Georgetown College’s Programs of Distinction are unique academic opportunities that combine rigorous academics with specialized and carefully designed extracurricular experiences to enrich and focus your time at Georgetown College and prepare you for whatever may come next.
Honors Programs
The Georgetown College Honors Program strives to encourage the intellectual growth of the College community by giving highly motivated students at all levels the opportunity to pursue challenging and stimulating academic and cultural experiences.
Students who wish to participate in the program must apply to and be admitted to the Program in one of three tracks: Oxford Honors, Science Honors or Independent Honors.
- Oxford Honors: This track provides an immersive experience in the Honors Program during the freshman and sophomore year. It is designed to prepare students to make a successful application to study at Oxford University through the College’s partnership with Regent’s Park College.
- Science Honors: The Science Honors track develops students’ ability to conduct scientific investigation and research at a high level. Eligible students will be matched with a summer research experience.
- Independent Honors: The Independent Honors track challenges students to develop their intellectual strengths and deepen their educational engagement by completing an Honors curriculum developed in consultation with an Honors advisor.
Students generally enter the Honors Program as freshmen, but they may apply as late as the second semester of their sophomore year. If a qualified student applies to Oxford or Science Honors when no slots are available, they may be offered admission to the Independent Honors Program.
To graduate from the Georgetown College Honors Program, admitted students complete a series of Honors Elements. For each Honors Element, students earn a grade and submit an artifact of their work to an electronic portfolio. Students are expected to register for an average of one per semester.
Requirements: Eight Honors Elements, including two sections of HON 170 and the HON 432/433 thesis sequence.
Each of the following counts as one Honors Element:
- An Honors section of a course (Designated by an "H" after the section on the schedule)
- HON 170 (Honors Reading Group)
- ENG 200 (Honors Research Seminar)
- HON 240 [Honors Increment for 100 and 200-level courses)
- HON 300 (Honors Seminar)
- HON 302 (Science Honors Seminar)
- HON 340 (Advanced Honors Increment for 300 and 400-level)
- HON 342 (Science Research Seminar)
- HON 440 (Honors Independent Study)
- HON 445 (Honors Thesis) Registration must be approved by the Honors Committee
- HON 432 (Honors Thesis I) and HON 433 (Honors Thesis II)
- Tutorial completed at Oxford University (full or half, limit of two)*
* Practice Tutorials do not count as an Honors Element.
The manner in which Honors students fulfill the program requirements varies by track. After being accepted into a particular track, students are issued a contract that specifies how and when they are expected to fulfill all requirements. With the permission of the Honors Program committee, students may elect to switch tracks. Any exception to the program requirements must be approved by the Honors Program Director.
All courses that earn Honors credit will be noted on the student’s transcript. Honors courses may also count toward a student’s minor, or Foundations and Core requirements, depending on the courses selected. Up to two elements of Honors credit may be earned through tutorial classes at Regent’s Park College, Oxford.
Students who complete all of the Honors Program requirements will be designated as graduates of the Georgetown College Honors Program on their official transcript.