Conversion Information

An Honors conversion project should consist of work that enriches and deepens the student's experience of the course material. However, because we recognize that professors and courses are unique, the exact content and format of the Honors conversion project are left up to you and the student to decide together. Previous projects have included research papers, film reviews, interviews, in-class PowerPoint presentations, or even case study analysis. We encourage you to look at examples of Honors conversion projects that have been completed by students in the past.

Students doing conversions often comment that the best part of their conversion was the ability to work closely with their professor on a project; so, you should expect to be in contact with your converting student(s) throughout the term. The level and regularity of contact is up to you and the student to decide together: for some it makes sense to have scheduled meetings outside of class while for others staying in regular e-mail contact with the occasional informal chat before class is sufficient. You may use any resources that our office can provide for this project, and we are happy to show you what is available. While we do not anticipate that this conversion will greatly add to your own work for this course we hope that you will put time into establishing a relationship with the student in order to enhance the student's learning from this conversion project. Many instructors have found the conversion process as gratifying for them as it is for the students; each semester we hear how much the instructors enjoyed their conversations with their converting students and how interesting the instructors found their topics and project results.

Download our PDF for examples of previous Honors Conversion Projects.

An important goal for Honors conversions is to provide increased opportunities for Honors students to interact with faculty members; the guidance, insight, and feedback that professors give to students are vital parts of the conversion experience.  Therefore, it is usual for the professor teaching the course to supervise the Honors conversion work.  In some cases, however, this is not feasible or desirable so a graduate student instructor who is teaching in the course will oversee the project or group process in an Honors conversion.

If a graduate student instructor will supervise the project, both the graduate student and the faculty member teaching the course must sign the form.

If a student is requesting to convert a course that already has an Honors component, we require a statement explaining the request. The supervising instructor, whether faculty or GSI, must also endorse that explanation with a signature.

At the end of the semester, you will receive an email from us to asking whether that the student completed the Honors conversion project. Once you confirm that it was completed, we will add "Honors" to the course on the students' transcript. While the conversion project is independent of the grade in the class, a student must earn a C or higher to earn Honors in the course.

We wish you and your student a rewarding conversion experience! Please contact us if you have any questions.