Honors Program
The Honors Program at St. Bonaventure University brings highly motivated and academically qualified students into novel, stimulating, and productive interactions with faculty members. Students are welcome to participate in as much of the program as they desire, or they may fulfill all the requirements for a degree with honors.
Requirements for Enrollment in the Honors Program
- Incoming students who meet the qualifications for the University's top two academic financial aid awards, the Presidential Scholarship and the Friars Scholarship, are invited to join the Honors Program.
- Enrolled students must maintain cumulative GPAs of 3.25 each semester. Reviews of Honors student GPAs begin after the students have completed their first semesters at St. Bonaventure University and continue after each completed semester thereafter.
- Enrolled students must take at least one Honors-designated course a year to maintain their status as Honors students.
- Transfer students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher at the institution they are leaving for St. Bonaventure or meet the same standards as incoming students.
- Transfer students will be granted up to 6 transfer credits for Honors courses passed with a grade of B+ or higher, subject to the approval of the Director of the Honors Program.
Requirements for enrolled students invited to join the Honors Program
- Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 after their first semester enrolled at St. Bonaventure University will be invited to join the Honors Program.
- Students accepting the invitation to the Honors Program will meet with the Honors Program Director to explain the program requirements and ensure that prospective Honors students are aware of the policies for enrollment in the Honors Program.
- Students invited to join the Honors Program will be granted Honors Student status and be allowed to register early and to register for Honors courses.
- Students invited to join the Honors Program will be evaluated again following the second semester enrolled at St. Bonaventure University. Any enrolled student invited to join the Honors Program must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 after the first full year enrolled to remain an Honors Student. Enrolled students whose GPA falls below 3.25 after the second semester will be removed from any Honors course registered for and will be denied admittance into the Honors Program.
Policies for Suspension and Dismissal from the Honors Program
- Enrolled students with a cumulative GPA between 3.00 and 3.25 will be placed on probation within the Honors program. If student on probation does not raise his/her cumulative GPA to 3.25 or higher in the following semester, he or she will be dismissed from the Honors Program.
- Enrolled students with a cumulative GPA below 3.00 will be dismissed from the Honors Program.
- Students dismissed from the Honors Program will have the opportunity to reapply for admission with the Director of the Honors Program once the student is able to raise his/her cumulative GPA above 3.25. Applications for readmission to the Honors Program will be brought to the Honors Council for deliberation.
Degree with Honors
To earn a “Degree with Honors,” the highest undergraduate degree offered by the university, students must fulfill all of the requirements listed below. Honors courses are populated entirely with students who are in the Honors Program. Courses that are a hybrid of students in the Honors Program and those not in the Honors Program can count in the Honors Experience.
- Five Honors Courses:
- No more than TWO should be from the First-year Honors Courses category:
(the Gen Ed Curriculum requirement fulfilled by the course is in parentheses)- ENG-104. Honors: Writing II (one of the Required Specific Courses)
- PHIL-105. Honors: Introduction to Ethics (one of the Required Specific Courses)
- SOC-111. Honors: Intro to Sociology (the Social Sciences Distribution)
- THFS-104. Honors: The Way of Francis and Clare (one of the Required Specific Courses)
- At least THREE should be Advanced Honors Courses:
(the Gen Ed Curriculum requirement fulfilled by the course is in parentheses)
- No more than TWO should be from the First-year Honors Courses category:
- HON 300: Honors Experience. This zero-credit requirement can be fulfilled by an additional Honors course; an Honors addition to a regular course; or another credit-bearing experience such as research, independent study, study abroad, or internship as long as it is completed in addition to requirements for a student's major. This experience must be approved by the Honors Director.
- Honors Project (HON-498/HON-499) This is the culmination of the Honors Program curriculum — a two-semester, three-credit research or creative endeavor designed by the student to be of sufficient scope to merit recognition as an Honors Project.