Aerial of Moore College, left, and the back of the Chapel looking toward downtown Athens on North Campus.

Recognition marks second time in a row the college has ranked No. 1 in the nation

By Stephanie Schupska

For the second time in a row, the Jere W. Morehead Honors College at the University of Georgia has been ranked No. 1 among honors programs and colleges nationwide, according to a recent announcement by College Transitions.

College Transitions, publishers of the best-selling guide, Colleges Worth Your Money, evaluated hundreds of honors programs and colleges across the U.S. The publication based its selection of the Top 50 on three criteria: benefits offered, selectivity and program rigor. It scored each institution and then standardized, weighted and totaled the scores.

“The Morehead Honors College is successful because of our incredible students, our dedicated staff, our committed faculty and our supportive campus leadership,” said Meg Amstutz, dean of the Morehead Honors College. “This announcement is such a wonderful way to start a new semester and a new year.”

The benefits category counted for 50% of the overall score and evaluated housing and living-learning opportunities, access to priority registration, undergraduate research, availability of travel and research grants and support for competitive scholarships and fellowships. Selectivity, counted for 25%, included the average test scores and high school GPAs of incoming Honors students, a university’s overall acceptance rate and the percentage of students enrolled in Honors. Program rigor, counted for 25%, included the number of credits and minimum GPA required of students to remain in Honors and graduate with an honors distinction.

The Morehead Honors College is home to 2,800 students, representing 9% of UGA undergraduates. For the 2025-2026 first-year class, the college welcomed 651 incoming students who had an average high school GPA of 4.3, an average SAT score of 1504 and an average ACT score of 34. In late December, the college accepted an additional 274 students through its first-semester entry and transfer student programs.

“The University of Georgia’s Honors College continues to set the national standard for student achievement and academic excellence,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “I am incredibly proud of what this ranking represents for our campus community, and I look forward to building on our sustained success to further expand the transformative impact of UGA’s world-class learning environment in the years to come.”

Working with UGA’s various schools and colleges, Honors provides its students with small course sections, internship programs, travel-study funding, research and leadership opportunities, faculty connections, scholarship support and early registration. Honors students are not limited based on major and can choose any degree program at UGA.

The Honors College serves the entire UGA campus in two main ways. First, the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities offers funding support for any UGA undergraduate conducting faculty-mentored research. CURO also hosts an annual symposium, and 723 undergraduates presented their substantial research accomplishments at the CURO Symposium in 2025.

Second, the Major Scholarships Office works closely with all students across campus as they apply for high-level national and international scholarships. During the 2024-2025 school year, UGA was named a top producer of Fulbright students and was second in the nation for Boren Awards.

Also in the last academic year, UGA students earned a variety of other high-level scholarships. These include a record-breaking three Schwarzman Scholars: Aryan Thakur, Amanda Whylie and Garrett Williams. They are currently working toward master’s degrees in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Oscar de la Torre, Anderson Smith and Sloka Sudhin were named Goldwater Scholars; Yeongseo Son was selected for the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, a global graduate-level program at Stanford University; Mercedes Bengs was one of 54 undergraduates across the nation to be selected a 2025 Truman Scholar; and Michael Skibsted was one of 55 students in the nation to earn a Udall Scholarship.

College Transitions also includes professional outcomes for the institutions listed in its Top 50. It noted that 94% of UGA’s Class of 2024 was employed or continuing their education six months after graduation, with 25% of graduates enrolled directly into a graduate or professional degree program.

Honors at UGA began in March 1960 with the adoption of a program proposal submitted by the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. That fall, 43 students enrolled in the first Honors courses, which included chemistry, history, philosophy, geometry, French and political science.

In 1973, UGA Foundation trustees created the Foundation Fellowship, the university’s top academic scholarship. In 1996, a $31 million gift from alumnus Bernard B. “Bernie” Ramsey elevated the Foundation Fellowship to among America’s best.

The college was named in honor of President Morehead in 2021. Morehead served as director of the Honors Program from 1999-2004. The naming of the college was the culmination of a nearly $12 million fundraising campaign led by the UGA Foundation and its emeriti trustees in an effort to strengthen the Honors Program.