Fort Hays State University
Do you accept transfer students in your Honors Program/College?
Yes – students must have a minimum of four semesters left.
How do transfer students apply to your Honors Program/College?
As soon as a JCCC Honors student decides that FHSU is a strong option for their bachelor’s degree program, they are encouraged to contact the Honors College staff at FHSU directly (fhsuhonorscollege@fhsu.edu). The Honors College Director and Academic Program Specialist are happy to communicate with students by email, Zoom, phone, or in person during a student’s visit to Hays or an FHSU staff visit to Johnson County.
FHSU Honors College staff are happy to help JCCC Honors student arrange a visit day to FHSU with the assistance of the FHSU Admissions staff.
Transfer students first complete the general FHSU application:
a. https://wd1-student.myworkdaysite.com/fhsu/mystripesug
Once accepted to FHSU, students interested in the FHSU Honors College complete the Honors College application. The FHSU Honors College application information is found here: https://www.fhsu.edu/honors/Admission/
Priority application for fall start is Nov 15, but applying as soon as you feel like FHSU is an option is encouraged to be eligible for all possible scholarships.
What are your criteria for selection?
Must have a 3.5 cumulative GPA. We look for quality writing as well as thoughtful, reflective, and creative approaches to the prompts.
Does your Honors Program/College offer a seminar or track specific to transfer students? How do you support transfer students in your program?
As soon as possible after a JCCC Honors student is admitted to the FHSU Honors College, they will meet with FHSU Honors staff to discuss their academic and professional goals. FHSU staff will explore with them ways in which FHSU “Honors Experiences” (similar to JCCC “Exploratory Experiences”) can help the student continue to build their portfolio of academic and professional experience successfully. In general, FHSU Honors students are expected to complete one “Honors Experience” during each semester of enrollment.
JCCC Honors students who have completed an Associate’s degree will have completed all Kansas Board of Regents and FHSU General Education requirements and also the JCCC Honors Seminar and Honors Forum. They are therefore prepared to move forward with the experiential aspects of the FHSU Honors curriculum (“Honors Experiences”). The only FHSU Honors course that is required of them is the FHSU Honors Capstone course (3 credits), taken in one of the final two semesters of FHSU enrollment. Students may wish to take FHSU Honors courses to complete elective credits, but it is not required.
FHSU students work with professional advisors in their academic programs to assure degree completion. They meet with Honors College staff at least once per semester to discuss their progress through the FHSU Honors curriculum, opportunities for Honors Experiences, potential ideas for their Honors Capstone project, and thoughts about professional development after graduation.
Do you offer honors-specific scholarships to transfer students?
Yes! Students who wish to be considered for an Honors College scholarship may submit an optional 2-3 minute video with their application and are encouraged to provide any additional details they wish on the space provided on the application. Eligible applicants will be evaluated by the Admissions Committee for the Regents, Tier 1, and Tier 2 scholarships, when they apply. Once awarded, these scholarships are renewable for three additional consecutive years for first-year freshmen, 2 additional consecutive years for transfer sophomores, or 1 additional year for transfer/KAMS juniors.
Does your institution offer a Phi Theta Kappa scholarship? If so, how much may transfer students count on? What are the restrictions?
Yes – $1,500 and renewable for a second year if their FHSU GPA is above a 3.5.
What are your Honors Program/College completion requirements?
3.5 GPA and a check-in each semester. All Honors students will complete a number of Honors Experiences equal to the number of semesters they are in the program. Ideally, some of these experiences should be credit generating. An Honors Experience may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Any designated Honors course;
- Honors Critical Thinking course – expected for most in first spring semester;
- Honors Senior Capstone course – expected in either semester during senior year;
- Any course/experience successfully completed by an approved Honors Experience Contract;
- or others listed on our Honors website.
Do you accept community college honors course credit or experiences toward completion of your Honors Program/College?
Honors students at FHSU are asked to complete an experience for each semester that they are in the honors program, so while transfer students have the same expectation, their overall number of requirements will likely be fewer (depending on how many semesters they are students before graduation).
When do you recommend applying?
Priority application for fall-start scholarship consideration is Nov 15.