University Honors Program

The University Honors Program offers a community within the university for academically talented, highly motivated students who enjoy lively discussion, creative expression, and intellectual challenge. The Honors College offers colloquia, interdisciplinary honors seminars, opportunities for undergraduate research, domestic and international travel experiences, community service activities, and other innovative experiences designed especially for motivated and high-achieving honors students. The Honors College collaborates with other colleges to offer small honors sections of core courses in seminar-style classes. Graduation as an Honors Scholar requires completion of the University Honors Program, below, as well as a KSU adjusted GPA of 3.25 or better. Two secondary designations, Honors in the Major and Honors Participant, are also described below. First-year Honors students have the option of applying for the Great Books Honors cohort or the President’s Emerging Global Scholars (PEGS) program.

For information about the University Honors Program’s admission criteria, application process, and first-year Great Books cohort, please visit http://honors.kennesaw.edu.

University Honors Scholar Designation

Students complete a minimum of 8 Honors Learning Experiences plus a series of two capstone courses. Students must complete at least three credit hours of HON-prefix course(s) during their programs, not including HON 4497 or HON 4499.

Additional Honors Learning Experiences (HLEs) may be chosen from the following list:

Honors section of KSU 1101 First-Year Seminar (3 credit hours)*
Honors Sections of General Education Courses (2-4 credit hours each)
HON 2001 : Introduction to Honors Research (1 credit hour)
HON 3000 : Honors Colloquium (1 credit hour)
HON 3301 : Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar (3 credit hours)
HON 3002 : Honors Research Assistance Experience (0-3 credit hours)
HON 3203 : Honors Teaching Assistance Experience (0-3 credit hours)
HON 4400 : Honors Directed Study (1-3 credit hours)
HON 4490 : Honors Special Topics (3 credit hours)
Honors contracts in any non-Honors course or applied learning experience (non-credit)
Graduate courses for honors students in KSU’s Accelerated Bachelor’s Master’s degree program (http://graduate.kennesaw.edu/admissions/resources/abm.php)

*Students must take KSU 1101/H if entering KSU with fewer than 15 credit hours.

Honors Senior Capstone Experience (1-4 Credit Hours)

HON 4497:Honors Senior Capstone Proposal
HON 4499:Honors Senior Capstone Project Completion
Note: Honors students are recommended to take HON 4497 in their junior years.

Note:

To remain in good standing in the Honors program, students must complete an approved Honors Learning Experience (HLE) each semester. Students may complete more than one in a semester, and the additional HLE can be banked for a future semester. Only one additional HLE can be in the bank at a time.

To graduate as an Honors Scholar, an Honors student must submit a fully-approved Honors thesis or other major capstone product that merits a grade of A or B. A student whose major requirements include a senior capstone course or senior seminar may work with the instructor to significantly enhance the thesis or other capstone product for the class, taking HON 4499 for zero credit hours. A student who does NOT have a required capstone course or senior seminar in his or her major will take HON 4499 for 3 credit hours.

Honors in the Major

To earn the designation of Honors in the Major, students must complete a minimum of two of the required four minimum HLEs in the major plus an approved capstone and maintain the required GPA. Departments/Schools may specify additional requirements.

Honors Participant

To be awarded the designation of Honors Participant, students must successfully complete a minimum 6 HLEs and maintain the required GPA. Requires approval of the University Honors Program Director.