For students wanting to be challenged more academically and experience an intimate learning environment in college, many institutions have an honors college or honors program.
“I think in a day and age in which so many students, especially high-ability students, are coming in to college feeling rootless or feeling as though they can’t connect very easily with other people, an honors college provides a space in which students who are serious about their studies, but also might be serious about their other passions as well, can find common cause and common community with other students,” says Zeb Baker, founding executive director of the Miami University Honors College in Ohio.
Here’s what students should consider before applying to be an honors student.
Honors College vs. Honors Program
Honors colleges — most commonly seen at large public flagship universities — are designed to serve high-achieving students through a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum and co-curricular experiences, such as research, mentorship, leadership, civic engagement, professional development and study abroad, experts say.
“From the perspective of the university, it’s an opportunity to recruit, retain, challenge and support students who might otherwise not be interested in the university, fundamentally,” says Zofia Burr, founding dean of George Mason University’s Honors College in Virginia.
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Students in honors colleges typically take accelerated general education courses, in addition to honors-specific classes that may be taught by designated faculty members. An honors college’s curriculum may have different areas of focus, depending on the college. California State University, Sacramento, for instance, has a Black Honors College that is set to enroll its first cohort of students in fall 2024.
“In a normal academic program, you’ve got to take your writing class, you’ve got to take stats class, you’ve got to take political science class,” says Luke Wood, the university’s president. “So imagine taking each one of those classes, but it’s with a focus on Black history, life and culture. They are having that as a thematic element with faculty members with their own space.”
Many honors colleges also require students to complete a research project or thesis to graduate. There are also social aspects, experts say, including options to live with other honors students in a living-learning community.
In addition to or instead of an honors college, some schools offer honors programs, although that term sometimes is used interchangeably with honors colleges. However, there can be differences between the two.
Honors programs “are much looser in terms of the experience that students can have,” Wood says. “It can range between students who are taking an entire general education pathway to students who are taking just a couple classes. Honors programs are usually smaller in scale and typically don’t have the same level of resources. They may not have dedicated space. … An honors college is when you take that and you truly create your own institution within the institution — your own infrastructure.”
Phame Camarena, dean of the William Conroy Honors College at New Mexico State University, says the goal “isn’t necessarily to offer harder and faster work. It’s to provide enrichment.”
“Both a college and a program really are there to help students do more with their education,” he says. “All college students, of course, have exceptional potential. (But) not every student is equally motivated or desires something more in terms of what they are going to do for their education. So for students that just want to check off the boxes for the major, honors is probably not for them.”
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Requirements to Be an Honors Student
Schools often require an additional application process for acceptance to an honors college or program. They typically have different expectations for the two, and applicants may need to meet certain GPA or test score requirements as well as submit supplemental writing samples.
However, “a common misperception is that honors programs are only for the very most academically talented students and that you shouldn’t apply unless you have a 4.0 GPA and a huge number of extracurriculars,” Bethany Cobb Kung, director of the George Washington University Honors Program in Washington, D.C., wrote in an email. “While it is true that some programs may be very restrictive, many programs are designed to welcome and support any student who wants to push themselves academically and who is willing to dedicate the time and energy required to be a truly engaged learner and scholar.”
There are often certain requirements to maintain honors status, such as upholding a certain GPA. At GW, for instance, students must “maintain a GPA sufficient to graduate with a 3.0.”
“This ensures students are making appropriate academic progress while not being anxiety-provoking and, most importantly, it allows students who are tackling the most challenging courses the freedom to focus on their learning, rather than on their final grade,” Cobb Kung says.
Why Apply to Be an Honors Student?
Honors colleges and programs often create a smaller community within a larger university, experts say, which means smaller class sizes and more individualized attention from faculty members.
Honors students “get a bit more attention earlier on in those first couple of years,” Burr says. “Oftentimes when students are in their major, as they progress along, they have opportunities to be in smaller classes. But from the get-go, in the honors college, they have that opportunity.”
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Honors students may also receive priority course registration, individualized academic advising and formal mentorship. There are also financial benefits, as many colleges offer scholarships or grants specifically for honors students.
Virginia Tech‘s Honors College, for instance, offers awards such as the Honors Discovery Grant, which provides up to $6,000 to current honors college students. The money can be used to pay for living expenses during an unpaid summer internship; program or living fees for a faculty-led summer or winter study abroad experience; fees related to attending academic or professional conferences; or costs of a formal visit to an industry, governmental or nonprofit work site.
Is Being an Honors Student the Right Fit for You?
While being part of an honors college or honors program comes with advantages, it’s not for everyone.
“I think there are a lot of students whose parents want them to be in an honors college, but they themselves (students) don’t want to do this,” Baker says. “They don’t want that kind of pressure. They don’t want that kind of responsibility or obligation. They really just want to come to college and explore what’s available. And I think that if you are a student who’s in that sort of a situation, then I think maybe you need to really consider whether or not an honors college is a good place for you.”
Cobb Kung advises students to consider whether an honors program’s curriculum aligns with their personal and academic goals.
“If a student does not enjoy taking courses in areas outside their major, then they might not want to engage in an honors curriculum designed to expose them to a wide variety of course topics,” she says. “Students must also be sure that they aren’t taking on too many endeavors all at once to avoid undue stress or burnout.”
Students also shouldn’t just do it for the credential, Baker says, or designation on their diploma.
“For students who only want … to say ‘I’m in an honors college’ or ‘I’m an honors student,’ those are the students who probably don’t belong in an honors college to start with because they are not coming in with the right mindset,” he says. “They have all this talent, all of this curiosity and all this ambition but it needs to be directed in ways that help everyone, that advance the public good. It’s not just about advancing them and their own self-interest.”
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Honors Colleges and Programs: What to Know originally appeared on usnews.com
