Honors Curriculum

To graduate with Honors, you must complete the following:

  • Maintain a 3.5+ cumulative GPA
  • Complete a minimum of four honors courses. HON 100 and HON 270 are required, other classes may be completed through general honors courses or honors course contracts.
    • Required: Honors Seminar – HON 100 (1 point): This one-credit-hour, discussion-heavy course will prepare you for your honors journey by teaching you how to analyze hard issues, voice your opinion respectfully, and think of yourself as a scholar. Students should take the Honors Seminar the first full semester after you join the Honors Program.
    • General Honors Courses (3 points each): These honors-exclusive sections of general education courses allow you to explore subjects more deeply and widely than you would in regular class sections. Small class sizes and enriched content facilitate student-centric learning. Discussion and collaboration among students and faculty encourage you to be an active participant in the learning process, aiding in the development of your autonomy in the discovery and synthesis of knowledge.
    • Honors Contracts (2 points each): These one-credit hour extensions of regular JCCC classes allow you to further explore a subject in depth. Scholars in career programs (for example, nursing) may need to rely primarily on Honors Contracts; however, Honors Contracts are generally not encouraged.
    • Required: Honors Forum – HON 270 (1 point): This three-credit-hour course focuses on issues and topics not offered in the general curriculum. The course incorporates discussion and projects with an emphasis on content and skill development. You may take the Honors Forum at any point in your honors journey.
  • Earn a minimum of 20 points through the courses above and other activities below. Each student must complete a minimum of 2 exploratory experiences.
    • Exploratory Experiences (2 points each): The Exploratory Experience is designed to allow you to search, discover, and learn more about yourself, society, and your chosen career path outside of the classroom. You have an opportunity to engage in the community through experiences like internships, public service, study abroad, and more. All Exploratory Experiences are counted only after you have submitted a reflection.
    • Public Presentations (2 points each): These presentations give you the opportunity to exercise your public speaking skills and share research findings with others through conferences/symposium such as the Honors Symposium, JCCC STEM Symposium, and more. Scholars often present on a project written for an honors course or contract.
  • Stay active. We ask that student complete a class, pursue an exploratory experience, or come in for a specialized advising appointment regularly. If we haven’t heard from you in 2 consecutive semesters, we’ll reach out about moving you off of our honors roster.

Want a neat summary of this? Check out our video introduction to program requirements for students who have just joined honors.