Ethical Leadership in a Time of Change
The focus and task of the Honors Program is at once simple and vitally important: to provide a community on our campus for highly motivated students where they can broaden their knowledge and skills and deepen their appreciation of the importance of ethical leadership in all academic and career fields. Through our work, we seek to create the next generation of citizen-leaders and to instill in them the empathy, wisdom, and hopefulness that their current and future communities will need to thrive. ~Kenneth Nivison, PhD, Honors Program Director
Statement of Purpose
We are a community of scholar-citizens who strive for excellence.
We provide an academically rich, diverse, and challenging program sought after by our highest performing students.
We cultivate students’ talents by providing them with the intellectual and cultural opportunities that they seek and by developing in them a spirit of service in becoming ethical leaders in their professions, communities, and society as a whole.
Program Overview
To be admitted to the Honors Program, students must be accepted to the university with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. They must complete the Honors Program application and be granted entrance by the Director, working with the Honors Program Executive Committee.
Once admitted, students are required to take a total of eleven (11) three-credit courses with a grade of B or higher in order to complete the program. All of the courses that a student needs to complete will be honors versions of courses already required in their academic program, whether in The Commons or as part of a major capstone project or experience. Completing the Honors Program does not require a student to take any additional credits beyond those required by their academic program. The following is a general outline of how the Honors curriculum unfolds:
Year One:
Honors students will be introduced to the program and to each other through two classes taken together as a cohort: English 120 and Humanities 110B, the latter of which will address foundational questions of leadership and ethics.
Year Two:
Students will take English 200 as well as Philosophy 212 Introduction to Ethics together as a cohort. They will also take additional honors-designated courses in The Commons, the University's Core Curriculum. Students will also begin to plan their thesis work.
Year Three:
Students will take History 249 The Common Good together as a cohort as well as other honors-designated courses in The Commons. They will continue planning and development work toward their thesis.
Year Four: Students will complete their honors thesis in conjunction with their major capstone project. They will also complete any final honors-designated courses in The Commons, and they will present their thesis research at a national conference, or Undergraduate Research Day, or both.
Ethics Minor
Honors students have the ability, through careful planning, to complete the Ethics Minor as part of their course of studies. Students are highly encouraged to do so.
Benefits
- Preferred status for course registration
- Early move-in opportunities in fall semester, with honors-specific programming
- Program that develops leadership skills and ethical mindsets across all disciplines
- Smaller classes designed exclusively for honors students that allow for engaging discussions
- Emphasis on undergraduate research with presentation options
- Guidance from a dedicated, full-time faculty member as thesis advisor
- Opportunities to attend honors social events, trips, and conferences
Contact Us
Questions? Please drop us an email at honors@snhu.edu