Frequently Asked Questions

For incoming first-year students:

You apply for the GovState Honors College at the same time you apply to GovState. An unweighted GPA of 3.65/4.0 scale is the expected standard for admission. For students below the 3.65 standard, a holistic approach to admissions approach is used and considers items like your HS GPA, the number of honors and AP classes take, standardized testing data for the student (if available) or the institution. Other criteria is considered such as community involvement, leadership background, etc.

For incoming transfer students:

For transfer students without a GovState GPA, you can join the GovState Honors College by earning a 3.5+ GPA at your previous college, contacting Honors College Staff and confirming your desire to be in the college.

For existing GovState Students:

A 3.50+ GovState CGPA is required to join the GovState Honors College. You can join if you have anywhere between 12 and 90 credit hours toward graduation. Students with more than 90 credit hours toward graduation will need a 3.50+ GPA plus special approval from the Founding Dean of the GovState Honors College.

Not necessarily. Honors enhanced courses are not designed for the students to complete more work than non-honors classes. Rather, they are designed to encourage innovative thinking, interdisciplinary learning, and research/creative inquiry. We ask faculty and students to think about not only completing major assignments to earn a course grade, but think what else can they do with the knowledge gained from the major assignments (e.g., research presentation, leadership initiative, etc.).

For students starting in Honors College ON / AFTER Fall 2024:

1st Year Honors Cohort

• • COUN 1008 – Mastering College (Honors Sections)
• • FYS 1001 – Interdisciplinary Humanities (Honors Sections)
• • ENGL 1000 - Writing Studies I (Honors Sections)
• • ENGL 1010 - Writing Studies II (Honors Sections)
• • COMM 1000 - Public Discourse (Honors Sections)
• • HONS 2000 – Interdisciplinary Social and Behavioral Sciences

For all Honors College Students

• • HONS 3000 – Future Foundations in Honors
• • HONS 4700 – Independent Study
• • HONS 4800 – Internship
• • HONS 4900 – Honors Seminar Course

For students starting in Honors College BEFORE Fall 2024:

1st Year Honors Cohort

• • COUN 1008 – Mastering College (Honors Sections)
• • ENGL 1000 - Writing Studies I (Honors Sections)
• • ENGL 1010 - Writing Studies II (Honors Sections)
• • COMM 1000 - Public Discourse (Honors Sections)

For all Honors College Students

• • HONS 4700 – Independent Study
• • HONS 4800 – Internship
• • HONS 4900 – Honors Seminar Course

Yes. This is done through HP Course Contracts. You can work with your instructor to negotiate work or activities related to the class that can count for HP credit. Course Contracts can be done for 1 point (e.g., an extra scholarly project) or 2 HP points (e.g., an extra scholarly project and application of knowledge through a student-developed initiative; completing a graduate level curriculum for an undergraduate-level course [4000/6000 split-courses only]).

The GovState Honors College uses points to track completion because it takes advantage of curricular (course credit) and co-curricular (non-course credit) opportunities to complete. Students can earn HP points by completing honors college enhanced courses, HP Contracts, Study Abroad, Completing a Minor, teaching specialization, Double Major, Research (conference, publication, or in time spent as a research assistant), Leadership Activity (beyond the one required research activity), Professional Development experiences, or apply for a Prestigious Scholarship (e.g., Rhodes, Marshall).

1st Year (13 points)

• • COUN 1008 - Mastering College (Honors; 3 pts)
• • FYS 1001 – Interdisciplinary Humanities (Honors; 3 pts)
• • ENGL 1000 - Writing Studies I (Honors; 3 pts)
• • ENGL 1010 - Writing Studies II (Honors; 3 pts)
• • Present a paper at the HCIR Conference (1 pt)

2nd Year (7 points)

• • HONS 2000 – Interdisciplinary Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 pts)
• • COMM 1000 Public Discourse (Honors; 3 pts)
• • Complete an HP Contract (1 pt)

3rd Year (4 points)

• • HONS - 3000 Future Foundation in Honors (1 pt)
• • Capstone –Thesis/Project/Internship–can be for credit or co-curricular (3 pts)

4th Year (2 points + Leadership)

• • Earn 1 co-curricular point (conference or study abroad or research assistant, or course contract or minor; 1 pt)
• • Complete a Leadership Experience (1 pt)

3rd Year (5 points)

• • HONS 3000 – Future Foundations in Honors (1 pt)
• • HONS 4900 - Honors Seminar (3 pts)
• • Earn 1 co-curricular point (research assistant or 1 pt course contract)
• • Start Junior Capstone–Thesis/Project/Internship–can be for credit or co-curricular

4th Year (5 points)

• • Finish Junior Capstone (3 pts)
• • Earn 1 co-curricular points (1 pt)
• • Complete Leadership Experience (1 pt)