Honors Program

The Human Development Program offers an honors option for those students who have demonstrated excellence in the human development major. The Human Development Honors Program allows eligible undergraduates to explore advanced issues in the field through an honors thesis, on a topic of their choice, and under faculty supervision. Upon completion of all honors requirements, successful students will graduate with Human Development Honors.

Students interested in the HDP Honors Program must meet the following eligibility requirements to apply:

  1. Junior level standing, with at least 90 units of coursework completed.
  2. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 overall and a minimum GPA of 3.5 for all courses taken within the Human Development major.
  3. Completion of the lower division statistics requirement. It is highly recommended that students interested in the Honors program also complete HDP 191, a laboratory course, and/or a 199 course prior to applying.

All requirements must be met by the end of spring quarter prior to enrolling in the Honors Program in the fall. (Students who do not meet these minimum requirements should consult with the Student Affairs Coordinator about the possibility of waiving or postponing certain requirements)

The Application Process

Applications for the HDP Honors Program are available at the HDP Student Affairs Office located at 5320 AP&M. Interested students must first meet with the Student Affairs Coordinator to discuss the Honors Program in greater detail. The application and supporting materials, described below, must be submitted by the end of the spring quarter prior to enrollment. Eligibility will be determined once spring quarter is completed, and qualified students will be notified in early summer that they have been authorized to enroll in the first quarter of the Honors sequence.

Along with the Honors Program Application, students must submit a 2 page thesis proposal describing and justifying the research project.

A complete thesis proposal should include the following areas:

  • an introduction of the research topic with a proposed research question and an explanation of the significance of the project;
  • a brief survey of current literature on the topic;
  • a tentative outline of subjects and methods that might be used;
  • a preliminary reference list.

The thesis proposal should be developed with the help of an approved faculty advisor who has agreed to supervise the honors project for all 3 quarters. This faculty member’s signature is required on the application form in order to begin the application process.

Successful completion of the HDP Honors Program requires:


  1. Maintenance of a major GPA of 3.25 and an overall GPA of 3.2 in all courses until graduation.
  2. Completion of one upper division course in statistics, experimental design, laboratory analysis or methods. (Please see the Student Affairs Coordinator for a list of approved courses). This course should be completed no later than the winter quarter of the Honors Program. Please note that this course can satisfy the method elective requirement for the HDP Major
  3. Completion of HDP 194A, B & C with a grade of A- or higher, resulting in an honors thesis at the end of spring quarter. (Any project involving human subjects must have approval from the Committee on Investigations Involving Human Subjects)
  4. Attendance of the Center for Human Development Quarterly Seminar Series during the fall, winter and spring quarters. A total of 15 seminar sessions over the academic year is required.
  5. An oral presentation of the final thesis presented to the HDP Executive Faculty or at the UCSD Undergraduate Research Conference. (Honors students must be nominated by their faculty advisor to participate in this conference.)
  6. Approval of final thesis by the faculty advisor and the executive faculty of the Human Development Program.

Upon graduation, level of honors distinction will be given based on the Major GPA in all HDP course work, and will follow this scale:

  • 3.25 - 3.79 Major GPA will receive honors with Distinction
  • 3.8 - 3.89 Major GPA will receive honors with High Distinction
  • 3.9 - 4.0 Major GPA will receive honors with Highest Distinction