First Year in UHP

Your first semester on campus, especially those first six weeks, are the most important to your undergraduate success. You want to be prepared because you're not just acclimating to college life; you're ideally developing many new friendships, exploring opportunities, and establishing the habits that lead to long-term success for your goals. 

It's not a surprise that honors students start the year being concerned about their time commitments. Students who don't know how our program works may assume they'll spend a lot of time taking more difficult classes or be responsible for numerous commitments. The University Honors Program only requires one one-credit hour class and one advising appointment in your first semester. After that, the honors experiences you choose should be related to goals you already have for yourself or work seamlessly into your other responsibilities like satisfying your general education requirements (Breath of Knowledge classes, BoKs) or other clubs, organizations, creative ventures, or leadership opportunities. You'll then spend no more than several hours a year updating your learning portfolio and completing reflections.

Incoming first-year students will receive their invitations by email between late January and early March. Students automatically confirm with the UHP when they confirm with the University of Cincinnati. Once confirmed, there's nothing else you need to do until Bearcats Bound Orientation. Focus on all the necessary next steps: financial aid, housing, and registering for orientation. 

At Bearcats Bound Orientation, you will have the opportunity to attend an honors pre-session. During this pre-session, you will learn more about the program, specifically how to register for HNRS1010: Gateway to University Honors (our only required class) and register for the UHP First-Year Welcome Event. You also get to meet other incoming honors students and current student leaders! 

• Complete the only required course, Gateway to University Honors (HNRS1010).
• Create your learning portfolio in HNRS1010.
• Meet with your UHP advisor for first-year advising.
• Start or complete 1 honors experience by June 5.
• Complete a year-in-review reflection by June 5.
• Earn a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.

Want to see the big picture of what you need to do by graduation? You'll find that once you get past the first semester, the University Honors Program is as flexible as you need it to be. UHP students need to complete five experiences by graduation, but most UHP students will report those take very little time commitment outside of their own goals. 

• Enroll in HNRS1010: Gateway to University Honors (required in your first semester)
  
• Consider taking an honors seminar if you have room in your schedule
• Sign up to take part in our UHP First-Year Welcome Event
• Connect with your honors advisor
• Get inspired by other current students’ learning portfolios