Business Honors eligibility and requirements
Who is eligible to apply
The Jack Dicus Business Honors Program is open to:
- Current students in the KU School of Business
- Pre-business students planning to apply to the School of Business
All business majors are represented in the program.
Admission is competitive. The admissions committee looks for students who demonstrate:
- Strong academic achievement
- Intellectual curiosity
- Professionalism
- Leadership and community involvement
prioritizes academic achievement and intellectual curiosity, professionalism, and community involvement and leadership.
Application deadlines
The 2026 application closed March 15. Future application timelines will be updated on this page.
When should you apply?
It is recommended that you apply when you have:
- At least two years remaining at KU, and
- Not yet completed many 300-level business courses
This timing allows you to take advantage of Honors versions of upper-level courses.
Students who are not admitted may reapply in a future cycle, as long as they continue to meet eligibility criteria.
Minimum eligibility requirements
To apply, you must have:
- At least one full-time semester at KU (minimum 12 graded credit hours)
- A cumulative KU GPA of 3.7 or higher
Applicants who do not meet these requirements will not be considered.
What we look for in applicants
Successful applicants go beyond the minimum criteria and demonstrate:
- Meaningful involvement in the KU community, School of Business or beyond
- Evidence of leadership and initiative
- A clear interest in academic growth and engagement
Application requirements
To complete your application, you will need:
- Confirmation that you meet eligibility requirements;
- Thoughtful, well-written responses to the below application questions [Tip: Draft and revise your responses before starting the application. KU students can get support through the Wingspan: Center for Learning and Writing Support. KU Business students can get support through the Business Communications Center.]
Application questions
Why are you interested in participating in the Jack Dicus Business Honors Program? How does the Jack Dicus Business Honors Program fit into your overall academic goals while at KU?
Consider both what you hope to get from the program and what you believe you can contribute to your fellow BHP students’ experience. [450 characters/75 words max.]
What has been the most intellectually stimulating experience in your KU education thus far?
Consider what has sparked your interest and curiosity and how you responded. You may choose to focus on an experience with a particular course or assignment, or an experience outside the classroom that led you to explore further. Please be specific (name the class, describe the event outside the classroom, etc.). [750 characters/125 words max.]
Describe your leadership and involvement in campus or community life while at KU. List no more than six of your activities, employment or other commitments on- or off-campus during your time at KU, in order of their significance to you. For each, describe your role and any significant achievements in that role. [3,000 characters/500 words max.]
Describe your planned future leadership and involvement in campus and community life. Review the list of experiential requirements. (Note that you are not required to have done all of these before you apply, nor are you required to do all before you graduate. We require only that by the time you graduate, you complete at least three of the listed experiences.)
In 150 words [900 characters] or less, tell us which three of these experiences most interest you, and how you envision yourself completing them. Please be specific when describing how you will complete these experiences. For example, if you pick entrepreneurship, discuss what organizations you plan to be involved in or specific activities or actions you plan to take to fulfill this goal. What impact do you hope your activities will have on the business school or university community?
Anything else. Is there anything else you think the committee should consider when evaluating your application? [600 characters/100 words max.]