honors courses have limited enrollment and afford participants the opportunity for close interaction with distinguished members of the UMBC faculty. The Honors College encourages the development of advanced-level honors curricula and assists honors students in developing their programs, applying to graduate or professional schools, and gaining financial support for research and graduate study. Recent Honors College graduates have been accepted into programs at Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, Oxford, Cambridge, Duke, Harvard, NYU and Georgetown, among others. Students who complete the Honors College curriculum graduate with a Certificate of General Honors, which is noted on their transcript.