Suite 428, University Center
404/413-5577
www.gsu.edu/honors/
Robert Sattelmeyer, Director Emeritus
Jeffrey R. Young, Associate Director
April Lawhorn, Academic Specialist
The Honors College provides the advantages of a small, highly selective college with breadth of programs and opportunities of a large research university. It is open to incoming freshmen, transfer students, and currently enrolled students who meet eligibility requirements. Honors students take small, seminar-based classes and develop close contact with outstanding faculty members. Honors sections of a number of regular courses, many of which meet core curriculum requirements, are offered throughout the academic year. In addition, students in the Honors College can enroll in special interdisciplinary courses, help design a colloquium on a topic of their choice, and, at the upper division, research and write an honors thesis. Students in the college may earn honors recognitions, which are noted on their diplomas and transcripts, and they may pursue additional opportunities to enrich the quality of their education and enhance their chances of future success. Honors students may also take advantage of dedicated facilities, priority registration, merit scholarships, graduate and professional school counseling, special travel and study abroad opportunities, and honors housing in the University Commons.
• Admission to the Honors College is competitive and limited to approximately 200 incoming students each year. Entering freshmen should have an outstanding high school grade-point average combined with excellent SAT or ACT scores and a record of extra-curricular activities. High school students who are jointly enrolled will also be considered. Currently enrolled and transfer students must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5 based on a minimum of 12 credit hours completed at the university or another college or university. Students who do not meet these academic requirements in full but wish to pursue honors work should contact the Honors College staff. An interview with a member of the staff is required for admission into the program.
Any student in the university with a 3.0 or higher GPA may take one honors course without being admitted to the college. Authorization for all honors courses must be obtained prior to registration from the Honors College office.
Continuation in the Honors College requires students to maintain at least a 3.3 cumulative grade-point average. A student whose average falls below 3.3 will be given two academic terms in which to attain a 3.3 average again, at which point the student may continue to take honors courses.
Although there is no minimum number of courses required to remain enrolled in the Honors College, students who are in good academic standing in the program (see above) and who have taken at least one honors course in the past three academic terms (including summer session) will be considered active in the program. Students newly admitted to the college will be counted as active during their first four academic terms. All others will be considered inactive.
Students may choose to work toward any of three formal recognitions. These are recorded on transcripts and on diplomas with seals, and acknowledged at graduation. Honors recognitions require 3.3 grade-point averages overall and in honors course work. No courses with grades of D or F may be applied toward the satisfaction of the requirements for honors recognitions. Incoming freshmen honors students are required to enroll in Honors 1000, a 1-hour seminar that introduces students to research-based academic work in the disciplines.