Honors College

Honors at Kennesaw State University has two divisions. For recently matriculated or currently enrolled undergraduates, the award-winning Undergraduate Honors Program offers a flexible array of excellent Honors experiences designed to challenge exceptional students. For high school juniors or seniors who want to complete college courses for dual credit, the Dual Enrollment Honors Program (DEHP) provides an opportunity to get a head start on college. Both programs provide honors students with exciting academic challenges, intense mentoring relationships with faculty, connection to the student honors community, and applied learning related to the major.

Undergraduate Honors Program Admission Criteria

Students who consistently exceed the expectations of their instructors, and therefore need and want the challenge of academic experiences qualitatively different from those provided in most existing courses, can find a home in the outstanding KSU Undergraduate Honors Program. Those admitted to the program will need to match one of the following profiles:

Students who have recently graduated from high school, are entering Kennesaw State as first-year students, have a high school grade point average of 3.5 or better in their academic courses, and have made a composite score of 1200 or better on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (or the equivalent composite ACT score, a 26 or higher);
Currently enrolled students (including those who have transferred from other institutions) who have earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better in no fewer than 15 hours and no more than 60 hours of KSU course work.

The Honors Director may waive these eligibility criteria for candidates who can present a convincing and substantive case for their motivation and potential to succeed in the Undergraduate Honors Program.

Students identified as Honors prospects should receive an invitation to join the program. Others should contact the Honors Office at (678) 797-2364 if they think they are eligible but have not received an invitation.This is a competitive program and students are encouraged to join as early as possible in their college careers.

Undergraduate Honors Program Fundamentals

The Undergraduate Honors Program is organized around three fundamentals providing students with a rounded academic experience: Honors Faculty mentorship, formal Honors Experiences, and the Honors Colloquium.

Fundamental One - Honors Faculty Mentorship: Honors students are carefully matched with individual faculty mentors who are chosen from the ranks of the Honors Faculty and share their advisees’ academic interests and professional objectives. Honors mentors are more than academic advisors (though they play that role, too). The active intellectual exchange between mentors and their students is designed to foster a peer relationship that helps the students to achieve their potential as well as gain a faculty advocate.
Fundamental Two - Honors Requirements: Honors students must complete 25-26 hours of honors credits through the following:.
- two one-hour, pass/fail honors colloquia (HON 3000) or one three-hour, traditionally graded honors seminar/special topics course (HON 2290 or HON 4490); 2-3 hours honors credit
- five additional honors-designated courses worth at least three semester hours each, chosen from among the following: an honors section of a general education course (e.g., ENGL 2110/H1); an honors seminar or special topics course (e.g., HON 2290 or HON 4490); an honors directed, or independent, study (HON 4400); an upper-level honors contract course in an honors student’s major (e.g., BIOL 3300/01 - Honors); 15 hours honors credit
  - Please note: At least one honors-contract experience is mandatory for all honors students.
  - Students who are not required to take a research methods course in the major (or in a major that does not offer one), must take HON 3100, “Interdisciplinary Research Methods,” to meet one of these five honors course requirements.
- one applied learning honors experience related to the student’s discipline, completed through one of the following, for 3 hours honors credit, or the equivalent:
  - an applied honors contract in an upper-level course in the major
  - an applied learning honors contract without a course affiliation
  - an honors directed study (HON 4400)
  - a study abroad experience to which an honors dimension is added
  - an honors service-learning experience completed with or without a course affiliation (e.g., serving as an honors peer mentor over one, two, or three semesters)
- a three-course, five-semester-hour honors senior capstone sequence consisting of:
  - a one-hour section of the Honors Senior Capstone Experience (HON 4497) in which the student will find a full-time faculty member in his or her major to supervise the project; design the project, with that advisor’s support; and submit the Honors Senior Capstone Proposal for approval, first to the project supervisor and subsequently to the Honors Director and the Honors Council. A student whose honors capstone proposal is fully approved at all levels will be cleared to register for the second segment of the Honors Senior Capstone Experience.
  - one three-hour segment of the Honors Senior Capstone Experience (HON 4498) in which the student will conduct research, submitting a research outline or detailed progress report to the project supervisor at the end of the semester. A student who submits a substantive outline or report will be cleared to register for the final segment of the capstone course sequence.
  - one final, one-hour section of the Honors Senior Capstone Experience (HON 4499) culminating in the submission of an honors thesis or other honors-appropriate product and the honors portfolio to the Honors Council for final review.

To help them develop a perspective on their honors work, perhaps useful foremployment or admission to a graduate or professional program after graduation, all Honors students are required to keep the products of their Honors Experiences and Honors Colloquia (research papers, journals, documentation of exhibits, etc.) in an Honors Portfolio. To be designated an Honors Scholar at graduation, a student must a.) maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better; b.) perform well in all honors courses; c.) submit the product of an Honors Senior Capstone project subsequently approved by the Honors Council; and d.) submit a professionally constructed Honors Portfolio documenting the products of each honors experience.

Students in KSU’s Undergraduate Honors Program receive early registration privileges as long as they maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better; see their Honors mentors at least once a in the fall and once in the spring; and perform satisfactorily in their honors courses or other honors experiences. They may also have the opportunity to live in the special Honors Residence in University Village and attend honors conferences. When they graduate as Honors Scholars, they receive a special designation on their transcripts and diplomas and special recognition at graduation. We are proud of our Honors Program and believe it provides students the opportunity to advance their learning in an applied, individualized context, as well as work closely with Honors Faculty in their discipline.

Dual Enrollment Honors Program (DEHP)

The Dual Enrollment Honors Program gives outstanding high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn high school and college credits simultaneously by taking KSU courses in lieu of high school courses. Students may choose to take honors classes or regular KSU classes, and to attend KSU full- or part-time. Funding for 100% of tuition is provided for DEHP students attending public and private high schools and home-school programs through Georgia’s ACCEL or Move on When Ready programs. Funding is available to all eligible students, regardless of family income. DEHP students are responsible for any fee balance and textbook costs beyond the allowance provided by these programs.

Dual Enrollment Honors Program Admission Criteria

The admission deadline for DEHP is typically in mid-January. For the current deadline, admissions instructions, and additional program information, visit www.kennesaw.edu/dehp or contact the Admissions Office.

Rising high school juniors and seniors are eligible for the Dual Enrollment Honors Program if they earn:

a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better in their core academic course work (not electives) and are on track to complete state College Preparatory Curriculum requirements

AND

a composite score of 1100 on the SAT, with minimum subparts scores of 530 Critical Reading and 530 Math; or an ACT score of at least 25 composite with subpart minimums of 24 English and 24 Math.

To be admitted to DEHP, students must submit an online application and application fee, an official SAT or ACT score report sent directly from the testing agency, a high school transcript, and a consent form signed by a parent and a high school counselor. Accepted students are required to attend a mandatory KSU advising session prior to registration and a summer orientation program specifically for DEHP. Students and parents must also sign a Policy Statement acknowledging their understanding of the academic and behavioral conduct policies of the program. Students are accepted to begin the program in the Fall term only. A KSU GPA of 2.0 is required to continue in the program for Spring semester.