The Macaulay Honors bachelors degree requirements are structured differently from Queens College degree requirements. These are the components of the degree (details for each are listed below):
- Complete all Queens College Degree Requirements
- The Four Macaulay Seminars
- Twelve Additional Honors Credits
- Community Service
- Experiential Education
- Study Abroad, Internship or Research
- Honors Thesis or Capstone
- Declaring Your Thesis
- Thesis and Capstone Course Options
- Thesis Courses from Academic Departments
1. Complete all Queens College Degree Requirements
Macaulay students must complete the same degree requirements as all other Queens College students. This includes the Pathways curriculum (General Education), at least one major, and any additional credits needed to reach the 120-credit minimum—such as electives or a minor.
See a breakdown of your degree requirements from QC Advising.
2. The Four Macaulay Seminars
Macaulay’s New York City Seminars must be taken during your first four full semesters, during the first two years.
| 1 – FIRST YEAR FALL
HNRS 125: The Arts in NYC (3cr) |
2 – FIRST YEAR SPRING HNRS 126W: The Peopling of NYC (3cr) |
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3 – SOPHOMORE YEAR FALL HNRS 225: Science & Tech in NYC (3cr) |
4 – SOPHOMORE YEAR SPRING HNRS 226: Shaping the Future of NYC (3cr) |
The Macaulay Seminars are mandatory and must be taken in the following sequence during the designated semesters. These courses are offered at Queens College, with additional cross-campus sections of Seminars 2, 3, and 4 available at the Macaulay campus in Manhattan.
Failing a Macaulay Seminar may result in dismissal from the program. If you are having difficulty in any seminar, reach out to your advisor as early as possible for support.
3. Twelve Additional Honors Credits
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SPRING 2025 UPDATE |
In addition to the Honors Seminars, Macaulay students must take 12 additional credits of honors classes, at some point before graduation, and typically after your first year. There are many kinds of courses that meet this requirement:
- Any course at Queens College with an “H” designation (e.g., CMLIT 101H)
- HNRS courses numbered 300 or above (e.g., HNRS 335)
- Upper-level Macaulay Honors College (MHC) courses offered at the Macaulay campus
- Queens College Honors Minor programs (see below for details)
- Any course with the subject HTH
Note: If both HTH 101 and HTH 102 were taken pre-college, they count as CMLIT 101H for 3 honors credits - Any course with the subject code HMNS
- Any course with the subject code HSS
- Completion of the BALA Honors Minor (individual BALA courses do not count unless the full minor is completed)
- Any course with the subject HTH
- Graduate-level courses
- Usually numbered 500 or higher at QC
- May be taken with special permission from the academic department offering the class
- Senior Colloquium or Seminar courses offered by academic departments
- Usually numbered beginning with 391 (e.g., CSCI 3913)
- HNRS 1010 – Honors First Year Seminar (1cr) (not currently offered)
- COOP 2011 – The World of Work (1cr) – Honors credits only apply to sections taken in Spring 2024 or earlier
See the full list of approved Honors courses from QC academic departments here.
Queens College Honors Minors
You can complete your 12 honors credits by completing one of four interdisciplinary, prestigious, and stimulating QC Honors Minors.
Honors in the Humanities (HTH)
Honors in Mathematics and Natural Sciences (HMNS)
Honors in the Social Sciences (HSS)
Business and Liberal Arts (BALA) – Courses from the BALA minor only count for Macaulay Honors if the entire minor is completed.
4. Community Service
Macaulay students must complete 30 hours of non-compensated service to our communities, 10 hours per academic year in the first 3 years.
Community Service Verification Process
- Find an activity that meets Macaulay requirements:
- Activities can be in person or virtual.
- No compensation, whether financial, academic credit, nor meeting pre-professional requirements (no shadowing a physician as a pre-med student, etc.)
- No religious service, instruction, nor proselytizing – other community service via a faith-based organization is ok.
- No political campaigning – though advocacy or community service sponsored by a political official is ok.
- If you are unsure if your service will fulfill the requirement, be sure to reach out to your advisor.
- Reporting Community Service hours through Club Macaulay.
Finding a Community Service Activity
Check the Community Service Resource List maintained by the Macaulay Scholars Council.
5. Experiential Education
Satisfy this requirement by completing either a study abroad, internship, or research activity. For the most up to date instructions, forms, and guidance, start at Macaulay Honors College Career Development.
You can access funding for one of these activities via the Opportunities Fund.
Consult your advisor before pursuing one of these activities to make sure you’re on track.
Study Abroad
A credit-bearing study abroad program will satisfy this requirement, including Queens College and other CUNY programs.
If you participate in in a non-CUNY study abroad, be sure to transfer the credits to Queens College.
Complete the Study Abroad Evaluation form to count your activity with Macaulay.
Internship and Research
An internship or research assistant-ship consisting of 100 hours or more will also satisfy the Experiential Education requirement. Contact Macaulay Career Development or the QC Center for Career Engagement and Internships for questions or help finding an activity.
Internship Learning Agreement
The Internship Learning Agreement (ILA) is a contract between you, the research or internship supervisor, and Macaulay. It primarily guarantees your experience will be substantive, educational, and meets professional guidelines. It’s also how Macaulay keeps track of your completion of the requirement.
Read the ILA Student Handbook for how to start an activity and complete the requirement.
Submit your ILA no later than two weeks from the start date of your internship. Early submission is strongly encouraged. Submitting early helps ensure approval and avoids delays in meeting requirements.
Here’s an overview of how the requirement is completed:
- Once you have agreed to an internship or research assistant-ship, create a Handshake account (unless you already have one): https://mhc.joinhandshake.com/
- Follow the steps in the ILA Student Handbook (above) to create a new Internship Learning Agreement, entering all relevant details about the activity.
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TIP Many students have their ILAs delayed because their Learning Objectives are too brief or vague. This section is your opportunity to define what you want to learn and achieve through your research or internship experience. Strong learning objectives not only help get your ILA approved more quickly, but they also guide you in making the most of your opportunity.
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- Once your ILA is submitted, it will first be approved by Macaulay Career Development
- Then a prompt will be emailed to both your advisor and your activity supervisor for them to approve. You’ll be notified via email from Handshake when the approvals are complete.
- Take part in your activity!
- At the end of the time frame you’ve indicated in the ILA, you’ll be prompted once more to complete the Evaluation for your activity. When this is complete, Macaulay will record that you’ve met this requirement.
6. Honors Thesis or Capstone
The final Macaulay Honors College requirement is the completion of a thesis, conducted under the supervision of a faculty mentor from the student’s major.
Alternatively, students may fulfill this graduation requirement by successfully completing a capstone course that includes a culminating capstone project.
There are a few ways to meet this requirement. For social science or humanities majors, it may be a long-form paper, usually 25-50 pages. STEM students can often complete a research project and lab report. Arts students may complete a recital, theatrical performance, or gallery show.
For example, students in music, the thesis/project may take the form of a recital or an original composition; in Studio Art, it could be a portfolio. Submissions in these cases include the thesis project and a 5-10 page reflection paper.
Declaring your Thesis
If you’re reading this long before your junior or senior year, it’s not too early to begin thinking about your thesis. Here are a few things to keep in mind about the thesis from the start of your first year:
- One of your current professors may one day be your thesis mentor, working with you independently. Make a good impression by asking thoughtful questions, attending their office hours, or even volunteering to work with them on their research if it interests you.
- You can look for your professors’ research interests on their faculty bios by searching the QC website. Try networking with a professor whose interests aligns with yours.
- Consider your goals beyond you bachelors degree. If you want to attend a particular graduate program, what kind of work will they require? What kind of project may prepare you for a field of work?
In the first semester of your junior year, you’ll be asked to declare your thesis. See the thesis declaration form below:
Juniors Declaring Thesis
| Class of 2027 Accepting declarations from the Class of 2027 (Juniors) ONLY. Thesis declaration due: Dec. 15th, 2025 Please contact your advisor if you need to request an extension. |
Seniors Submitting Thesis
Class of 2026 Accepting submissions for the Class of 2025 / Class of 2026 (Seniors) ONLY Submission due dates: Dec. 19th (Fall 2025 semester) and Apr. 17th (Spring 2026 semester). . Please contact your advisor if you need to request an extension. |
Thesis and Capstone Course Options
It’s important to work closely with your Macaulay Advisor while deciding on a project. The following are the ways you can go about it.
Thesis Courses from Academic Departments
Contact your major department advisor about enrolling in a thesis course in your major, and finding a thesis advisor. The following are already approved thesis courses.
| Accounting
ACCT 393W – Seminar in Accounting Anthropology ANTH 390 – Senior Honors Thesis Arts ARTS 391 – Senior Project ARTS 392 – Senior Project II Biology BIO 395 – Honors in Research in Biology BIO 3951 – Honors in Research in Biology (1cr) BIO 3952 – Honors in Research in Biology (2cr) BIO 3953 – Honors in Research in Biology (3cr) BIO 396 – Honors in Research in Biology II BIO 3961 – Honors in Research in Biology II (1cr) BIO 3962 – Honors in Research in Biology II (2cr) BIO 3963 – Honors in Research in Biology (3cr) Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies GRKST 390 – Tutorials Chemistry CHEM 391 – Research in Chemistry and Biochemistry CHEM 3911 – Research in Chemistry and Biochemistry CHEM 3912 – Research in Chemistry and Biochemistry CHEM 3913 – Research in Chemistry and Biochemistry Computer Science CSCI 393 – Honors Thesis Drama, Theatre, and Dance DANCE 395 – Independent Study in Dance DANCE 3951 – Independent Study in Dance (1cr) DANCE 3952 – Independent Study in Dance (2cr) DANCE 3953 – Independent Study in Dance (3cr) DRAM 3952 – Independent Study in Dance (2cr) Economics and Business ECON 392W – Honors Seminar BUS 392W – Honors Seminar English ENGL 399W – Department Honors Seminar (This is a Full-Year Class) | History
HIST 393 – TutorialHIST 3931 – History Research HIST 3932 – Tutorial Jewish Studies JEWST 365 – Senior Seminar Labor Studies LABST 390 – Tutorial Linguistics and Communication Disorders LCD 3921 – Tutorial LCD 3923 – Tutorial Music Senior Recital (0cr) MUSIC 452H – Major Study in Performance VII Philosophy PHIL 383W – Research Paper Physics PHYS 395W – Senior Research I PHYS 396W – Senior Research II Political Science PSCI 383W – Seminar in Comparative Politics Religious Studies RLGST 390 – Research Paper: RLGST 3901 – Research Paper (1cr) RLGST 3902 – Research Paper (2cr) RLGST 3903 – Research Paper (3cr) RLGST 3904 – Research Paper (4cr) Sociology SOC 391H – Honors Independent Study Urban Studies URBST 390W – Tutorial Women and Gender Studies WGS 390 – Tutorial in Women and Gender Studies WGS 3901W – Tutorial In Women and Gender Studies (1cr) WGS 3902W – Tutorial In Women and Gender Studies (2cr) WGS 3903W – Tutorial In Women and Gender Studies (3cr) Courses Awaiting Approval for the Thesis Requirement (Contact your Advisor for Details): ENGL 398 – Portfolio Workshop GERM 382 – Independent Studies |
This list was last updated April 5, 2024.
Honors Minors
If you are enrolled in the HSS, HTH, or HMNS honors track, you will complete your thesis in one of the designated courses below as part of your program.
Note: There is no thesis course for the Business and Liberal Arts (BALA) program.
Honors in the Social Sciences
HSS 390
Honors in the Humanities
HTH 350
Honors in Math and Natural Sciences
HMNS 398
MHC 400 and 401 – Macaulay Springboard
Springboard is a two-semester course offered via ePermit at the Macaulay campus in Manhattan. In this course, you will develop your thesis alongside peers from other Macaulay campuses, with guidance from Macaulay faculty.
Springboard is highly recommended for students pursuing theses in the humanities, social sciences, or interdisciplinary fields.
More info on Macaulay Springboard
Thesis Alternatives
Prior to reaching out to your academic department, consult your Macaulay advisor to learn more.
In certain circumstances, and at the discretion of the Macaulay Honors College Director, a student may request to complete two graduate level courses (6cr), in addition to the 12 “honors” credits already required, in lieu of a thesis.
