New Applicants
How do I apply?
To determine your eligibility for the Engineering Honors program, please visit the Eligibility section of our admissions page. For the application process and requirements, please visit the admissions section of the page.
When is the application due?
To see our guidelines for applicants, please visit the deadlines section of our admissions page.
Texas A&M Engineering at Blinn: Students enrolled in Texas A&M Engineering at Blinn in Bryan can apply as incoming freshmen, and their high school credentials will be used as basis for admission.
Engineering academies: For continuing students in our Engineering Academy program, their Texas A&M cumulative GPA will be used as basis for the evaluation. We are currently not accepting students from remote academies, as they are not able to participate in Engineering Honors activities or set up honors meetings with their track coordinators due to distance. Once a student is admitted to the College Station campus, we welcome their application to the program.
How are applications reviewed? (Will I be accepted to Engineering Honors?)
We review our applicants holistically. We understand that there are special circumstances where your class rank or test scores don’t necessarily represent your full potential. Strong students from high schools that don’t provide rankings or from schools with very small classes or that are particularly competitive, home-schooled students, or students with other special circumstances are encouraged to apply. In this case, be sure your application essay includes an explanation of your special circumstances along with the importance of participating in undergraduate research and research topics you are interested in.
In the event that you don’t meet the admission criteria as an incoming freshman, we encourage you to re-apply once you have completed your first semester and have attained a GPA of at least 3.5. Please note that students must maintain a GPA of 3.5 to remain in Engineering Honors.
Are honors courses additional to the courses in my degree plan?
No. They are honors versions of classes you would take as a regular student. The only extra course you take is the Engineering Honor seminar, ENGR 181.
Are honors courses harder?
The courses are not harder or more work, but are more interesting and engaging. There are more opportunities to apply the concepts taught in class, interact with the instructor, and work with more engaged and high-achieving classmates on group projects.
What is the average class size of honors classes?
About 40-60 students. The class size for departmental honors courses might be larger, but will still provide a more engaging and enriching learning experience.
Application Troubleshooting
Who should write my letter of reference?
References should be able to comment on your academic qualifications. For incoming freshmen, we recommend your math or science high school teacher. For current Texas A&M students, we recommend a professor or teaching assistant from Texas A&M.
How can I submit a letter of reference?
After receiving their permission, you will submit the person writing a reference letter as a referee in your application. They will be sent an email with instructions on how to upload their letter of recommendation (saved in PDF format). They may need to check their spam folder to make sure the email did not go to spam.
If they are still having issues submitting, as a last resort they can email the recommendation letter as a PDF attachment to engineeringhonors@tamu.edu.
I am having trouble submitting documents successfully. What should I be doing?
The system only accepts the PDF format for security reasons. Make sure you are submitting a PDF version of all documents.
How do I know what parts of my application have been successfully submitted to the application system and what parts are pending?
When viewing your application, the parts you can see have been successfully submitted and received. You can also check the status of your application to see what is missing or pending.
How do I confirm my acceptance to the Engineering Honors program?
After you log back into the online application, you should see the following:
-----
Status: Admit Notified
You have been selected to participate! Please indicate whether you accept or decline this invitation below.
- Admit Accept
- Admit Decline
[Submit Decision]
-----
Select one of the two options and then click the “Submit Decision” button.
Incoming Texas A&M Students
Can I participate in both Engineering Honors and University Honors?
Absolutely. You may count all honors courses toward both distinctions. The university program requires that the students live in the honors housing during their freshman year, and it has an early application deadline (usually in early December). To learn more about the program, please visit the University Honors website.
Can I participate in both Engineering Honors and the honors program for a particular department?
Yes. We encourage you to also apply to other departments’ honors programs (e.g., mathematics). You can also participate in any combination of the university, college or department level honors programs. Each program has separate requirements and applications. Note that the Engineering Honors program is integrated into the departments. When a general engineering student in Engineering Honors enters a major, they are still in the Engineering Honors program and are automatically a member the Engineering Honors program for the department that the major is part of.
Do I have to live in an honors dorm?
No. Engineering Honors does not require you to live in an honors or engineering specific dorm. However, many of our students choose one of these options.
Where can I apply for a merit-based scholarship?
Students applying for scholarships must first indicate their interest in Apply Texas. For more information, please visit the scholarships and financial aid page.
As an incoming freshman starting my first semester, what honors courses would you recommend?
We suggest the following courses:
- ENGR 102 - Honors sections have fewer students (approximately 60% of the class size of the regular section) and have different and more interesting projects than the non-honors section, with the workload being the same.
- ENGR 181 - A 1-hour seminar class graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory, which covers topics that will help you build the skills needed for a successful career and participating in undergraduate research. It will also allow you to meet other students in Engineering Honors.
I am a transfer student. Can I enroll in honors courses?
Transfer students can request the opportunity to enroll in an honors course if their transfer GPA is 3.5 or higher. You will need to contact the department of the honors course you want to take to facilitate this.
You will need to earn a 3.5 GPA at Texas A&M to be eligible to register for future honors courses during open registration.
Current Texas A&M Students
Who is able to register for honors courses?
Once a student has established a Texas A&M GPA of at least 3.5, they are automatically eligible to register for honors sections, regardless of whether they are in an honors program or not.
Can I be forced into an honors class?
A student can be forced into the class by the department’s advising office. They must contact the department and/or faculty to ask for an override and follow the force request process for the particular department.
How do I know if I have priority registration?
At least two weeks before the start of priority registration, check your registration time in Howdy and email engineeringhonors@tamu.edu if there are any issues. We need at least two weeks for the offices involved to resolve any problems — otherwise the registration issue may not be resolved in time for registration.
When should I take ENGR 181?
ENGR 181 is recommended for freshman year. Your department may require other honors seminar courses; please visit your department’s engineering honors department page for more information.
Note: The state mandates that students can Q-drop a maximum of six courses; Texas A&M allows students to Q-drop a maximum of four courses. Dropping a 1-hour seminar like ENGR 181 would NOT count against the Texas A&M ’ s four-course maximum, but would count against the state’s six-course maximum. You would not waste a Q-drop on it if you remain at Texas A&M, but it may affect you if you transfer to a different university with a different Q-drop policy.
Students Who Are About to Graduate
What are the grade requirements at the time of graduation?
A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5, a grade point average of at least 3.25, and no honor code violation on record.
What do I receive if I complete the Engineering Honors requirements by the time of graduation?
Students who complete the Engineering Honors requirements will receive a certificate of completion and a notation on their permanent transcript. Since Engineering Honors is a college-level distinction, students with multiple majors in engineering will only receive one notation on their transcript, even if they satisfy the Engineering Honors requirements for multiple majors. Students with multiple majors will receive the distinction if they satisfy the requirements for at least one of their majors.
Requirements to Remain in the Program
What are the requirements to remain in the Engineering Honors Program?
Requirements will vary depending on your department. View the requirements for your track on the Requirements page of our website.
Is there a minimum and maximum number of honors courses per semester?
For those in general engineering, there is not. However, some departments may require a minimum number of honors courses per semester. For more information on this please visit the requirements section on your department's page.
How do I earn honors credits?
Please see our Program requirements page.
What honors classes can count towards my total honors credit hours?
Requirements will vary depending on your department. View the requirements for your department on the Requirements page of our website.
How do I look for honors sections on Howdy?
In Howdy, choose the desired semester. Choose a subject and then highlight “Honors” in the list of attribute types in the advanced search section. All honors courses for that subject will appear.
Do I need to create a degree plan?
All Texas A&M students are required to create a degree plan. Please contact your academic advisor for more information.
How many times must I meet with my Engineering Honors program director or department coordinator?
Requirements will vary depending on your department. View the requirements for your department on the Requirements page of our website.
How do I report my honors meeting with my department coordinator?
Engineering Honors scholars must self-report their honors meeting with their department coordinator using the QR code provided at the meeting. Please ask your department coordinator for this QR code at the end of the meeting if they forget. Freshmen will attend one of several freshmen honors meetings to fulfill the honors meeting requirement.
How do I check in Howdy what honors cohort I am a part of?
In Howdy, go to the “My Profile” tab, then go to the “My Information” section, and click “Student Information” (middle bottom area) to check honors cohort attribute.
What if I do not meet any of the Engineering Honors requirements?
Engineering Honors scholars who fail to meet any of these requirements will be given a semester of probation to correct any deficiencies. During the semester of probation, priority registration will not be available (for preregistration for the following semester). A student can still register for honors courses through their department advising office. Students who fail to meet requirements after a semester of probation will be dismissed from the program.
To allow incoming freshmen time to adjust to a new academic environment, students who join Engineering Honors as incoming freshmen will not be placed on probation due to a GPA deficiency in their first semester; however, if the GPA deficiency remains after the second regular semester (fall or spring), then they will be on probation for their third semester.
What factors would lead to a freshman being held on probation?
Freshmen get a grace period of one year before being placed in probation. For example, for a freshman who started in the fall and has a GPA below 3.5 in the spring semester of his/her freshman year, he/she will be on probation in the fall of the following academic year, which means no priority registration for the following spring. In the spring, the student can still register for honors but will not have early priority registration.
For those participating in co-ops/internships and therefore are not on campus, what can be used to substitute for activity attendance?
The requirement for participating in activities is only for the semesters in which you are resident on campus in College Station.
How would students based on remote campuses — including Blinn-Brenham and Chevron Academies — comply with their activity (participating in an Engineering Honors program approved activity) and meeting (meeting with the department coordinator) requirements described in the section “Maintaining Active Status in the Engineering Honors Program” in the “Program Overview and Department Tracks” page?
The requirement for participating in activities and advising is only for the semesters in which you are resident on campus in College Station.
What do I need to do to satisfy research requirements?
To fulfill the honors research requirement, go to the program overview page for your particular Engineering Honors department and consult with your department coordinator.
Each department requires at least four and at most six honors credits of undergraduate research (491H) or their department equivalent.
The department coordinator can also allow courses to be taken for zero credit for students whose total credits are in danger of exceeding the total credit limit for their approved degree plan (e.g., some forms of financial aid will not cover excess credits anymore).
Additionally, some departments require completion of the Undergraduate Research Scholars program. Check your department requirements to see if you will be required to register for 3 hours of 491 in the fall and spring when you are participating in the program. If your track requires this program and you have a situation that prevents you from participating, please discuss alternative options with your department coordinator.
Other research experiences can be considered, including experiences like Aggie Challenge, pending approval from the department coordinator.
How can I convert a non-honors research course to honors?
You need to speak with your department’s advising office to create a 2XX section number of the 491 course, following the normal department procedures for creating an honors section. There is no need to have an honors contract.
Can the Undergraduate Research Scholars program thesis count toward EH requirements?
The thesis done as part of the Undergraduate Research Scholars program can count as the thesis for the Engineering Honors program, depending on your department. Please consult with your department coordinator for final approval.
Do students work on undergraduate research during their junior year, senior year, or earlier?
This will depend on the student and the professor. Some students start as early as freshman year. However, some faculty require students to have completed certain courses before they can work with them.