Honors Program Curriculum

First Year: Finding Your Passion

Incoming first-year students who join the Honors Program are not required to take placement exams and are automatically placed into the one-semester Honors Writing Composition course (CM-102-HP), in which they hone their writing, speaking, and research skills. Like all students at the University, Honors students must fulfill the University’s core curriculum requirements, and CM-102-HP counts for both core and Honors credit. Honors students may then begin to take core and introductory courses of their choice in the Honors Program curriculum, in such subjects as art, literature, history, philosophy, theology, business administration, the natural sciences, and social sciences. Honors Program advisors provide first-year Honors students with information essential for success, including advice for choosing courses, study experiences, academic majors, and career paths.

Sophomore Year: Local and Global Citizenship

Honors sophomores are encouraged to serve others and gain valuable experience in the world at large. Engagement with the local community, through service-learning courses and cultural excursions taken through Metropolitan Seminars, are an excellent way to gain greater exposure to the world outside the classroom. Credit earned through internships coordinated in conjunction with the Center for Career Engagement and Experiential Learning (CEEL) and study abroad experiences coordinated in conjunction with the Center for Global Learning may be applied as Honors credit upon approval of the director.

Junior Year: Pulling It All Together

Honors students explore the research process in the spring semester of their junior year, as they formulate ideas for their senior thesis in the one-credit seminar HP-390: Honors Methods of Research, organized by the Honors Program director. They utilize the academic resources of Saint Peter’s and other research institutions – plus each other’s feedback and support – as they learn what it takes to produce an extended academic project of their choice.

Senior Year: Charting Your Future

Seniors delve deeply into their chosen fields, preparing for graduate studies and exciting careers, while composing the Honors Thesis Project (HP-492) – an intensive original research project performed under the direction of a chosen academic mentor. The written thesis is completed over the course of the first and early second semesters of the senior year, with an oral defense of the thesis in the second semester. Theses, which must be approved by the Honors Program and the student’s major department, usually apply toward both major and Honors credit.

Honors Requirements

While Honors provides academic enrichment for highly motivated students, it is not a formal major or minor. In order to graduate with Honors (in cursu honorum), and to have this distinction designated on their transcript and diploma, students must complete the following:

• A minimum of seven classes designated as Honors
• HP-390 Honors Methods of Research (a one-credit class)
• HP-492 Senior thesis capstone project

(This equals approximately 21-25 credits, or around 20% of the student’s overall course work)

Up to two experiential learning experiences, including Honors laboratories, field and clinical work related to one’s major, credited internships, study abroad opportunities, and service-learning courses may count as Honors classes with approval from the program director.

Students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 to remain in good standing within the program. Honors students whose GPA drops below the minimum will be granted a grace period to restore their good standing.