Our History

The first student graduated from UNCW "with honors" by completing a rigorous two-semester independent project under the supervision of a faculty mentor.

Since that time, over 2,000 students have completed the requirements to graduate from UNCW with the honors in the major distinction. 

In 1994, the honors experience was extended to all four years. The Faculty Senate approved this recommendation made by the Academic Standards Committee.

This decision kept the capstone academic project as the senior honors project. other opportunities for entering students to take honors sections of basic studies courses were added as well as honors experiential and interdisciplinary seminars.

Since 1994 over 2,300 students have enrolled in the four-year Honors curriculum.

A centralized program with a faculty director, Dr. Diane Levy (sociology), was established to implement all aspects of the four-year honors experience.

Dr. Kate Bruce (psychology) took over as director in 1999, and Dr. Shawn Bingham (sociology) arrived as director in 2018.

In July 2011, the Honors Scholars Program was formally elevated to Honors Scholars College in recognition of:

• Its excellent honors programming and curriculum
• Its support of faculty-mentored undergraduate research to all undergraduates on campus

The Honors College expanded its support of undergraduate research via CSURF, the Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

The Honors College attracts and retains academically talented students. The College offers a powerful learning experience by encouraging curiosity, critical thinking, and independent work skills. Together, these skills contribute to creating a community of honors scholars on campus.

The College is committed to offering opportunities to students as they pursue their academic passions in college. The vision of the program is to encourage and support life-long learning, including a global perspective.

Students in the Honors College complete portions of their UNCW coursework at the honors level. This includes the following:

• At least 12 hours of honors sections of university studies courses
• At least 8 hours of honors seminars (honors freshman seminar, honors enrichment/experiential seminars, and honors interdisciplinary seminar)
• At least 6 hours of undergraduate research or creative scholarship in the major (499), as well as 3 additional hours (student choice) at the honors level.

In total, the Honors curriculum is only 5-8 credit hours of work that will not count towards other required areas of study.