To be eligible for Departmental Honors in the Department of Human Services, students must meet the following requirements.
Human Services major OR a minor in Aging Studies, Financial Literacy, Early Childhood Program Administration, or Human Services
Admissions standards of either the Overall GPA Pathway OR the Major GPA Pathway
Successful completion of the 12 credit hours Honors Curriculum
Specified GPA requirements listed in the Admission Pathway
Both native and transfer students are eligible.
Students who fail to maintain the specified GPA for their admission path will be dismissed from the program.
Students dismissed from the Departmental Honors program may request readmission ONE TIME. Students become eligible to apply for readmission by:
Raising their cumulative and/or major GPA to the levels specified in the admission path requirements under which they were originally admitted to the program; and
Filing a petition seeking readmission with the Human Services Departmental Honors Coordinator.
Students who have been dismissed from the program more than one time are not eligible for readmission.
Pathways for Admission:
Overall GPA Pathway
Completion of at least 12 credit hours of coursework at EIU with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher;
Permission of the Human Services聽Departmental Honors Coordinator; and
Permission of the Dean of the Pine Honors College.
Major GPA Pathway
Completion of at least 12 credit hours of coursework at EIU, and at least 9 credit hours of HSL Courses, with a聽MAJOR GPA聽of 3.75 or higher;
Permission of the Human Services聽Departmental Honors Coordinator; and
Permission of the Dean of the Pine Honors College.
Required Courses (6 semester hours):
HSL 4555
Honors Research. (3 credits)
HSL 4644
Honors Thesis. (3 credits)
*
Elective Courses (select 6 credit hours):
Graduate-level course in Human Services聽approved by the Human Services聽Departmental Honors Coordinator and the Human Services聽Graduate Coordinator (3 credit hours)
Study Abroad approved by the Human Services聽Departmental Honors Coordinator (3+ credit hours)
HSL 4444 Honors Independent Study (3 credit hours)
University Honors course approved by the Human Services聽Departmental Honors Coordinator聽(3 credit hours)
3 credit hour Internship with approval of Human Services聽Departmental Honors Coordinator, Human Services聽Internship Coordinator, and Undergraduate Academic Advisor.
Note: The Honors Internship is in addition to the internship required for the academic major program.
Footnote:
* May substitute for elective hours in the major or minor with Academic Advisor approval.
Information sourced from the 2026-2027 EIU Undergraduate Catalog.
