About Honors

Focus Areas

two students in lab

The focus area is designed to help students build the foundation for their capstone project. The focus area consists of 9 credits selected by the student that fall into one of five focus areas.

  • Research

  • Entrepreneurship

  • Design

  • Public Service

  • Business/Global Operations (EGL Specialization)

Click below to learn more focus areas and capstone experiences.

Research

Raymond Fok
BSE Computer Science 2019

Capstone Experience: Improving Touch Input Accuracy with Realtime Selfsourcing

Related Focus Area Coursework:

  • EECS 492: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
  • EECS 498: Deep Learning
  • EECS 499: Advanced Directed Study

Entrepreneurship

Melissa Brei
BSE Mechanical Engineering 2021

Capstone Experience: SIFT

Related Focus Area Coursework:

  • ENTR 410: Finding your Venture
  • ENTR 417: Entrepreneurship Hour Discussion Session
  • MECHENG 290: RISE 2 – Research, Innovation, Service and Entrepreneurship
  • ENGR 255: Introductiory Multidisciplinary Engineering Project

Design

Sahil Farishta + Rupal Nigam
BSE Aerospace Engineering 2020 + BSE Computer Science 2020

Capstone Experience: Collaborative Lab for Advancing Work in Space (CLAWS)

Related Focus Area Coursework:

  • EECS 442: Computer Vision
  • EECS 445: Introduction to Machine Learning
  • EECS 498: Conversational AI

Public Service

Abby Chapin 
BSE Mechanical Engineering 2020

Capstone Experience: Human-Centered Design Study of Engineering Student Food Security

Related Focus Area Coursework:

  • ENGR 355: Intermediate Multidisciplinary Engineering Project, Socially Engaged Design Project
  • ENGR 355: Intermediate Multidisciplinary Engineering Project, Woven Wind Project Team
  • MECHENG 489: Sustainable Engineering and Design

Business/Global Operations (EGL Specialization)

Charlie Moore 
BSE Material Science and Engineering 2019
MSE Industrial Operations and Engineering 2020

Capstone Experience: Pollution Ink and Sustainability Improvement

Related Focus Area Coursework:

  • MFG 501: Topics in Global Operations
  • TO 605: Manufacturing and Supply Operations
  • ACC 471: Accounting Principles
  • TO 624: Strategic Sourcing

The focus area courses students select must meet these guidelines:

  • 9 credits of advanced electives
  • 300-level or higher
  • Courses can come from technical electives, general electives, or intellectual breadth
  • Independent study, special topics, directed study, or research credits must include a detailed description of the work completed for credit, and how it will support your capstone project; up to 3 credits of independent study or research may be approved
  • Courses may not double-count with your core major requirements or academic minor requirements (unless the student has more than one minor)
  • Students may arrange credit hours for their capstone, but these credit hours may not be used towards the focus area
  • For multi-semester projects (research, MDP projects, etc.), a maximum of 3 credits may count towards the focus area. The final semester of capstone credits may not count towards the focus area.
  • Courses that are optional pass/fail cannot be used in the focus area.
  • Courses must be taken for enrollment at U-M or transferred in. AP credits or credit by exam cannot be used in the focus area.

Please select your major below to see exactly which areas on your audit your Focus Area courses can come from.

Focus areas and focus area courses are discussed in more detail in Honors Seminar 1, and during your first semester in the College of Engineering Honors Program with the Honors Advisor. Students will submit a focus area proposal no later then the last semester of their junior year.

Current students: visit Canvas for more information or for the Focus Area Proposal

Aerospace Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Engineering Distribution 1 or 2
  • Technical Electives (including Advanced Math/Science Elective)
  • General Electives
Biomedical Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Engineering Expertise (in BME Depth Requirements)
  • Cross-Disciplinary (in BME Depth Requirements)
  • Profession in Practice (in BME Depth Requirements)
  • General Electives
Chemical Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Engineering Electives
  • General Electives
Civil Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Program Electives
  • Technical Electives
  • Science Electives
  • General Electives
Climate & Meteorology (Climate Science and Impacts Engineering Concentration)

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Statistics/GIS Elective
  • Climate/Climate Change Elective
  • Energy/Sustainability Elective
  • Interactions Elective
  • Technical Elective
  • General Elective
Climate & Meteorology (Meteorology Concentration)

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Technical Electives
  • Unrestricted Electives
  • General Electives
Computer Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Probability/Statistics
  • Core Electives
  • Major Design Experience
  • Upper Level Technical Electives
  • EECS Elective
  • Flexible Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Computer Science

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Upper Level CS Technical Electives
  • Flexible Technical Electives
  • Probablility/Statistics
  • Major Design Experience
  • General Electives
Data Science

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Capstone Experience
  • Data Science Application Elective
  • Advanced Technical Electives
  • Flexible Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Electrical Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Upper Level Electrical Engineering Technical Electives
  • Major Design Experience
  • Flexible Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Engineering Physics

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Mathematics Elective
  • Physics Lab Elective
  • Physics Elective
  • Engineering Electives
  • Engineering Laboratory Elective
  • Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Environmental Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Earth Science Elective
  • Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Industrial & Operations Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Non-IOE Engineering
  • IOE Technical Electives (in Technical Electives)
  • Remaining Technical Electives (in Technical Electives)
  • General Electives
Materials Science & Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Materials Science and Engineering Electives
  • Science and Technical Electives
  • Math Elective
  • General Electives
Mechanical Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Advanced Math
  • Technical Electives
  • Specialization Elective
  • General Electives
Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Laboratory Course
  • NERS Electives
  • Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Robotics

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Discipline Depth
  • Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Space Science & Engineering (Space Science Concentration)

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Technical Electives
  • General Electives
Space Science & Engineering (Space Instrumentation Concentration)

You can draw your credits from the following categories, as long as they meet the requirements above:

  • Intellectual Breadth
  • Technical Electives
  • Engineering Breadth
  • General Electives
Staff image

Stacie Edington

(734) 763-0505

251 Chrysler

Honors Location:
251 Chrysler Center
2121 Bonisteel Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2092

Hours:
Monday – Friday
8:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST

Walk-In Peer Advising Hours:
Monday – Friday
1:30 PM – 4:30 PM EST
(September – April)

Contact Us:
Email: coehonors@umich.edu
Phone: (734) 763-0505