About Us—General Overview

The Calvin College Honors Program, first introduced in 1969 and greatly expanded since 1993, is a four-year program of special opportunities intended to help students of outstanding academic ability and motivation to nurture their gifts so that they will be equipped for leadership in service to God, their communities, and the world at large.

The curriculum of Calvin's Honors Program includes special sections of 15-20 core courses, which are generally taken in the first two years at Calvin. In these honors courses students are encouraged to develop greater than average initiative and independent study skills, while working in greater than usual depth and closer collaboration with their professors and peers. At the junior and senior levels, honors work is generally done by contract or special arrangement in the student's major discipline. Honors students receive special advising, orientation and assistance in scheduling their classes; they may contract with their professors to take regular courses for honors credit; they are offered opportunities for independent research and modest subsidies for academic conferences; and they are invited to various co-curricular activities for honors students, including the McGregor Sophomore Scholars program, the McGregor Research Fellowship program, and workshops for students who are considering graduate school.

Calvin's Honors Program is open to students of all majors and class levels. Presently, incoming students are invited to participate in the Honors Program if they have an ACT composite score of 29 or higher (SAT 1290+). Highly motivated students with lower test scores may still apply to the Honors Program by completing the online application. (See Application Form.). To remain an active member of the Honors Program, students must take at least one honors course per year (i.e. a total of two or more honors courses for sophomores, three or more for juniors, four or more for seniors) and maintain a GPA of at least 3.3 during their first two years, 3.4 during their junior year, and 3.5 during their senior year. In recent years, about 600-700 students have qualified for the program, and 300-400 take at least one honors class each year. About 25 faculty members in 12 disciplines currently offer honors courses each year.

Virtually all of Calvin's honors students receive merit-based scholarships awarded by the college for academic performance in the highest 15-20 percent of their cohorts. While participation in the Honors Program is not a condition for these awards, a high percentage of the top scholarship groups is active in honors work.

To graduate with honors from Calvin College, students must complete at least six honors courses overall (at least two of these in their major), maintain a GPA of at least 3.5, and fulfill the other departmental requirements for honors in their major discipline; generally, this means at least a senior-level research project and a thesis or public presentation. A medallion is awarded to honors graduates at the Honors Convocation, and their distinction is recorded in the Commencement Program, on their diploma, and on their official transcript.

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