Honors Program
The Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
participates in the IT
Honors Program. The following guidelines have been developed
for students interested in pursuing an Honors Degree in Biosystems
and Agricultural Engineering. Jonathan Chaplin, honors advisor,
works closely with honors students and other faculty (mentors)
interested in the students' area of study. It is important
to identify and evaluate appropriate honors experiences for
each student early in the program. A committee consisting
of the Department Head, honors advisor and one other faculty
member will evaluate honors program and honors experiences
within the department.
Thesis
A thesis is required for all latin degrees. The research
must be started early in the junior year. It might be advantageous
to have the student write up a UROP proposal
to start the project. This will not be a requirement for
the degree but may used as a honors experience. The thesis
would be similar to a MS plan B paper and will require significant
discovery and laboratory work (40 hours). Early involvement
in ongoing research projects will also help the student identify
an area or topic to study. A seminar on the thesis topic
will be required.
Honors Experiences
Honors experiences are to be defined by the student and
a faculty mentor and approved by the director of the IT Honors
Program. They may include upper division honors courses or
seminars, honors recitation sections, thesis or design project
work, special seminars, or additional courses (4XXXH or above)
not normally part of the major program. If a CLA or CBS course
is to be counted as an Honors Experience it must be taken
as 4XXXH. Seminars will be required for half of the honors
experiences followed. Here are some examples of what might
be an honors experience in BAE:
- BAE 5095 Special Problems (Directed study in support
of the thesis)
- BAE 5xxx Grad level class in addition to other course
work
- BAE 4900 Internship
- Field trips supporting research for thesis
- Paper delivery at an ASAE (or other professional) meeting
- Participate in a UROP project.
- Participate in an exchange program which demonstrates
professional growth
- Participate in an Upper Division Honors Colloquium
BAE Latin Degree and Degress with Distinction Requirements
Degrees with Distinction
|
|
Required GPA
|
|
With Distinction
|
3.75
|
|
With High Distinction
|
3.90
|
Latin Degrees
|
Degree
|
UD GPA
|
Honors Experiences
|
Thesis
|
|
Cum Laude
|
3.50
|
1
|
Paper ?
|
|
Magna
|
3.66
|
2
|
Paper/Thesis?
|
|
Summa
|
3.75
|
3
|
Thesis
|
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I do an Honors Program?
Shows that you have excelled in your chosen subject and
that you are willing to explore and conduct creative research.
Doesn't my GPA have to be really high?
No. Your first 60 credits are not included in the Honors
GPA.
How do I begin?
Register a Preliminary program with Jonathan Chaplin. Discuss
Honors Experiences and plan to complete your honors experiences
during 3rd and 4th years.
Does this make a difference in getting
a job?
All students who did honors found jobs straight away.
Are Honors students nerds?
No. These students are planning their futures. Nerds wear
pocket protectors.
Honors Advisor
Jonathan Chaplin
224B BAE
612-625-8146
jchaplin@umn.edu
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