<p>I know the college doesn’t require it, but most depts do require it, assuming the graduate course offerings are robust enough. And yes, some depts do indeed increase cutoffs for honors (such as econ. and polisci. Econ. selects among students w/3.5+, and I believe polisci requires a 3.75. I’m sure these depts. know that there are either lots of easy courses or abundant grade inflation throughout the courses).</p>