Prepare for Anything. Achieve Greatness.
The Marietta College Honors Program offers students with high scholastic ability and keen intellectual curiosity a stimulating and challenging academic environment in which to pursue their education. The Program consists of two components:
- The Curriculum Honors Program for incoming freshmen and transfer students;
- The Research Honors Program by which students earn Honors in a Discipline.
Students may earn official recognition by completing either curriculum honors or research honors. Students who complete both with a final cumulative GPA of 3.300 or better will graduate with College Honors.
In addition to specialized coursework, students in the Honors Program have the opportunity to participate in the annual fall trip to New York City or Washington, D.C., to engage in theatrical, musical, and artistic events.
Graduation with College Honors
Students who complete the Curriculum Honors and Research Honors Programs with a final overall GPA of 3.30 or greater will graduate with College Honors.
For more information, contact the Honors Program Director:
Brandon Downing
honors@marietta.edu
Assistant Professor
History, Philosophy, & Religion
Thomas 305
The Curriculum Honors Program
Curriculum Honors is designed for students seeking an intellectual challenge and who also desire the benefits of a social and cultural experience during their college career.
The Honors Program has three main missions. The first is to encourage students to do an independent project where they work one on one with a faculty member before they graduate. We feel this is a great way to bridge the experience you have in the classroom with what you will end up doing in your career or if you go on to a graduate program.
The second goal of the Honors Program is to develop a learning community among the students in the program. Here, honors students will not only take similar challenging courses together but also live on a designated floor reserved only for honors and leadership students. A good way to make life-long friends.
The third and final mission is to engage in cultural experiences. About once a month during the academic year, a cultural event is organized for students in the program. Most of these events involve going to plays, musical performances, movies, and historical sites in the local area. There is also a trip every fall to New York City, Washington DC, or Nashville. These events are little to no cost to the student.
If you are interested in becoming a part of the Curriculum Honors community at Marietta College, fill out the application here.
- Eligibility
- Incoming freshmen, by application: Incoming freshmen with at least a 3.500 high school GPA and 1280 SAT or 27 ACT are invited to apply on a competitive basis for admission to the Curriculum Honors Program.
- Incoming transfer students, by invitation or application: Transfer students entering Marietta College with fewer than 37 credit hours may be eligible under (I) or (II) above. Inquire to the Admissions Office or the Honors Program Director.
- Program Requirements
The coursework of the Curriculum Honors Program consists of the following 12 hours, all counting towards completion of the college’s general education requirements. It is highly recommended that students complete the honors curriculum program prior to the start of their senior year.
- First semester: Honors Seminar I (HONR 101) serves as the PIO 101 requirement for students admitted into the Curriculum Honors Program. Although the specific topic may vary, this course will fulfill one distribution requirement within the general education curriculum. (3 credits)
- Second semester: Honors Seminar II (HONR 102) will apply to a second distribution requirement in the general education curriculum, determined by the topic in a given semester. (3 credits)
- After completion of the first year: Two honors-designated electives (honors sections of select courses enhanced to provide students with research skills). (6 credits)
To complete the Curriculum Honors Program, students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.30 (3.00 for first year freshman only). Students whose GPA falls below these levels may request readmission to the Curriculum Honors Program when their GPA returns above 3.30.
The Research Honors (Thesis)
The Research Honors Program allows any junior or senior with a GPA of 3.300 in the discipline and a 3.300 overall to do advanced work under the close guidance of a member of the faculty, typically in the student’s major or minor. Such students present a senior thesis to a thesis committee that includes the thesis director, a member of the Honors and Investigative Studies Committee, and a third (optional) faculty member of the student’s choosing. With this committee’s final approval of the thesis, the student is awarded Honors in a Discipline.
- Eligibility
- An overall cumulative GPA of 3.30 and a cumulative GPA in the discipline of 3.30 is required at the time of the proposal to the thesis committee.
- The student must have a thesis director in the field of study in which the thesis work is to be done. The thesis director must, of course, be willing to support the student’s proposal.
- Program Requirements
- The senior thesis proposal is typically submitted by the student during the second semester of the junior year (or 2-3 semesters prior to the semester in which they will graduate). The proposal must be approved by the student’s thesis committee.
- During their final semester, students must register for 1 to 3 credit hours of honors coursework in the department in which they are pursuing their thesis work (“DEPT” 493). Upon completion of the senior thesis, it must be approved by the student’s thesis committee.
- An overall cumulative GPA of 3.30 and a cumulative GPA in the discipline of 3.30 is required at graduation.
- Approved theses are archived and made available on-line through OhioLink.