Skip to Main Content

HONORS PROGRAM

The Honors Program at Hilbert College is designed to augment the specific qualities and mission of the College. Our program is decidedly student centered and holistic in nature. We educate the whole student, and we support the whole student. We have designed a program that will foster excellence but will not isolate the student from a complete college experience.

Our criteria for admission mirror the Franciscan values upon which the College was founded. Our program offers the personal guidance and attention for which we are known. To this end, while we are looking for students who represent the highest caliber of academic excellence, we are also looking for those students whose life choices outside the classroom demonstrate leadership skills, social commitment, or artistic interests.

The Honors Program at Hilbert College combines contract-based Honors projects and Honors-specific courses. For maximum flexibility and complete integration, the program allows a student to enroll in regular classes and fulfill some of his/her honors requirements by completing special projects for Honors credit in those classes (typically one class a semester is taken for Honors credit). Called “in lieu of” projects, these are created by the faculty teaching the class and administered by the Honors Council. The “in lieu of” system allows Honors students to have the experience of working one-on-one with our highly credentialed faculty, both within their majors and without, from the first semester that they enroll.

Honors students also take Honors-specific courses, including the Freshman/Transfer Honors Colloquium (HON 105/305) in their first year in the Honors Program and an Honors capstone experience. In addition, other courses may be designated as Honors sections and reserved for Honors Program students. Finally, Honors students are asked to give something back to the community in the form of a modest amount of community service (20 hours per year) and mentoring of new Honors students.

Graduating with honors from Hilbert College will separate students from other applicants. Why? Completing an honors program shows that a student is more motivated, better prepared, and more self-reliant than his/her peers. Having “honors” on a degree says that the student can succeed in the challenges that face him/her because he/ she already has a proven record of success. The Honors Program at Hilbert College is designed specifically with the student’s interests and eventual success at the forefront.

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, the Hilbert College Honors student receives a $3,000 per year scholarship, priority registration, a private lounge area with dedicated computers, and special educational opportunities, including travel and service opportunities.

To apply, all a student needs to do is to fill out an application, which includes a one-to-three page narrative of self-assessment, and submit that along with a letter of recommendation from a professor/teacher or a person who has supervised him/her in an extra-curricular community involvement.

Eligible incoming students will be invited to apply to the program. Current students can download an application from the Hilbert College website.

A SAMPLE OF CURRENT COURSES OFFERED FOR HONORS CREDIT*

In lieu of proposals are available for student review online.

  • ACC 320 Intermediate Accounting I

  • BLU 301 Junior Symposium

  • BUS 200 Introduction to Business Management

  • CJ 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice

  • CJ 204 Crime and Society

  • CJ/HS/PSY 316 Family Violence

  • ECO 203 Principle of Contemporary Macroeconomics

  • ECO 204 Principles of Contemporary Microeconomics

  • EN 205 Survey of World Literature I

  • EN 315 World Mythology

  • EN 325 Autobiography

  • FS 101 Introduction to Forensic Science

  • FS 318 Special Topics in Forensic Science I

  • HS 101 Introduction to Human Services

  • HS/PSY 205 Interpersonal Communication and Effectiveness

  • MA 200 Topics in Statistics

  • PH 205 Business Ethics

  • PH 302 Making of the Modern Mind I

  • PS 102 American Government

  • PS 335 Genocide

  • PSY 202 Psychology of Adult Development and Aging

  • PSY 406 Cross Cultural Study of Psychology

*List is subject to change.

HONORS PROGRAM INFORMATION


Eligibility requirements

  • 3.5 cumulative average (90 high school average for incoming freshmen)

  • Full-time day status

  • Proven leadership qualities in any of the following areas: social commitment, arts, or athletics

  • 60 or fewer credit hours

Curricular Requirements

  • Freshman/Sophomore Honors Colloquium (HON 105) OR Junior Honors Colloquium (HON 305)

  • One course for Honors credit per semester (students are required to take classes within their major and in the liberal arts and sciences for Honors credit)

  • One Capstone Colloquium in the senior year (one credit course)

Extra-Curricular requirements

  • 20 hours of community service annually

  • Mentoring

Benefits

  • $3,000/year scholarship

  • Priority registration

  • Private lounge area with dedicated computers

  • Special educational opportunities, including travel

  • Recognition of Honors during the commencement ceremony