Apply to the University Honors Program

Essays should be intellectually curious, thoughtful, well-organized, proofread, and limited to 500 words. We will evaluate the quality of your writing and your ability to provide an expansive yet focused response to one of these three prompts:

• Option 1: KU’s Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction fosters a community “exploring the limitless potential of the human imagination, whether that be to question, to play, or to dream the future.”  Envision a future — imaginative or realistic — and describe your role in it.  
• Option 2: Author, professor, and autism advocate Temple Grandin has often spoken about how the world needs “different kinds of minds.” Discuss how considering perspectives or problem-solving approaches different from your own will strengthen the work you do at KU and beyond.
• Option 3: Part of KU’s mission is to “lift students and society” by making “discoveries that change the world.”  What kind of personal or academic discoveries do you hope to make at KU — and why?

Please upload your responses to all three questions as a single Word or PDF document and limit your total word count to 1,200 words combined. Convey the factors that shaped you and demonstrate skills of clarity and brevity when you answer each of these three questions:

• Question 1: List no more than five items — clubs and organizations, employment, community service, awards and recognition, extra-curricular interests, personal or family obligations — in descending order of significance, with the most significant item first. For each, explain your role, time commitment, length of involvement, and responsibilities. Transfer and current students only need to provide three items.
• Question 2: How have your experiences affected your sense of who you are and what you hope to accomplish in college? There are no wrong answers. Transfer and current students do not need to answer this question.
• Question 3: Honors students make the most of available opportunities. Based on course availability at your school, how did you select the classes you took? Is there anything you want the admissions committee to know about your transcript?

Essays should be intellectually curious, thoughtful, well-organized, proofread, and limited to 500 words. We will evaluate the quality of your writing and your ability to provide an expansive yet focused response. Current-student applicants and transfer applicants choose one of the following three prompts:

• Option 1: KU’s Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction fosters a community “exploring the limitless potential of the human imagination, whether that be to question, to play, or to dream the future.”  Envision a future — imaginative or realistic — and describe your role in it.  
• Option 2: Author, professor, and autism advocate Temple Grandin has often spoken about how the world needs “different kinds of minds.” Discuss how considering perspectives or problem-solving approaches different from your own will strengthen the work you do at KU and beyond.
• Option 3: Part of KU’s mission is to “lift students and society” by making “discoveries that change the world.”  What kind of personal or academic discoveries do you hope to make at KU — and why?

In a single Word or PDF document, please upload your responses to all four of the following short-answer questions:

• Which major(s) and minor(s) are you pursuing, and when is your anticipated date of graduation (i.e. Spring 2025)?
• Help us learn about you, your life, and your experiences.  List no more than three items — clubs and organizations, employment, community service, awards and recognition, extra-curricular interests, personal or family obligations — in descending order of significance, with the most significant item first. For each, explain your role, time commitment, length of involvement, and responsibilities. You may include one activity from high school, but the primary focus should be on your life and experiences since starting college.
• The honors program intends to attract students who make the most of the opportunities available to them. What goals and objectives shaped your selection of courses and experiences? Is there anything else you want the admissions committee to know about your academic record or activities?
• Have you already taken any honors-designated courses or completed an Enhanced Learning Experience (ELE) at KU or another university?  If so, list them below. Up to three courses and two ELEs may be retroactively counted toward your completion requirements. Note: Previous honors coursework and experiences are not required for admission.