Honors Program Guidelines

Freshmen are admitted to the Honors Program if they have attained an 1150 or better on their SAT exams and are in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. In extraordinary circumstances the directors, in consultation with the Honors faculty, may make an exception to the prerequisites upon appeal by the student. Students who were not admitted into the Honors Program as freshmen are eligible for admission to the program if they achieve a 3.5 cumulative grade-point average with 12 or more completed credits.

Transfer students are eligible for admission to the program if they achieved a 3.5 cumulative average at their previous host institution. Those who were not admitted into the program when they began their studies at Cedar Crest are eligible for admission if they achieve a 3.5 cumulative GPA with 12 or more completed credits.

Lifelong Learning students are eligible if they achieve a 3.5 cumulative after completing 12 or more Cedar Crest credits.

A student in the Honors Program whose cumulative average falls below 3.5 for more than one semester is suspended from the program. She may participate in the program in the future if she regains the 3.5 cumulative average.

A student in the Honors Program may take as many of the program course offerings as her schedule permits, but she is not required to take any to remain eligible to participate in Honors activities. Those students who choose to graduate with an Honors Diploma must complete the requirements of either the conventional or the concentrated research/creativity track.

These requirements are as follows:

Conventional Honors Track:

In order to graduate with an Honors Diploma, a student pursuing this track must complete four honors courses, not including HON 350/351 (Honors Thesis/Project*). Throughout her senior year she will work with a mentor** on her Honors thesis/project. At the end of the second semester of her senior year, she will submit either a paper or electronic copy of her thesis/project and give a formal presentation of her work to the College community and invited guests.

Concentrated Research/Creativity Track:

A student may choose actively to work on her Honors thesis/project* over a period of two or more years, rather than during her senior year only. As early as the first semester of her sophomore year, the student may begin her project with a faculty mentor**. Usually, this work will take the form of an Honors independent study (HON 360). While the student does not necessarily have to take HON 360 in each semester of her sophomore or junior years, she must demonstrate consistent progress and accumulating mastery in the subject of her project.

The primary focus of her honors thesis/project will most likely be in her major field of study. However, the project must include a cross-disciplinary component. Students in this track need only complete two Honors courses, not including HON 350/351. At the end of the second semester of her senior year, she will submit either a paper or electronic copy of her thesis/project and give a formal presentation of her work to the College community and invited guests.

* The Honors thesis/project is very flexible, but must have a cross-disciplinary dimension. It may be a research paper, a play, a portfolio of paintings, or another kind of creative work. All thesis/project topics must be approved by the directors of the Honors Program. Students may count their capstone experience in their academic major toward their Honors research or creative project requirement. If they choose to do so, they must include a crossdisciplinary component in their capstone experience, to be developed with their Honors faculty mentor. Because the number of credits awarded by the capstone experience varies in the different academic majors, Honors students must be sure that they complete a total of 6 credits counting toward their Honors research or creative project. A copy of each student’s honors thesis or creative project is kept in the College archives in the Cressman Library.

** A mentor, in most cases, is a member of the Cedar Crest faculty. However, a student is free to choose an expert from outside the College community, subject to approval by the directors of the Honors Program. Such individuals must have a professional standing appropriate to the academic purposes of the student’s research/creative project. In some cases, students will wish to work with more than one mentor, particularly to insure the inclusion of a cross-disciplinary dimension in their project. Whether a student works with a single mentor or multiple mentors, it is important to contact faculty members as early as possible, to explain fully the nature of the proposed project, and to make sure of their availability through the time frame needed to complete it.