Contents
Catalog Links

2024-2025 Catalog and Student Handbook

The Honors Programs

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:

  1. The Curriculum Honors Program for incoming freshmen and beginning second-year students;
  2. The Research Honors Program by which students earn Honors in a Discipline.

Students may earn official recognition by completing either (I) or (II). Students who complete both (I) and (II) will graduate with College Honors.

In addition to specialized coursework, students in the Honors Program have the opportunity to participate in cultural events through organized trips to theatrical, musical and artistic events in nearby cities, such as Cleveland, Columbus, and Pittsburgh.

I. The Curriculum Honors Program

A. Eligibility and Application:

  1. 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
  2. Current Marietta College freshmen, by application: Marietta College freshmen who will enter the sophomore year with fewer than 37 credit hours and a 3.500 or better overall GPA are eligible to apply in the spring semester prior to their sophomore year. Application is made to the Honors Program Director.
  3. 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.

B. Program Requirements:

  1. The course work 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.
    1. First semester: Honors Seminar I 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)
    2. Second semester: HONR 102 Honors Seminar II will apply to a second distribution requirement in the general education curriculum, determined by the topic in a given semester.
    3. After completion of the first year: Two honors-designated electives (honors sections of select courses enhanced to provide students with research skills). (6 credits)
      1. An honors fellowship (HONR 295) may substitute for one of the two elective courses. Honors fellowships are applied for through the Honors and Investigative Studies Committee and are intended to support creative or research projects conducted with a faculty mentor.
  2. 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.

II. The Research Honors Program

The Research Honors Program allows any 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.

A. Eligibility:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

B. Program Requirements:

  1. 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 (see above).
  2. 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.
  3. An overall cumulative GPA of 3.30 and a cumulative GPA in the discipline of 3.30 is required at graduation.
  4. Approved theses are archived and made available on-line through OhioLink.

III. 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:

 

Brandon Downing (bcd004@marietta.edu)

Associate Professor

History, Philosophy, Religion, and Gender & Sexuality Studies

Thomas Hall - Room 305