Honors/ Emerging Scholars Program
Emerging Scholars Program
The Central College Honors Program presents academically high-achieving students with the opportunity to grow as intellectuals within a community of their peers. The components of the Honors Program support students as they develop this community with each other and their faculty mentors, nurture their intellectual curiosity and creativity, and design and carry out advanced research, creative, and community-based projects that accelerate their own educational and career goals.
The capstone of the Honors Program is the Senior Honors Project, a significant research and/or creative project spearheaded by the student and supervised by two faculty members. In addition to offering unique opportunities for in-depth study and/or creativity, the Senior Honors Project allows students to distinguish themselves when applying for graduate school, medical school, law school, and future employment.
Application
Membership in the Honors Program is by application only. Students who have at least a 3.500 Central College cumulative grade point average are eligible to apply.
Students may apply after completing at least one semester as a full-time student at Central College; students must be accepted into the program at least three semesters prior to graduation, or no later than the first semester of their third year. If at any time the student falls below the 3.500 minimum GPA they must raise their GPA by the following semester to at least a 3.500 cumulative GPA to remain in the program.
Components
For a student to earn an Honors designation on their transcript the following components of the Emerging Scholars Program must be successfully completed:
- 2 1-credit Honors Enrichments or Honors Seminars
- 1 1-credit Honors Research Practicum
- A Senior Honors Project
- A 3.500 cumulative GPA or above at the time of graduation
Honors Seminars* are one-credit courses taught by different faculty on campus in which students are grouped together from a variety of disciplines to explore topics at an advanced level. Students may add Honors Enrichment Credit* to any course in which they have special interest. In doing so, the student has the opportunity to work closely with a professor and pursue a topic in the course at an advanced level. The Senior Honors Project is a year-long capstone experience focused on an area of special academic or creative interest that fills a gap in knowledge, addresses a problem, or demonstrates a high level of creative achievement. This project is informed by extensive research and is designed, carried out, and presented by the student under the mentorship of a faculty advisor and a faculty second reader. Completion of these components culminates with a ceremony in which each student is formally recognized and presented with a medallion to wear at commencement.
*In addition to accepted students in the Honors (Emerging Scholars) Program, any students with at least a 3.500 cumulative GPA or entering first-year students with at least a 3.750 high school GPA or who finish in the top 5% of their class are eligible to take Honors Seminars and Honors Enrichment Credits.
For more information, on any of the components of the Honors program, contact the Honors Program Coordinator at honors@central.edu.