The University of New Mexico Honors College: A Legacy of Academic Excellence

The University of New Mexico (UNM) Honors College stands as a testament to the institution's commitment to providing challenging opportunities for highly motivated, talented, and creative undergraduates. With a rich history spanning over six decades, the Honors College has evolved from a program into a degree-granting college, consistently adapting to the changing landscape of higher education.

A Historical Overview

Founded in 1957 as the UNM General Honors Program, with a $30,000 grant from the Carnegie Corp. of New York, the program was the brainchild of Professor Dudley Wynn, then the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Inspired by the tutorial systems of prestigious British universities like Oxford and Cambridge, the American Honors movement gained momentum in the mid-20th century. Wynn, a leader in the National Collegiate Honors Council movement, initiated the program with thirty students. The Program was integrated permanently into the University in 1961.

The Honors Program emphasized intensive individual study and close interaction between students and faculty through small seminar-style classes, mentoring, and academic apprenticeships, with the objective to cultivate a more enriched experience.

In 2023-2024, UNM Honors will recognize its 10th anniversary of becoming one of the largest honors colleges in the nation. While it was founded in 1957, it was structured as a program until 2012 when the UNM Faculty Senate and Board of Regents approved it to become a degree-granting college.

Mission and Structure

The mission of the UNM Honors Program and the Honors College has been to provide challenging opportunities for intensive, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural, liberal-arts education to highly motivated, talented, and creative undergraduates in all majors and to build a community of scholars. Over the years, the mission has been modified, expanded, and revised to adapt to changing standards for honors education, shifting demographics, social and technological advances, and various influences and trends.

The structure of the Honors Program/College provides academic and social opportunities and reflects the full diversity of the campus and region. A successful initiative of the UNM Honors College is the Honors House system. The houses provide the students an opportunity to interact with each other outside of classrooms.

National Recognition

The Honors Program at UNM has served as a model and inspiration for many programs across the country. Four of UNM’s five directors, Dudley Wynn, John Howarth, Robert O. Evans, Rosalie C. Otero, as well as Dean Greg Lanier have served as president of the National Collegiate Honors Council. Otero has also served as president of the Western Regional Honors Council twice.

UNM stands out from other honors programs by having its faculty’s primary academic appointments in the Honors College. “Where many other honors colleges throughout the country provide advanced honors study as a contract option within a regular course or as a course restricted to students majoring in a specific discipline, our Honors College offers small courses in which students from varied fields come together to investigate the ways in which subjects connect and intersect with each other,” said Honors College Chair Leslie Donovan. Dean Kate Krause worked extensively to share the great work done by the faculty, staff and students at the Honors College with INSIDE HONORS.

Honors Programs at UNM

For academically motivated students, there are three different Honors programs at UNM: Departmental Honors, Honors College, and Baccalaureate Honors.

Departmental Honors

Departmental honors may be awarded to students within a particular area of study. Interested students should contact the chairperson of their major department or the dean of their college regarding the availability of a program. Usually, students enter a departmental honors program in their junior year. Departmental honors confer the status of cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude on graduating students. For further information, contact your academic advisor or department chair.

Read also: UMD Honors Programs

A number of programs / departments in A&S have Departmental Honors Thesis programs. Designed to provide specialized, in-depth knowledge and training in a single area of study, these progams offer amazing preparation for graduate study and advanced professional opportunities in your area of interest, or simply the opportunity to delve deep into something you're passionate about.

In a Departmental Honors Thesis program, you work closely with faculty on developing your own research projects or assisting faculty with ground-breaking research at a flagship, R1 university. Some of these programs do not have GPA requirements to apply, but ALL of these programs require initiative on your part. It's up to you to choose your faculty mentor, design a thesis project in consultation with them, ask for help when you need it, and complete and possibly defend your thesis to a faculty committee.

Typically, students apply for departmental honors programs early in their junior year (4 semesters before intended graduation date). Admission to departmental honors cannot be granted later than the beginning of a student’s last year. Requirements vary by department / program. Contact them directly for current requirements and expectations!

A&S Programs with Departmental Honors:

American Studies
Anthropology
Biochemistry
Biology
Chemistry
Communication & Journalism
Earth & Planetary Sciences
Economics
English
Geography & Environmental Studies
History
International Studies
Languages, Cultures, and Literatures
Latin American Studies
Linguistics
Mathematics & Statistics
Philosophy
Physics & Astronomy
Political Science
Psychology
Religious Studies
Spanish & Portuguese
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Honors College

Honors College offers a unique, seminar-style experience for undergraduates that emphasizes deep, interdisciplinary thinking, a focus on primary and complex texts across diverse genres and styles, and engagement and research, both locally and globally. A&S students can of course participate in Honors College offerings, and many students in Honors College are A&S majors. You can opt to simply take courses, or engage more fully by completing an Honors designation.

The admission process is a holistic decision made after a review of the applicant’s high school curriculum and GPA, standardized test scores, and evidence of leadership and community involvement. To apply to the Honors College, incoming freshmen, current UNM students, or transfer students must fill out an application.

Baccalaureate Honors

Designations of cum laude (3.5-3.74), magna cum laude (3.75-3.89), and summa cum laude (3.9-4.0) are awarded to UNM baccalaureate-level graduates who have earned at least 60 hours in residence and the cumulative grade point averages listed in parentheses. Honors designations will be printed on the diploma, the Commencement program and the student's permanent record. Baccalaureate Honors are automatically awarded. No application is necessary. Only first baccalaureate degree candidates are eligible for graduation with honors. For further information, contact your academic advisor or the Office of the Registrar at (505) 277-8900.

The Latin baccalaureate honors designations are printed on the student’s diploma and recorded on their permanent record, after completion of all degree requirements has been confirmed. It is not necessary for students to apply for this category of honors. Students pursuing a second baccalaureate degree are ineligible to graduate with baccalaureate honors.

Other Honors Opportunities

UNM Leadership and Involvement Award

The UNM Leadership and Involvement Awards recognize students who have excelled in leadership, as well as academic and co-curricular activities. Applications are due in December and applicants must have a minimum 2.5 GPA, minimum of 60 hours earned, campus co-curricular activities and leadership, and other contributions to the campus and surrounding communities. Seniors and graduate students are eligible to apply as well. The application for this award opens in October each year.

Clauve Outstanding Senior Award

This award is presented to outstanding seniors who have performed well academically and made significant contributions to the campus community through their outstanding leadership and involvement in student organizations and activities. Nominations are solicited in January with a deadline late February/early March each year. Usually, six to eight students are recognized at the April Recognition Reception. Students should check with their college administration office for further information on departmental and college honors and awards.

Honorary Chartered Student Organizations

There are numerous honorary chartered student organizations on campus, each requiring application. Please visit UNM's chartered student organization webpage to see the listing of honorary chartered student organizations. We recommend searching both the Honorary and Academic/Departmental categories to find a group you may be qualified for. Some of them include:

Golden Key National Honor Society (General Honor Society)
Kappa Kappa Psi (Bandmembers)
Mortar Board (Senior General Honor Society)
National Society of Collegiate Scholars (General Honor Society)
Order of Omega (Fraternity and Sorority)
Phi Eta Sigma (Freshman Honor Society)
Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa is an honor society for those seniors with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 and juniors with a 4.0 average after the fall semester of their junior year. Faculty review students for membership. Those elected to membership in Phi Kappa Phi include the upper 7.5% of last-term juniors and the upper 10% of seniors, along with outstanding graduate students, faculty, and alumni. A keynote speaker and refreshments highlight the program held every year in April. The reception is sponsored by the Student Activities Center. The following awards are presented at the reception:

Accessibility Resource Center Awards
African American Student Services Awards
Alumni Citizenship & Trailblazer Awards
American Indian Student Service Awards
Asian American Pacific Islander Resource Center Awards
ASUNM Awards
Clauve Senior of the Year Awards
El Centro de la Raza Awards
Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards
GPSA Awards
LGBTQ Resource Center Awards
National Scholarship Announcements
Residence Hall Awards
Student Union Building Leadership Award
Women's Resource Center Awards

Honors College Events

Join us for an exciting lecture in the Honors Forum, discussing the ways in which UNM has chosen to memorialize important moments in a series of murals all across campus. The Honors College’s own Troy R. Lovata (Anthropology, with a concentration in Archaeology), from The University of Texas (Ph.D. and M.A.) and Colorado State University (B.A.) will lead us on a walking tour of some of the campus’ most interesting, exciting, and memorable murals. The Discovery Lecture Series teams up with the Anniversary committee to bring Honors Alumnus Zach Hively, founder of Casa Urraca Press, to talk about his journey from Honors student to publisher of some of New Mexico’s best and brightest writers. Free and open to the public. Tuesday, Oct. The Honors Alumni Chapter invites you to celebrate our community with an all-welcome homecoming event, on the evening of Oct.

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