Honors Program
(HON)
The Honors Program at Rochester College provides intellectually curious students with unique preparation for a lifetime of Christian leadership and achievement in professional, academic, and social arenas. The Honors Program encourages students to cultivate all of their God-given talents and is compatible with all of Rochester College’s degree programs and extracurricular opportunities. In addition, the Honors Council, composed of students and advised by the director of the Honors Program, provides student leadership of the Honors Program, plans extracurricular activities, and supplies input regarding the academic curriculum.
Academic Opportunities
Honors courses bring Rochester College’s most academically gifted students together in one classroom, offering a dynamic learning environment that is characterized by interdisciplinary learning, low student-teacher ratios, and stimulating class discussions.
Many honors courses satisfy general education requirements; additionally, honors students can pursue a minor in Leadership, and honors students pursuing a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies can purse a concentration in Leadership.
Honors credit can be earned in three ways: courses that are offered through the Honors Program (course titles begin with “HON”), honors sections of existing courses (designated by adding “honors” to the course name), and honors contract work. These courses can be taken as part of any degree program at Rochester College, or they can be taken in pursuit of the honors minor in Leadership or the honors Interdisciplinary Studies concentration.
Courses that begin with HON can be taken to fulfill a range of general education requirements. While most general education courses offer an overview of a specific discipline, HON courses complement this breadth of knowledge by offering an in-depth, interdisciplinary, and thematic approach. HON courses meet and exceed the general education learning objectives through interdisciplinary approaches. Honors courses include HON 2013 Communication and Critical Thinking, HON 2113 The American Experience, HON 2213 Global Citizenship, HON 2314 Science as a Human Enterprise, HON 3113 The American Experience: Advanced Studies, and HON 3213 Global Citizenship: Advanced Studies.
Rochester College also offers honors sections of courses offered by other departments, such as REL 1003 Introduction to the Christian Faith and REL 1013 Survey of Biblical Literature.
Honors contracts allow students to earn honors credit in regular upper-division courses and can be pursued by students who have completed 6 hours of honors coursework and have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher. Honors students are responsible for initiating honors contracts with their professors and are encouraged to pursue honors contracts within their majors. Benefits of honors contracts include the opportunity for students to form a closer association with a faculty member, investigate topics of interest at a deeper level, and receive guided, practical preparation for graduate school and professional work. Students wishing to pursue an honors contract must fill out an application, available at www.rc.edu/honors.
Honors students must maintain a GPA of 3.30 or higher to enroll in any honors course.