Honors program

Two different honors programs are available for excellent students: Research CS Honors and Honors Academy. Students of all Master programs offered by the Computer Science division can apply. Both honors programs are extracurricular, i.e., done on top of the regular Master program: the credits obtained do not count towards the 120 credits you need to 
accumulate for your Master program. More information about the honors programs can be obtained from the honors programs' coordinator dr. Kevin Verbeek (k.a.b.verbeek@remove-this.tue.nl).

The goal of the program is to give the excellent students the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the research being done at the department. Concretely, the Honors program consists of: 
 
Two projects for 6 credits each, one in semester 1B of the Master program and one in semester 2A. These projects can be research-oriented or design-oriented and are done in different research groups in the department. The exact contents of the projects is determined by the supervisor of the research group where the project is done, in consultation with the student. The expected outcome of the project is a paper (published as a technical report of the department, and possibly also elsewhere). 
 
Beside the projects, the student participates in other activities of the research group (for example in research seminars) and is encouraged to participate in activities organized by one of the national Dutch research schools (ASCI, IPA, or SIKS). The latter activities are typically short courses or conferences. Students who successfully complete the Honors program will receive a certificate upon graduation. 

Participating in the Honors program is especially useful if you are interested in taking a PhD later on, since it allows you to experience what it is like to do research in two different areas. But above all, the Honors program is challenging and fun. 
The program is aimed at highly motivated excellent students (among the top 10% of the Master students in the department) who had outstanding grades in their Bachelor programs and scored high grades during the first semester of the Master program (average at least 8). For admission to the honors program, an application procedure applies. Detailed instructions for application and the deadline will be announced by e-mail to all students in February of each year. 

Honors Academy is the university-broad program. It consists of two interrelated components: personal leadership development (5 credits) and professional development (15 credits). Activities related to the personal leadership component target students of all master programs and are organized by the Graduate School. Professional development activities might be related to ‘excellence for science’, ‘excellence for industry’ and ‘excellence for society’. Examples of such activities can be international or industrial internships, taking courses at other universities or designing a business plan. You can apply by submitting an application letter to the the honors programs' coordinator dr. Kevin Verbeek (k.a.b.verbeek@remove-this.tue.nl).

In this letter you should motivate why you want to join the honors academy and what makes you an excellent candidate for the professional development as well as personal leadership part. You need to enclose two appendices: (1) evidence of your past performance and (2) a tentative plan for your professional development: what do you want to achieve and how? 

For further information, please consult honors academy guide.