What is the Honors Program?

Honors at Villanova is a comprehensive four-year program of challenging seminars, research opportunities, service projects, and cultural and social events designed to bring together exceptional students and dedicated faculty.  Honors courses and co-curricular activities enrich and complement the academic experience inherent in a Villanova education.

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How can I get into the Honors Program?

Students accepted to Villanova University are invited to the Honors Program at the time of their acceptance to the University.  Students are strongly encouraged to submit their Villanova applications by November 1.  Accepted students who have not been invited to the Honors Program may apply by completing the Incoming Student Application, found online, before June 1.  These students will be notified of admission into the Program by July 1. Typically, incoming Honors students have an average SAT score of 1420 or ACT score of 32 and 3.9 high school GPA.

Current Villanova students with a GPA of at least 3.50 may apply for admission into the Honors Program. You may find the application for current students here. Please submit any applications to the Honors Office in Garey Hall 106 or by e-mail to honorsprogram@villanova.edu. Honors students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.33 and must take a minimum of one Honors course every third semester to remain active in the Program.

Application Deadlines:

First-semester freshmen: End of final examination period; decision made over semester recess, once final grades have been submitted. Please leave GPA blank on the application.

All other current students: Friday before Mid-term break; decision made over mid-term break.

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What kinds of courses does the Honors Program offer? Can one do departmental Honors as well?

Honors Program seminars encourage active participation of students in their learning process.  Seminars fulfill core requirements (introductory and advanced) and requirements for specific academic majors and minors.  Typically, Honors seminars are interdisci­plinary in nature, often team-taught.  Individual depart­ments collaborate with the Honors Program to offer Honors courses and con­tribute fac­ulty to the University Ho­nors Pro­gram.

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What is the Honors Program degree?

The distinctive Honors Program degrees, Thesis Track and Non-Thesis Track, represent successful completion of 10 Honors courses, including either a substantial Senior Thesis or Oral Comprehensive Examination.

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How does declaring a major work? What about designing my own major?

All Honors students must select a major in a discipline, which their work in Honors will complement. At the same time, Honors offers students the alternative of defining their own area of specialization outside a formal second major. In the Liberal Arts College, students do not select a major in a discipline until second semester of sophomore year. Thus incoming students are not cutting off any other opportunities by joining the Honors Program.

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Can I be part of Honors without pursuing the degree?

Yes. Many students choose to participate in the Program without fulfilling all the degree requirements, usually because of the demands of another program of study. Moreover, students in all colleges who complete five Honors courses are eligible for an Honors Minor, so long as two courses are upper level and the student maintains the minimum required GPA. Students through the Class of 2015 who complete eight courses in Honors are eligible for the Honors Interdisciplinary Concentration, so long as three courses are upper level and the student maintains the minimum required GPA.

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Is Honors available in Business, Engineering and Nursing?

Students in all of the professional colleges may take Honors courses to fulfill requirements and electives in the liberal arts and sciences, courses Villanova University believes are an essential component of any undergraduate degree program. Students in the professional colleges are full participants in the Honors Program and all its activities.

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Do Honors students receive special academic mentoring?

Yes. The Program staff and a network of Faculty Mentors assist students in selecting courses and majors, pursuing internships and undergraduate research projects, applying to graduate and professional schools, and taking advantage of other special opportunities that arise on and off campus. Instructors of Honors courses provide valuable feedback in their written evaluations of students at the end of each semester; these evaluations can form the basis of recommendations for post-graduate study. Honors Program Alums share their wisdom and experiences with current students through special colloquia and one-on-one conversations. And always, students in the Program find in each other a wealth of useful information, providing the essential foundations for effective peer mentoring.

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Can Honors students get funding for study abroad?

Up to 20 Honors students each year are awarded the Connelly-Delouvrier International Scholarship, which provides tuition funding for an academic semester abroad.

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What kinds of activities does the Honors Program sponsor?

Faculty and students frequently get together outside of class individually, as a class, and in larger Program-sponsored events. Every year, the Program sponsors trips to cultural events in New York, Washington, and Philadelphia. Students present their own research in the informal atmosphere of "Pizza Friday" Colloquia and share their musical and artistic talents in recitals and exhibitions. All students are invited to contribute to Polis, a literary magazine and journal of opinion. Honors students frequently have the opportunity to meet informally with distinguished lectur­ers who visit campus. Through the Honors Ambassadors, they also invite speakers and plan social and cultural events for the Program. In addition, students participate with faculty in setting policy and selecting new courses for the Program. Indeed, every year is different, depending on the special interests and initiatives of the students themselves.

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Are Honors students isolated from the rest of the Villanova community?

Honors students participate actively in all aspects of the Villanova community; Honors is only one aspect of their campus life. Students in the Program are housed in close proximity to one another to facilitate group work, but there are no exclusively-Honors residence halls. Honors students always take some of their classes in regular sections. And while strong friendships inevitably develop in Honors seminars, students’ campus and social lives are not restricted to students they meet in Honors. Indeed, Honors students traditionally have been involved in all kinds of campus organizations, often as leaders.

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Will I succeed in Honors? How will Honors courses affect my grades?

Students who have done well in high school generally have the ability to do well in Honors courses.  For most students in­vited into the Program, the issue is less ability than motiva­tion. For example, will I mind finish­ing a reading assign­ment or com­pleting a paper while my friends are partying?

Motivated students in the Program will receive top grades as in any course.  Some may find they have to work harder for that "A or A-" in an Honors seminar than for a ‘sure A’ in a regular section.  Others find that they do better in Hon­ors courses because they learn better in the Program’s small-class envir­onment of open discus­sion.

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How competitive is Honors?

Honors students find their principal competition comes from themselves. Students in the Program are supportive of each other and work as academic teammates, not adversaries.

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Will Honors help me get into graduate or professional school?

Many Honors students find that their Honors classes, with their emphasis on writing, speaking and critical analysis, have prepared them especially well for post-graduate education. The Faculty Mentors Program provides students with the opportunity to work closely with professors, who serve as advisors of independent research and as valuable resource persons for post-graduate preparation. In addition, the Senior Thesis demonstrates to graduate schools or potential employers the ability to carry out a major research project on one's own.

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How many Honors courses should I take each semester?

There is no set number of courses you must take in a given semester, although most students in the Program take one or two courses every semester. Students must take an Honors course at least once every three semesters to remain active in the Program.

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Can I withdraw from Honors?

Yes. Your commitment to participate in Honors is only for the semester in which you register for courses. Naturally, we hope that you will choose to stay. At the same time, you can be asked to withdraw if your grades are consistently below the required minimum GPA of 3.33.

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What do Honors students do after graduation?

In recent years, almost all of our graduates have continued their education in graduate or professional schools, either immediately or after a year or two of travel or work. Villanova Honors graduates have earned national fellowships like the Truman, Rhodes, Fulbright and Goldwater as well as advanced degrees at the nation's finest universities, often with substantial scholarship aid. Some pursue professional business opportunities; still others have joined volunteer organizations such as the Peace Corps or missionary societies, or have chosen to postpone long-term career plans for a while.

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