Honors Program
The Honors Program at Ohio State is designed to meet the needs of students with superior academic ability and to promote scholarly development throughout their college careers.
The College of Public Health offers honors students several ways through which they can distinguish themselves, including designation as an honors student, Graduation with Honors in Public Health, and Graduation with Honors Research Distinction in Public Health.
By challenging themselves with advanced levels of study and enrichment programs, honors students use their creative abilities and develop a sustaining interest in advanced education and research.
Applying to the Public Health honors program
BSPH majors and pre-majors who are not Ohio State Honors students but wish to join the College of Public Health undergraduate honors program are required to:
- Complete a minimum of 15 credit hours at The Ohio State University
- Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher
- Meet with a College of Public Health advisor to discuss the honors program and to receive instructions on completing an honors application
- Complete an honors application
Applications are reviewed by the College of Public Health honors faculty co-directors.
Current Ohio State University Honors students who transfer to the College of Public Health from another Ohio State academic unit do not need to apply to the College of Public Health honors program. However, they are required to meet with a College of Public Health undergraduate academic advisor during the same term they transfer into the BSPH major or pre-major and complete an honors contract with a College of Public Health academic advisor. The contract should be completed by the end of the semester they transfer into the BSPH major/pre-major.
Incoming first-year students directly admitted to the university Honors Program do not need to fill out the honors application, but they do need to complete an honors contract with a College of Public Health academic advisor.
Program requirements and honors contract
After students are admitted to the honors program in Public Health, they are required to meet with a College of Public Health academic advisor to complete the honors contract. The contract includes a list of courses that students will complete as part of the honors program as well as a preliminary selection of an honors capstone experience.
Maintaining honors status
Honors students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher at the end of every academic year. Additionally, to remain active in the honors program, students must fulfill the requirements of the approved honors contract.
Honors capstone experiences
All honors students must complete an honors capstone experience. Regardless of the specific capstone type (e.g., education abroad, internship, research thesis), all honors students are expected to produce a written document describing and synthesizing their capstone experience. In addition, they present and explain their written document to a committee of two faculty members. Get information about the capstone requirements.
Graduating with honors
There are two types of honors graduation distinction available to BSPH honors students: graduation with honors in public health and graduation with honors research distinction in public health. Students who complete an honors research thesis plus required honors course requirements, and maintain a minimum 3.4 GPA, are eligible to graduate with honors research distinction in public health. Students who complete the honors internship or honors field experience (education abroad) plus required honors course requirements, and maintain a minimum 3.4 GPA, are eligible to graduate with honors in public health. More details are available in Section 8.0 of the Undergraduate Student Handbook.