POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND GENERAL INFORMATION

ADMISSION TO THE PROGRAM

All students who wish to enter the program should complete an application form, copies of which are available from the Honors Program Office. Upon receipt of the form, an interview will be scheduled with an Honors staff member. Typically, the admission decision is made at that time.

Admission Requirements:

Incoming Freshmen should have a 3.3 or above high school average. Combined SAT's should be 1180 or above.
GSU Students already matriculated should have completed 12 hours at GSU with a GPA of 3.3 or above.
Transfer Students should have completed 12 hours of transfer credit with a GPA of 3.3 or above.

Note: Some exceptions to the above requirements are made based on the individual interview.

REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD ACADEMIC STANDING IN THE HONORS PROGRAM

Honors students must maintain a 3.3 GPA. If the overall GPA drops below 3.3, the student may not take Honors classes until a 3.3 is achieved. A student with a GPA below 3.3 is expected to raise it to that level in three semesters.

ACTIVE - INACTIVE STATUS

Although there is no minimum number of courses required to remain enrolled in the Honors Program, students who are in good academic standing in the Program (see above) and who have taken at least 1 Honors course in the past 3 semesters (including summer semester) will be considered Active in the Program. Students newly admitted to the Program will be counted as Active during their first 3 semesters. All others will be considered Inactive. Only Active students are eligible for priority registration and Honors Program scholarships.

ONE-SEMESTER PARTICIPATION

Students may take a class in the Honors Program for one semester without being formally admitted to the Program. This is done on a space available basis by recommendation of an instructor or a member of the Honors Program staff. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to take advantage of this opportunity.

HONORS PROGRAM RECOGNITION

Requirements for Honors recognition are:

GENERAL HONORS: granted to students who successfully complete at least 12 credit hours of coursework in lower-division Honors classes at Georgia State University, plus two honors forums or colloquiums. The 12 hours of coursework must be in classes selected from at least three major areas of study with no more than two classes in any one area (see Honors Program Office for listing of major areas).

ADVANCED HONORS: granted to students who complete at least 12 credit hours of Honors coursework at the upper division, plus two Honors colloquia or forums. A maximum of 3 semester hours thesis coursework, a maximum of 9 hours of Honors dimensions, and a maximum of 9 hours of graduate courses may be applied toward this recognition. Courses that are applied toward the 12 hours of Advanced Honors may not be applied toward Research Honors.

RESEARCH HONORS: granted to students who complete at least 12 credit hours of Honors coursework at the upper division which includes at least 6 and not more than 9 semester hours of Honors thesis coursework, plus two Honors colloquia or forums. A maximum of 6 hours of Honors dimensions and 6 hours of graduate courses may be applied toward this recognition. Courses that are applied toward the 12 hours of Research Honors may not be applied toward Advanced Honors.

Honors recognition requires 3.3 grade-point averages overall and in Honors coursework counting toward recognition in the graduation semester with "Ds" and "Fs" disallowed.

General Honors, Advanced Honors, and Research Honors are recorded on the student's diploma with a seal. All undergraduate Honors courses are designated by an H suffix on the transcript. The title of the Honors thesis or creative project is hand-entered on the transcript.

Students completing recognition requirements at the end of fall and summer semesters will receive their recognition medallions at the following spring semester awards ceremony of the college in which they are enrolled. If the requirements are completed at the end of spring semester, the medallions will be presented at the next year's ceremonies.

HONORS COURSE OFFERINGS

Honors sections of existing core curriculum courses are offered during fall and spring semesters. (Contact the Honors Office for annual schedules). Unique to the Honors Program are interdisciplinary classes such as Eng 1130H/Phil 2410H (Composition/Logic).

Upper-division course offerings are either Honors sections of existing courses or seminars designed for Honors students only. In addition, four other kinds of courses are offered: Honors Colloquia and Forums, Honors Dimension Courses, Honors Independent Study and Thesis, and graduate courses in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Honors Colloquia and Forums: Enrollment in two Honors interdisciplinary seminars called Honors Colloquium (Hon 3260H) and Honors Forum (3750H) is required for all Honors recognition. Both feature readings and discussion. The Colloquium typically centers on current topics, whereas the Forum focuses on classical readings in the liberal arts. Students are encouraged to propose topics or readings for these courses or for other Honors classes.

Honors Dimension: Students wishing to earn Honors credit in an upper division course not usually offered as an Honors course may do so by proposing and gaining approval of activities separate from those required of the class in order to enhance the regular class experience. A typical Honors dimension would require meeting with the instructor individually one hour each week to discuss topics covered in more depth with a brief written summary of the discussion. No more than 9 hours of Honors dimension work can be used towards Advanced Honors recognition. Note: The proposed Honors dimension must be approved by the instructor of the course and also by the Honors Council. Proposals are submitted by the student and the professor, and they must be submitted to the Honors Program Office by 5:15 p.m. on the last day to withdraw from classes ("W" Day) of the semester prior to the semester in which the class will be taken.

Honors Independent Study/Thesis: Juniors and seniors who have completed a minimum of three upper division courses in their major (some specifics may apply: see department and/or Honors Program office) may propose and complete a research project in their major resulting in a substantial paper called an Honors thesis. The Honors thesis is required of all students who desire Research Honors.

Procedures are as follows:

At least one semester before the project is to begin, the instructor(s) who will direct the project should be identified.
A proposal stating questions the project will investigate and any procedures to be followed should be submitted. This should include a proposed bibliography of readings. There are forms and guidelines for proposals in the Honors Program Office.
So that it can be reviewed by the Honors Council for approval, the proposal should be submitted to the Honors Program Office by 5:15 p.m. on the last day to withdraw from classes ("W" Day) of the semester prior to the semester in which the research class will be taken.
The student will be asked to attend the next meeting of the Honors Council, where she/he will make a two-minute oral presentation of the proposed research project, and will answer questions from the Council.
If required by the Honors Council, revisions to the proposal are made and approved by the Director.
The student enrolls in the Honors Readings course within his or her department. The Honors staff will provide course and computer numbers.

Honors thesis projects are produced over two semesters for a total of 6 hours credit. Typically, the first course is a readings/research course, and the second is spent writing the thesis. Upon completion, the thesis is submitted to the project director, the department, and the Honors Program Director for approval. Four copies are then bound - one for GSU's Pullen Library, one for the Honors Program Office, one for the directing professor, and one for the student.

Honors Graduate Course Enrollment: Students enrolled in good academic standing in the Honors Program who have completed at least 18 semester hours of credit at Georgia State University and who are in their senior year (89 semester hours or more earned) may enroll in graduate courses in the College of Arts and Sciences, provided they meet all course prerequisites and have obtained the permission of the instructor, the Director of the Honors Program, and (where required by the department) the Graduate Director of the appropriate department. Forms for applying for such permission are available in the Honors Program office (428 UC). Up to 9 hours of course credit obtained in these courses may be applied toward Advanced Honors recognition, and up to 6 hours of such credit may be applied toward Research Honors.

ADVISEMENT

Most Honors classes are offered once in an academic year, so students are urged to plan their programs of study very carefully. A curriculum chart showing expected course offerings fall through spring of each year is sent to Honors students each summer and is available in the Honors Program office. Honors students are sent information about Honors classes to be offered prior to registration each quarter.

Students are urged to arrange for advisement in their departments and in the Honors Program each semester in order to be able to take full advantage of Honors offerings. Scheduling resources are tight: under-enrolled Honors classes are likely to be canceled, sometimes permanently. Honors Colloquia and Forums usually generate waiting lists, so students should sign up for them early.

HONORS STAFF

The Honors Program Office is open 8:30-5:15 p.m. Monday through Friday, in room 428 of the University Center. The telephone number is 404/651-2924, the FAX number is 404/651-4890, and the mailing address is:

Honors Program,
Georgia State University
University Center--Suite 428
University Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083

The web site is at www.gsu.edu/honors. Dr. Grant Luckhardt is Director of the Program, Ms. April Lawhorn is the Honors Academic Specialist.

EVALUATIONS

Instructors of Honors classes are asked to complete evaluations of the work performed by each student taking their classes. These evaluations are kept on file in the Honors Program Office. Students are encouraged to read evaluations of their work.

Students are asked to complete an Honors Program course evaluation in addition to the university-wide evaluations. Instructors do not have access to these evaluations until after grades have been turned in. Instructors also evaluate the overall success of each course they teach.

HONORS COUNCIL

The Honors Council is the policy-making body of the Honors Program. It currently consists of ten faculty members, the Honors Program Director, and two student representatives. All Honors dimensions, Honors theses, and Honors independent study are presented to the Honors Council for approval. Honors students are welcome to sit in on Honors Council meetings. The Council typically meets once per semester.

HONORS LOUNGE and COMPUTER LAB

The Honors student lounge is located within the Honors Program suite of offices. It is available from 8:30-5:15, Monday through Friday, for Honors students' use for study, meetings, conversation, etc. Announcements of Honors Program activities are often posted in the lounge.

The Honors computer lab is available for use by Honors students in good academic standing. It is in the Honors suite, room 426. Web access and printers are provided for students wishing to use these facilities on a walk-in basis.