Our Mission 
The University of Central Florida Knights of Distinction is a flexible program that supports and inspires undergraduate students as they discover their individual pathway to excellence. Through the creation of a professional ePortfolio, students reflect on their academic and co-curricular experiences to develop confidence in their skill set and readiness for their post-graduation goals. 

Our Vision 
The University of Central Florida Knights of Distinction aspires to be the nation’s premier program for student ePortfolio development. Knights of Distinction will be a national leader in graduate school and career readiness for undergraduate students through the use and implementation of ePortfolios. 

Degree-seeking undergraduate students who are enrolled in at least 1 credit hour of coursework and have a cumulative GPA 2.75 or higher may apply for the Knights of Distinction program. Students who are currently in their last semester and have filed their intent to graduate are not eligible to apply.

• You must be enrolled in at least 1 academic credit hour at the University of Central Florida in the Fall and Spring semesters. Knights of Distinction members are not required to be enrolled during the summer semester.
• Complete the Virtual Orientation within 30 days of program acceptance.
• Complete the ePortfolio, Milestone Reflections, and Milestone Inventory requirements by the communicated deadlines upon your semester of graduation.
• Demonstrate activity in the Knights of Distinction Webcourse a minimum of one time every six months.

Absolutely! We actively encourage transfer students to consider the Knights of Distinction program as a way to get connected with university resources in their first semester. Transfer students, along with first semester freshmen, may apply for the Knights of Distinction program before they have a UCF GPA.

The time investment for the Knights of Distinction program will vary from student to student, and from semester to semester, depending on when and how you choose to meet your Milestone points and the program’s requirements. Students work to fulfill the program’s requirements at their pace, and they can choose what activities they will engage in to earn Milestone points.

While this appears at first glance to be too many points, in reality you can complete most, if not all, of these over the course of your UCF degree program without taking on additional responsibilities. In many cases, you will find you are already engaged in activities that will count toward your milestones. Did you talk with your advisor this semester? That’s two points toward the Planning & Self-Assessment milestone. Have you taken a service-learning class or completed an internship? Those count toward the High-Impact Learning Milestone. Are you a member of a student organization, or did you attend any events in your department? Those both count toward your Citizenship points. For students who are actively working while attending college, you may find that your work experience could satisfy your Knights in the World (and potentially Leadership) points.

Yes! Previous college experiences would count toward your Milestone points. Once admitted to the program, students start completing their Milestone Activities Inventory including their previous college experiences and determine how many pre-existing points they have.

As you move through your undergraduate studies, the Knights of Distinction staff will be there to help you find new experiences you might not have considered. As a benefit of being in the program you will have access to resources within the Webcourses for each milestone along with access to Knights of Distinction exclusive workshops.

All students are required to complete a total of 200 points split across the five milestone categories (with optional flex points that you can use to help you complete each milestone):

25 points from Planning & Self-Assessment

25 points from Citizenship

50 points from Leadership

50 points from High-Impact Learning

50 points from Knights in the World

Students keep track of their experiences and Milestone points through the Milestone Activities Inventory table. We advise students to begin filling out their Inventory as soon as they are admitted and to update it as they progress through the program.

Also, students will write five (5) Milestone Written Reflections that are 350-500 words in length to reflect on their experiences and achievements of each milestone. Students can work on these reflections at their own pace and must complete the five Milestone Reflections by the end of the program.

Additionally, students will create an ePortfolio to showcase their work and achievements.

Students won’t have hard deadline to completing these assignments until their final semester at UCF, when you will be informed of the assignment submission deadlines. Students who intend to graduate with the Knights of Distinction designation on their transcript must complete and submit all required assignments and activities by the determined deadlines.

Students in the Knights of Distinction program create an ePortfolio, which is a personal website that showcases your skills, experiences, and learning. They contain diverse artifacts and contextualize these artifacts for a particular audience such as future employers or graduate schools. The artifacts included in ePortfolios are the supporting materials that showcase your learning. Examples of artifacts may include pictures, videos, presentations, design projects, creative or scholarly work, etc. You should choose your artifacts carefully—each artifact should showcase the particular skills and experiences you want to emphasize, and together they should create a vivid and compelling picture of where you’ve been and where you’re going.

While in some ways an ePortfolio may be similar to other tools such as resumes, blogs, and networking sites such as LinkedIn or even Facebook, the ePortfolio is unique in that it contains both artifacts and reflection that together tell the story of your achievements, skills and abilities, qualifications, and goals.

The Knights of Distinction ePortfolio is designed to be a tool you will actually use as you move forward in your career. Along the way, the KoD staff will offer workshops to assist you with collecting interesting and engaging artifacts (such as photos, videos, and other multimedia content) that show your target audience the full range of talents and experiences you can bring with you to your post-graduation goals.

Not technologically savvy? No need to worry! As part of the Knights of Distinction program you will have access to resources and workshops to help you develop your ePortfolio. You will also learn about free are simple drag-and-drop applications (such as Wix or WordPress) that allow users to build a compelling and unique website with little or no technical knowledge. For those with a lot of web design experience, more advanced tools that allow for coding or other customization are also allowed.  

Although some high-impact experiences that could count toward the program, such as study abroad, might entail additional expenses, the Knights of Distinction program itself is entirely free. You do not pay tuition for the 0-credit course. Additionally, all the platforms used for Knights of Distinction ePortfolio are free for your use, and you retain ownership and access of the ePortfolio after graduation (so you can continue to update and direct it towards the graduate schools, employers, or other audiences as you advance in your career).

All students are invited to apply! We accept applications on a rolling basis. You will need to submit the online application form with the required information and documentation (i.e., resume or curriculum vitae and Milestone Checklist). Visit the Apply page for more information.