Prospective Honors Students
The UTRGV Honors College is open to students pursuing any major. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and applicants are contacted with a decision within two weeks.
To graduate with honors, a student must declare an honors track with the Honors College and
- obtain 21 credits of honors coursework or 25 credits with the thesis option. Students earn honors credits by taking honor courses, doing honors-by-contracts (HBCs), and taking graduate courses. For honors coursework, students must achieve a course letter grade of “A” or “B”,
- All students must meet the respective eligibility requirements to apply for admission to the Honors College. One of these eligibility criteria requires a minimum GPA of 3.5/4.0.
Eligibility Application Criteria
All students must meet their respective eligibility requirements to apply for admission to the Honors College. One of these eligibility criteria requires a GPA of 3.5/4.0. The exception to the eligibility requirements are high school students who graduate from the UTRGV Math and Science Academy and UTRGV students who were awarded a prestigious scholarship.
High School Students
Senior high school students are eligible to apply for admission to the Honors College if they satisfy at least one of the following criteria:
- GPA 3.5/4.0 (high school)
- Top 10% of high school graduation class.
Transfer Students from South Texas College Honors Program
Students transferring from South Texas College's honors program can earn up to 9 credit hours of their STC honors coursework towards UTRGV Honors College graduation requirements. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.5/4.0 in order to apply to the Honors College.
Currently Enrolled UTRGV Students
- College students with 12 or more credits from UTRGV or from another college or university (not dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment) must satisfy the eligibility requirement of having a minimum GPA of 3.5/4.0 to apply for admission.
UTRGV Math and Science Academy Alumni
High school students graduating from the UTRGV Math and Science Academy are automatically accepted to the Honors College and earn up to 9 credit hours of lower-division honors coursework towards UTRGV Honors College graduation requirements. To graduate from UTRGV with honors, the 3-hour practicum and 9 hours of upper-division coursework through honors-by-contract remain.
UTRGV Presidential, Distinguished, Meritorious, and Luminary Scholarship Recipients
Students receiving one of these prestigious scholarships are automatically admitted to the UTRGV Honors College.
Admission Application
The Honors College accepts applications on a rolling basis. Applicants should expect to be notified of their admission status approximately two weeks after submitting their application.
The admission application to the Honors College consists of the following items:
- 2 letters of recommendation (at least 1 from a high school teacher/college faculty; at most one from a supervisor in your workplace/internship/volunteer capacity)
- A written OR video essay.
- A list of activities, with descriptions.
- Transcript from current institution at the time of application
- Minimum GPA 3.5/4.0.
Apply for admission to the Honors College by clicking on one of the links to the left under "Quick Links". There is no deadline to apply to the UTRGV Honors College; completed applications are reviewed periodically.
For instructions on the application system, please download and read this file before beginning your application. If you are having difficulty with the application, try these steps:
- Rather than following the link under “Quick Links”, go directly to https://utrgv.tk20.com
- Use the Chrome browser, and make sure it is updated to the most recent version.
- Clear your Chrome browsing history.
- If you already have a UTRGV email address, do not enter it in the application form. Use a personal email address (GMail, Yahoo, etc.) instead.