Students of color in the United States participate in undergraduate honors programs at lower rates than their White counterparts. Prior research suggests that students of color do not participate in honors programs for a variety of reasons. Using critical race theory and community cultural wealth as a conceptual framework, I sought to understand the factors that influence students' participation in an undergraduate honors program and how students of color experience that program. A cross-sectional nonexperimental design was used to analyze data from two California State University undergraduate honors programs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to determine differences in transfer status, first-generation status, PK-12 donors experience, undergraduate support programs, involvement in extracurricular activities, and undergraduate research experience. Factors influencing honors participation rates were also analyzed to determine potential differences between students of color and White students. An analysis of responses to open-ended survey questions uncovered themes related to factors influencing honors participation, sense of belonging, and honors experiences. Factors predicting self-esteem in honors students were also analyzed. Results indicate that future job opportunities, graduate school preparation, and social justice programming motivate students of color to join honors programs. Participants described multiple factors that contributed to their sense of belonging and experiences in an honors program. Self-esteem was found to be correlated with sense of belonging, experience with honors in PK-12, and satisfaction with the honors program. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]