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The honors program at Bluffton is a
four-year program designed to challenge intellectually
ambitious, highly motivated students in all disciplines. In
keeping with the mission of Bluffton University, the honors
program has a special emphasis on integrating academics,
spiritual growth, individual growth and service. The program
includes “active learning” service components that ask honors
students to apply what they have learned in their honors
classrooms to needs identified on campus and in the community.
Finally, in addition to coursework, the program sponsors
special cultural events and social events for honors students
and individualized help with advising and applications to
graduate and professional schools.
More info... While pursuing their major
field of study, students enroll in honors sections of five of
the liberal arts and sciences courses.
ENG
120 Advanced College English
LAS 210 Reason and Argument
HUM 221 Humanities 1
One of: REL 252 Introduction to New
Testament
REL 273 Christian
Theology
REL 274 Christian Ethics
LAS
400 Christian Values in a Global Community
In
addition, these students complete a special, three credit hour
honors seminar in the junior year:
HON
310 Junior Honors: Community Transformed
Students may enter this program having met
these criteria: 1) acceptance into Bluffton University, 2)
submission of a separate honors program application and two
letters of recommendation from teachers, 3) a minimum 3.5
GPA; and 4) minimum ACT and SAT scores, respectively, of 26
and 1140. Students may also enter the program during their
first year of study at Bluffton University. These students
must 1) submit a separate honors program application
demonstrating commitment to all aspects of the program, 2)
submit two letters of recommendation from
Bluffton professors, and 3) have a minimum 3.3 GPA.
Continuation in the program requires a 3.3
GPA and participation in 75% of the honors events.
Honors program students receive an education
full of challenge, opportunity, service-learning,
relationships with faculty and peers and serious consideration
of cross-boundary living in a complex world. In turn they
render important service, leadership and academic standards
that are consonant with Bluffton’s mission.
More on academic
honors.
Courses
HON 310 Junior Honors: Community
Transformed (3)
This seminar allows
students to develop individual or collaborative
service-learning research proposals in their own majors or
other areas under the supervision of a faculty facilitator. In
some cases the scope of the proposal may allow it to be
implemented during the course term. The proposal may develop
from service-learning that students have done with other
honors program participants or present a new avenue for
service-learning and research. Through sharing their
experiences and discoveries, students will participate in
guided discussions that address such questions as: “What does
it mean to have original ideas?”, “What is the vocation of an
academic?”, “How/where do advanced academics, service and
faith intersect?”, “What are distinctive characteristics of
various disciplines?” and “Why/how should one approach
graduate school and/or a professional career?” Another portion
of this seminar will address strategies for graduate school
opportunities, finance and pre-entrance preparation. Guest
speakers from across the college campus and beyond will be
invited to complement discussions in this seminar.
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