About Honors
Focus Areas

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.
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Research
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Entrepreneurship
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Design
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Public Service
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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:
Credit Requirement
Students must complete 9 credits of advanced electives.
Course Level
These courses must be 300-level or higher.
Course Sources
Acceptable courses can be selected from technical electives, general electives, or intellectual breadth.
Independent Study and Research
- If opting for independent study, special topics, directed study, or research credits, these must include a detailed description of the work completed for credit.
- The description should explain how the work contributes to your capstone project.
- Up to 3 credits of independent study or research may be approved for the focus area.
Non-Double Counting
Courses chosen for the focus area cannot be double-counted with your core major requirements, or academic minor requirements (except if you have more than one minor).
Capstone Credits
- Credit hours arranged for the capstone project cannot be used toward the focus area.
- For project that span multiple semesters (research projects, Multidisciplinary Design Program (MDP) projects, etc.), only a maximum of 3 credits from these projects can count toward the focus area.
- The credits from the final semester of your capstone project cannot count toward the focus area.
Pass/Fail Courses
Courses that offer an optional pass/fail grading option cannot be used for the focus area.
Enrollment and Transfer
- Courses must be taken through enrollment at the University of Michigan 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

Stacie Edington
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