University of Denver supplemental essays

These prompts are program-specific.

They apply only if you’re applying to the named program or school.

• DU Honors CollegeRequired300 words max

  Honors Program Interest

  Why do you want to join the DU Honors Program?

  How to approach it

  This is a why-us prompt. The trap is describing the school back to itself. Rankings and a pretty campus read as filler. Name two or three things you’d actually use. A program, a professor’s work, an open curriculum. Then tie each one to something you’ve already done.

• DU Honors CollegeRequired300 words max

  Learning Curiosity

  Honors is a community of students who are hungry for knowledge. What's a topic you haven't had an opportunity to learn about in high school that you are excited to learn about in college?

  How to approach it

  Here, specific beats important. A small, true community described from the inside beats a broad label. Write it as someone who was there, not as an observer. End on what you carry into a campus, not on a moral.

• DU Honors CollegeRequired300 words max

  Independent Passion

  Honors is a community of students who are self-directed learners and are passionate about a wide range of topics. What is something outside of school that you've independently developed a passion for?

  How to approach it

  Here, specific beats important. A small, true community described from the inside beats a broad label. Write it as someone who was there, not as an observer. End on what you carry into a campus, not on a moral.

• DU Honors CollegeRequired300 words max

  Long-Term Project Experience

  The DU Honors Program cultivates student capacity for original academic inquiry and creative exploration. To graduate with University Honors, you must earn Distinction in your major. While requirements vary by department, distinction involves an extended research, scholarly, or creative project that is guided by the student's own interests and is completed over the course of a year or longer. Tell us about a time when you worked on a long-term project. What motivated you to pursue this project? What barriers did you face and how did you work to overcome them? What are you proudest of about the process or the outcome?

  How to approach it

  This prompt wants the origin story and the proof, not your resume. Pick the moment the interest became yours. Show one or two things you did about it on your own. Let the school see how you think when nobody assigns the work.

• DU Honors CollegeRequired300 words max

  Distinction Project Ideas

  If you were asked to choose a topic for your distinction project today, what ideas, questions, or curiosities come to mind? What drives your curiosity in these topics?