Sophomore year should be more than taking Honors courses.  By the end of the year, you should have declared your concentration and be thinking ahead to your thesis so that you graduate with Honors.  If you haven’t already, you should be getting involved in research and  investigating study abroad opportunities.  You should also be checking out internships for next summer, and it’s not too early to be thinking way ahead to graduate or professional school or even to investigate the post-grad scholarships and fellowships like the Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, etc.  Go to CONTINUING IN HONORS.  See the checklist for your sophomore year with some useful links below.

The Sophomore Honors Award was created to encourage students to take full advantage of the opportunities in the Program and to recognize outstanding achievement during the freshman and sophomore years. To be eligible for this award, students must:

1. Obtain a minimum grade point average of 3.7, with no grade below a "C" in any course.
2. Complete an average of two Honors courses per term during the first four full terms (fall/winter) they are at the University of Michigan, including two terms of Texts and Ideas courses.
3. Average 14 credits per term during the first four full terms they are at the University of Michigan.
4. Apply for the Award after the conclusion of the sophomore year. Applications are available online and in the Honors Office.

Students are also encouraged to seek out supervised research or small seminar classes where they engage with a reasonably advanced topic.

If you had a great first year and want to not only challenge yourself academically but contribute to the research mission of the university, you can join Honors by declaring an Honors concentration.  If you go to the LSA Department Website, you'll find the list of LSA Departments.  If you go to their homepages, you can find information about doing Honors concentrations. While departmental expectations for Honors concentrations vary, in almost all departments, a thesis--your opportunity to do your own original research--will be the capstone experience.

Here's a link to a PowerPoint summary of presentation given by Professor Tim McKay, the Honors Program Director, that highlighted the important tasks of the sophomore year and why you might want to consider doing an Honors concentration.  You also will find the information in the checklist below useful.

We'd love to talk with you about the value of doing an Honors concentration.  Call Honors at 734.764.6274 to schedule an appointment with an Honors advisor.  Also checkout the information below.  You'll find much of it useful whether or not you decide to join us in Honors.

• Meet with your Honors general advisor fall and winter!  Go here to make an appointment.
• Meet department advisor(s)
• Declare your Honors Concentration(s)
  sitemaker.umich.edu/concentration101/home
  www.lsa.umich.edu/students/conc
• Find research opportunities
  HONORS RESEARCH AND INDEPENDENT STUDY
• Come up with possible thesis questions and topics
• Explore study abroad programs
  • Honors Study Abroad
  • UM’s Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS)
• Get ready for summer—research, internships, etc
  • Check department websites and offices
  • Visit the Career Center
• Investigate post-grad scholarships and fellowships  (Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, Goldwater, Truman, etc.)