Degrees & Programs

The Honors Program

Overview
The Honors Program at Saint Louis University offers eligible students the opportunity to develop an individual course of study that complements their undergraduate major, leading to an Honors degree in that discipline. Undergraduates from any of the schools and colleges at Saint Louis University can successfully pursue an honors degree through the University Honors Program.

Students who complete the Honors Program earn an Honors Bachelor of Arts or Honors Bachelor of Science degree in their discipline, a distinction beyond the traditional awards of summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude, which are rewarded only for grade point average.

For a more detailed overview: http://www.slu.edu/x7071.xml

Eligibility
Students are invited to apply to the Honors Program prior to their first term of study based upon test score results. Current students may also apply if they have completed fewer than 45 hours towards graduation and hold a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. Please note that SLU-Madrid students apply to and are accepted from the Saint Louis, Missouri campus of SLU.

More information on eligibility and what you’ll need to apply: http://www.slu.edu/x7070.xml

Honors program application: http://www.slu.edu/x7083.xml

Honor Program Requirements
The Honors Program is very flexible, allowing students to adapt its requirements to their own schedule. Honors Program students must complete 24 credit hours worth of Honors work. This credit must include the following:

• The Freshman Honors Seminar (HR-190: Crossroads, 3 credit hours)
• One upper-level Honors Seminar (3 credit hours)
• A minimum of 3 credit hours of the Senior Honors Thesis (HR-490)

The remaining hours may be obtained in a variety of ways, such as:

• Taking an honors version of a core curriculum requirement. This generally requires that the student complete an extra project in addition to the general coursework.
• SLU-Madrid offers the following Honors options in the core curriculum: BIOL-104, CHEM-154, CHEM-164, ECON-190, ECON-379, FIN-301, HR 212 (Honors Introduction to Literature: ENGL-202), HR-221 (Honors Introduction to Theological Foundations: THEO-100), HR-232 (Honors Ethics: PHIL-205), HR-269 (Honors Calculus I: MATH-142), HR 275 (Honors Topics in Political Science: POLS-160), HR-321 (Honors Special Topics in Theology: THEO 300 & higher), HR-381 (Honors Special Topics: Intercultural Seminar and Practicum: EDI-435), HR-411 Honors Seminars in English Literature: ENGL-400-499), HR-471 Honors Seminars in Communication (CMM-300-399), HR-484 (Honors Seminars in Spanish Language and Literature: SPAN-410 and higher)

• Independent Study*: Students may undertake an independent study in their major to obtain honors credit.
• Contract Courses*: Students may contract an upper-level non-honors course in their major or minor in order to receive credit. In this case the Honors requirements are determined by the professor and the director of the Honors Program. Students pursuing this option must change their course to Honors status within the first two weeks of the semester in question.
• Study Abroad*: Students who participate in a study abroad program may earn three hours of honors credit per semester for coursework transferred back to SLU.
• Conference Attendance: Students may choose to receive honors credit by attending on-campus conferences and workshops over a three-semester period. Each semester, a student should attend five academic conferences, and have their attendance verified by a faculty member. Students will receive 1 credit hour for attending five conferences in a semester. Additional summary/journal work will be required.

*Students should note that a maximum of 9 hours of honors credit may be obtained through a combination of these.

Academic Dean
Paul Vita, Ph.D. vitap@slu.edu