Program Requirements
For students beginning the Honors Program in Fall 2013 or later:
Beginning with the Class of 2017, students enrolled in the Honors Program will follow a new, revised curriculum. Prior to graduation, students will complete the following requirements:
1.0 Foundation Year seminars: 7 cr
Honors First-Year Seminar 4 cr
Honors Writing for College 3 cr
1.1 Selection of one of the four Honors Seminars: 3 cr
Honors Seminar in Philosophical & Moral Foundations 3 cr
Honors Seminar in Scientific & Quantitative Analysis 3 cr
Honors Seminar in Expression & Creativity 3 cr
Honors Seminar in Individual & Society 3 cr.
1.2 Selection of one of the four Honors Civic & Service Learning Seminars: 3 cr
Honors Seminar in Philosophical & Moral Foundations 3 cr
Honors Seminar in Scientific & Quantitative Analysis 3 cr
Honors Seminar in Expression & Creativity 3 cr
Honors Seminar in Individual & Society 3 cr.
1.3 Honors-by-contract requirement: 1 cr
Honors-by-Contract 1 cr **
1.4 Research requirements: 4 cr
Honors Thesis Project 3 cr
Honors Senior Seminar 1 cr
Total Credit Requirements: 18 cr
** the credit hour will be linked to an existing non-honors course.
The Honors Program is designed to be sequential. Honors students are encouraged to take the Foundation Year courses during their first semester or first year on campus. The two Honors seminars and Honors-by-contract course have been designed to be taken during the sophomore and junior years. The Honors Thesis Project and Honors Senior Seminar have been designed to be taken during the senior year.
Once admitted to the Program, a student must maintain a cumulative 3.500 GPA. If a student's GPA drops below 3.500, the student will be allowed to continue in the Program in probationary fashion for one semester. If the cumulative GPA continues to fall below the 3.500 requirement after one semester, the student will be dismissed from the Program. There is no reinstatement after an official dismissal from the Honors Program.
For help tracking your progress through the Marist Core and the Honors Program, please use this Advising Worksheet. 
For students who began the Honors Program prior to Fall 2013:
Prior to graduation, students will complete six courses: Honors Ethics and one course from each of the five seminar areas (Versions of the Self; Art of Culture; Hudson River Valley Studies; Global Engagement; and Science, Technology, and Society). Each seminar will be capped at fifteen students. The Honors experience will culminate in an Honors Senior Project, the proposal for which must be approved in advance by the Director of Honors. The project does not have to be a written essay, but rather may take a form appropriate to each individual's interests and disciplinary requirements. For example, the project may be a research essay, laboratory experiment/project, multimedia presentation, advertising campaign, etc. With faculty approval, this project may stem from prior upper level coursework, but it must be a significant extension or revision of that initial assignment. This project may also be the result of an independent research project undertaken outside of coursework. The Honors Senior Project will be submitted to the Honors Council for review six weeks before the end of the semester in which the student will graduate and will be part of an Honors Symposium held at the end of each academic year.
The Honors Council will assess the Senior Honors Project on the basis of the following criteria, not all of which may apply to every project:
- Written (and/or oral) expression of logical arguments
- Breadth of research
- Use of evidence in support of idea, experiment, etc.
- Use of effective public speaking techniques
- Scope and depth of project
- Technical sophistication
- Extent of creative risks taken
Once admitted to the Program, a student must maintain a cumulative 3.500 GPA. If a student's GPA drops below 3.500, the student will be allowed to continue in the Program in probationary fashion for one semester. If the cumulative GPA continues to fall below the 3.500 requirement after one semester, the student will be dismissed from the Program. There is no reinstatement after an official dismissal from the Honors Program.
