Honors Program

The Departmental Honors Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering provides one of the most comprehensive honors programs in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. The honors program is composed of small classes available to honors students only, capped off by a senior year research project. The small-section classes are taught in a Socratic fashion, and encourage inquiry and debate between faculty and students to stimulate rational thinking and to illuminate ideas. The senior year research project provides students the opportunity to pursue a research topic under the supervision of a faculty advisor. To be considered for the departmental honors program, you must have a cumulative GPR of 3.40 or higher and meet all the other requirements set up by the  CU Honors College.

The program requires the following sequence of courses totaling 11 credit hours:

• ECE H3000 Junior Honors Seminar (1 credit)

• Four additional credits:
  • ECE H4910 Undergraduate Honors Research (4 credits)
  • OR a combination of the following (4 credits):
    • H2990 Creative Inquiry in EE & CPE (0-1 credits)
    • H3990 CI in EE & CPE (0-1 credits)
    • H4990 CI in EE & CPE (2-4 credits) 

Students may select the following options associated with the honors thesis:

Option 1: Honors Thesis: This option includes four credits of ECE H4910 taken in the senior year. You will be required to do a literature survey of your chosen topic and to develop a research plan that will develop into an honors thesis. Research will be performed under the direction of a faculty advisor. The honors thesis must meet the standards of the faculty advisor and CU Honors College, and it will require you to provide the Honors Office with a copy of your thesis.

Option 2: Creative Inquiry with Honors Thesis: This option includes four credits that satisfies one of the four combinations: i) ECE H4990 (4 credits) only, ii) ECE H2990 (1 credit) + ECE H3990 (1 credit) + ECE H4990 (2 credits), iii) ECE H3990 (1 credit) + ECE H4990 (3 credits), or iv) ECE 2990 (1 credit) + ECE H4990 (3 credits). The Creative Inquiry (CI) courses may be taken in the sophomore, junior, or senior year. You will work with a faculty advisor individually or as a member of a research team. We have designed the CI program to promote your reasoning and critical thinking skills, ethical judgment, and communication skills and a deep understanding of the methods of scientific research. This option may get you involved in research activities earlier and will lead to an honors thesis. The honors thesis must meet the standards of the faculty advisor and CU Honors College and will be required to provide the Honors Office with a copy of your thesis.

Note:
The credit hours associated with ECE H4990 or ECE H4910 can satisfy up to 3 credits of the technical elective requirements of the Electrical Engineering curriculum or the Computer Engineering curriculum.

HONORS Courses Fall ONLY:

ECE 2010
ECE 2020
ECE 3200
ECE 3300

HONORS Courses Spring ONLY:

ECE 2620
ECE 3170