Honors Program
"I'm excited to be part of the Honors Program because of its strong commitment to learning and self-discovery. I've been challenged to view the world in a whole new way."
David Showalter, Honors Student Harrisonburg, Va.
The Honors Program at EMU combines academic expectations, intellectual leadership, mentoring relationships and scholarship awards to assist students in achieving their fullest potential. Honors students will:
- develop skills in interactive communication.
- display evidence of quality of thought and insight.
- create self-awareness of particular learning styles and abilities.
Program Components
Each academic year, EMU admits 12 incoming first-year students into its innovative Honors Program, which includes:
- Honors
courses: Taught by EMU's most
accomplished faculty. honors seminars invite collaboration and innovation and explore timely
issues at an in-depth level beyond that found in typical
university classes. (Students must take three honors seminars.)
- Honors gatherings: Regular meetings of gifts and highly motivated learners results in many opportunities to talk and network and just have fun.
- Mentoring: Each incoming student works closely with an upper-level
honors student during the first semester on campus. Students also participate
in a faculty/student mentoring relationship beginning
the second semester.
- Worldview
development: The honors experience culminates with the articulation of a personal worldview, honed by four years of scholarly, artistic and personal
growth.
- Scholarships: Honors participants receive generous, renewable scholarships of full or half-tuition. Students must maintain an annual cumulative 3.5 grade point average (GPA) to continue in the Honors Program.
Requirements and Application
Basic Requirements:
- Minimum high school GPA of 3.5
- Minimum 1350 SAT or 30 ACT
- Apply to EMU by November 1
In mid-November students are invited to apply to the program. They then have two months to submit the following:
- Honors
application essays:
- 400-word essay - If you really knew me you would know...?
- 100-word essay - If my life were a color, sonnet, equation... [choose one or substitute a word of your choice]. *Modeled after the "Life Is Short - Autobiography as Haiku" essays in the Sunday edition of the Washington Post. Click here to see an example.
- An example of your academic efforts previously graded and evaluated with teacher comments
- Resume indicating school , church and civic involvement
- Two references
*More detailed instructions will be mailed to all interested applicants.
*Completed Honor's Applications should be mailed to the Admisisons Office by January 18th.
The application culminates with a successful interview with a member of the honors faculty member during Honors Weekend on February 15&16. Candidates are notified by late-February whether or not they are selected for the program. Honors scholarship recipients have until May 1 to respond to the offer.
