Frequently Asked Questions

The Bachelor Honours programme is open for all motivated and ambitious first and second year Bachelor students. However, there is a selection procedure before you can take part in the programme. More information about the selection procedure and the requirements can be found at Admission & Application.  

There are lectures every Monday and Wednesday evening from 18:15 to 20:15 (excluding exam weeks). On top of that, there is some course preparation, self-study, and project work to be done in your own time. On average, participating in the Bachelor Honours programme will cost you about 12 hours a week.

There are no additional costs for participating in the Honours programme. Books and other materials needed for the lectures will be provided to you by the Honours Office.

Within the Honours programme, you will only have projects, assignments, essays, and presentations. The assessment is done in pass/fail and feedback. We test skills and the application of knowledge into a field, not the knowledge in themselves. There are, therefore, no exams in the Honours programme. All examinations are pass/fail based, there are no grades registered for the Honours programme.

We advise you to join our programme in the first year of your study. During the Honours programme, you will get into contact with a lot of other different studies and directions, which can help you shape your academic career. Furthermore, if you start in the first year of your Bachelor, you will be finished in your second year, meaning that you will leave the third year more open for minors abroad and your graduation (see also “Is it possible to go abroad?”).

In general, we do not expect any specific background knowledge. You will learn everything you need during your time within the track. We do expect students to have a minimum English level of C1 (i.e. the ability to express yourself and hold scientific/topic specific discussions in English, both in written and oral form) at the moment of enrollment. Your adherence to this minimum language requirement may be evaluated during a selection interview.

For the Mathematics track, we strongly recommend students to only participate when they have a strong mathematical background. Here, it suffices if your study follows the UT general engineering mathematic line and your grades for these courses are of sufficient level.

It is possible to switch between Bachelor Honours tracks. Normally this occurs after having completed 10 ECs of the programme such that the switching moment, takes place in the summer holiday. If you want to switch, you need permission from the coordinators of both tracks; please consult the Honours Office to assist you in arranging this switch as early as possible.

In general, we expect from students who apply for the Honours programme to successfully finish the full programme in-time. If you do not manage to complete the full 30 EC, you will not receive an Honours Certificate nor the Honours Pin. The Honours courses you finished successfully will be added as extra courses in your regular Bachelor programme: finished courses will not get lost. This is graphically depicted here.

Honours education takes place on-campus. As we are a very small and personal programme, we are very eager to keep providing in-person lectures whenever possible. For special situations and events, we can sometimes facilitate blended or hybrid education, allowing students and guests to join online. This is always in consultation by the teacher or coordinator of the track.

The Honours programmes do not interfere with your regular studies. All Honours education is held outside of regular study hours (e.g. evening lectures). The Honours programme does require additional time investment from its students, but in our experience, students who are admitted to the programme will benefit strongly from the programme rather than experience any hinder from it.

As community building is an important element of the Bachelor Honours programme and as courses within the programme are part of a larger integrated track, it is usually not possible to apply for single courses.

For ATLAS and Exchange students, there is an exception to this rule. These students are allowed to apply for single courses and successful completion of these courses will be awarded with ECs. However, these students will not receive an Honours Pin or an Honours Certificate. Also, please take into account that all students who want to participate in the Honours programme, even if they are only interested in single courses, have to go through the same selection procedure (see article 2.2 of the Honours Education Regulations). If you want to apply for single courses, please contact the Honours Office for more information. 

It is generally not possible to pause your Honours education. However, special circumstances may occur, for which we try to be as cooperative as possible. In such cases, please get in contact with the Honours Office. If needed, the Honours exam committee will decide if a request for exception is granted.

If you have another question, please contact the Honours Office.