Honors students in the College of Engineering are part of the broader honors community at the University of Iowa. The Honors Program is an intellectual community for talented-and-gifted education through learning by doing. Graduating with Honors in Engineering is a prestigious distinction that will not only be recognized during commencement, but it will also be noted on your diploma and your permanent academic record.  See also the University Honors Program for additional guidelines for the Honors program and Honors Commendations.

Requirements and Process for Graduating with Honors in Engineering

1.  Complete all requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree with a minimum UI cumulative grade-point average of 3.33 or a B+ average.

2. Demonstrate exceptional accomplishment by completing an approved honors project under the supervision of a faculty member. (Examples include: research; directed independent study; development of a computer-assisted tutorial for a course; creation of a demonstration experiment or a new experiment for an engineering course; or other departmentally approved enrichment or extracurricular activity)

3. Satisfactorily complete at least one semester of the College of Engineering Honors Seminar, 57:001, 1 s.h.

4. Earn at least 30 semester hours of college credit toward the engineering degree at The University of Iowa. Hours earned from enrollment in independent study for the honors project cannot count toward the 128 semester hours required for a B.S.E. degree.

5. Complete a written report and oral presentation of the finished honors project.

6. Submit Part I & Part II of the honors application to Kelli Delfosse, Student Development Center, 3124 SC.

7. Submit your honors thesis to the University Honors Program following their specific guidelines. Deposit a copy of the signed honors submission in the Student Development Center, College of Engineering, 3124 SC.  Final copy of the thesis is due to both offices by 5:00 PM on the Wednesday of finals week in the graduating semester.

8. Receive verification by the honors certification committee that the honors requirements have been fulfilled. The honors departmental adviser and the student’s faculty mentor compose the certification committee. Both committee members must certify the achievement of honors status.

Honors Paper & Presentation

As part of the requirement for completing the Honors Program, you must submit a paper about your project and defend your thesis prior to graduation. Read and follow the guidelines for organizing and submitting your Honors project. An original copy of the title page, abstract, and thesis must be submitted to the Honors Program Office in 420 BHC. In addition, a photocopy of the original packet must be submitted to the Student Development Center, 3124 SC.

Collaborative Theses Departments may permit students to collaborate on a single honors thesis or project. With approval from departmental honors advisor(s) and faculty mentor(s), these collaborations may be interdisciplinary. At the outset, a collaboration plan should be approved by the relevant advisor(s) and mentor(s). In the end, individual contributions must be delineated in ways acceptable to the advisor(s) and mentor(s). A written application for approval of the thesis or project must specify and justify the collaboration, stating clearly the contributions of each student. This application must be signed by the advisor(s) and mentor(s), then filed with the Honors Program when the title page and the abstract are filed. When advance warning has been provided to prospectively unsatisfactory contributors, advisor(s) and mentor(s) may approve some contributions but not others for the same project. With this in mind, mentor(s) must monitor progress closely as collaborative projects proceed. If a college or department makes further rules for collaboration on honors theses or projects, it should provide these rules promptly to the Honors Program.

College of Engineering Honors Program Seminar

The College of Engineering Honors Program Seminar (057:001) is one of the requirements for undergraduate engineering students who seek recognition as an Honor Student.  The seminar, typically completed in a student's junior or senior year, is a one-credit hour weekly meeting of the College's Honor Students. The students discuss current events that involve engineering issues, increase their awareness of the College's resources and research areas, attend other significant University and all-College professional events, and present their Honors Projects in a special seminar.

Departmental Honors Advisors

Biomedical Engineering - Dr. Edwin Dove
Chemical Engineering - Dr. Audrey Butler
Civil Engineering - Dr. Gabriele Villarini
Electrical Engineering - Dr. Xiaodong Wu
Industrial Engineering - Dr. Geb Thomas
Mechanical Engineering - Dr. H.S. Udaykumar