What’s so great about Honors?
As I began my college career, I was thrilled to see that I was accepted into the Honors College. It wasn’t that surprising to know that because I’ve always done amazing in school. However, the problem that faced me was that I didn’t have a clue of what the Honors College is. I knew that it was a prestigious thing to tell your friends and family, but I wanted to know what else it offered.
The first I learned, and what you might learn first when you enter the college for the first time, is that there are Honors classes that you can take. These classes typically are much smaller than the normal classes and have a limit of 20 students per class. You have to make sure you sign up for them as soon as possible or you may be out of luck. When you hear about an Honors course, you may think that it will be harder than normal, like how your high school may have had higher tier classes. Rest assured though, the classes are generally not more difficult, but is more group oriented, so that the students have a more focused attention on their studies and receiving help. As a bonus perk, attending at least 6 or more credit hours in a semester will grant you early registration for your next semester.
The Honors college isn’t just about the classes you can take, it also provides an on-campus residential space for Honors students. This is provided at the Honors Living and Learning Center in Lyon Hall, but the hub of Honors activity is the Martin Building. Here students can study, consult with an academic adviser, attend one of the many educational or extracurricular events sponsored by the Honors college, work on an Honors publication, enjoy a free cup of coffee or newspaper, do homework in the study area, or just hang out and relax by the fireplace in the student commons.
After all that, there is still more things connected with the college. Like many other things, customs and traditions help keep the program united. One of the customs and traditions of the college is the “Tolling of the Bells”, which occurs following the successful defense of the each thesis or creative project. This began in 2005 with the thesis defense room positioned directly underneath the bell tower of the Martin building. Another custom is that, the college is home to an award-winning literary magazine and a journal of undergraduate research. Any student is allowed to have one free of charge.
The Honors college even provides some scholarships for your benefit. The Buchanan Fellowship and Study Abroad are the major ones provided by the college. The Buchanan Fellowship program is the highest award given to entering freshmen at MTSU, but is limited to only 20 students per year. This gives host of special benefits including a full tuition waiver guaranteed for four years, special seminars, priority registration, a book allowance, priority consideration for study abroad, and much more. You must complete the application and have an high school GPA greater than or equal to 3.5, along with a composite ACT score greater than or equal to 29. The Study Abroad program is integrated with the Honors College as it allows a maximum of nine semester hours toward the Honors College graduation requirements and sometimes, three hours may apply to upper-division. The Honors Study Abroad Scholarships can help fund and finance a students Study Abroad Program if they so choose to follow this path.
Everything so far sounds great, but were all here for one purpose and that is to graduate. The Honors college has its own graduation criteria that grants certain awards for meeting them. The first part requires you to have completed 20 hours lower-division (1000/2000 level) of Honors coursework, which if you get priority registration each semester, you’ll be cleared on this part easily and receive your certificate upon completion. The next part is your main focus and the most difficult. It requires you to have 11 hours upper-division (3000/4000 level) Honors coursework, and a one-hour Thesis Tutorial and three-hour Thesis project. Students graduating from the Honors college receive a bronze medallion (replica of the Honors College seal), certificate of graduation, and recognition as an Honors College graduate on both the diploma and college transcript.
As you can see, the Honors College is a great advantage to be apart of to have a wonderful college experience. The Honors classes are ten times better than the normal ones which make life that much easier, take it from me. Most of the benefits given to you are implemented into what you may already do ordinarily, but gives that sweet extra bonus at the end. Study Abroad is something that many students wish they could do and the Honors programs helps immensely with that. The prestige that comes with it is also a great thing to have after graduating and looking for your future job. So, “What’s so great about Honors?” Everything about the Honors College is great and I highly recommend you take advantage of how great it is.
