A small number of exceptionally qualified students are invited to apply at the time of admission to the college. They submit an application essay, provide a writing sample (high school essay) and interview on campus with the program coordinator.
Most Honors students are selected for the program in the fall semester of their first year at Monmouth. Instructors of first- and second-year students in Introduction to Liberal Arts and foundation courses of General Education are invited to nominate candidates for the program. With or without nomination, however, any first-year student interested in the program—or any sophomore or sophomore transfer student—may solicit a confidential letter of recommendation from a faculty member familiar with his or her academic performance. Typically, nominating letters and solicited letters of recommendation will address the student’s preparation in terms of intellectual capacity, written and oral abilities, and class participation. The letter may further provide a faculty member’s estimate of the applicant’s independence, initiative, and creativity. Applicants may request more than one letter of recommendation.
Applicants are asked, also, to submit a formal essay of about 400 to 500 words, in which they review their expectations of the program and their motivations for applying. Along with the essay, applicants should also submit a recent sample of their writing (e.g., an Introduction to Liberal Arts paper). At the time of review, the Honors Committee may also review applicants’ high school records and ACT scores. All application material should be submitted to the coordinator of the Honors Program.
Requirements
To be recognized as an Honors graduate of Monmouth College, a student must have at least 17 semester hours, including Honors I (110) and II (410), attain at least a grade of B− in each course, and graduate with a 3.5 GPA. A participant in an officially sanctioned ACM-GLCA off-campus study program may be released from one HONR 210 course. Possible release from the senior year Honors course because of off-campus program attendance will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis with the Honors Committee.
Substitution for General Education Required Courses
Honors students who complete the program may substitute specifically designated HONR 210 courses for the following General Education requirements:
- A lab science course in the rubric “Physical Universe and its Life Forms”
- A “Human Societies” course other than Global Perspectives
- An “appreciation” course under the rubric “Beauty and Meaning in Works of Art”
For any student enrolled in the Honors Program but who subsequently fails to complete it, the registrar will evaluate the student transcript upon student notification of discontinuance from Honors, and apprize the student of remaining General Education requirements for graduation.
A grade of B− or better is required in each Honors course. If a student falls below that grade in a particular Honors course and leaves the program subsequently, that course will substitute for a designated General Education requirement. Should a student complete all requirements in Honors but fail to graduate with “Honors” because of a college-wide GPA below 3.5, “designated” Honors courses taken by the student will substitute for the pertinent General Education courses.