Honors College Requirements
Honors students know their courses will offer challenges and opportunities not found in other classrooms. Professors are re-designing their courses to create seminar-style class meetings and intensive research projects that provoke students to use their critical thinking skills and creativity.
Below are the requirements expected of honors students, whether they enter as traditional first-year students or join the program as a current student or transfer student.
Honors Courses and Requirements
How to use the Honors College button in the Course Search to find all the Honors Courses available.
The Curriculum for Students Graduating in Fall 2024 and Beyond
For current and incoming Honors College students who will graduate in fall 2024 and beyond, there are now three pathways to choose from to complete your Upper Division Honors requirements. Upper Division Honors will replace what was called College Departmental Honors in the old requirements. Students will be required to enroll in an honors section of CORE 2000 or take HONS 2000. The newly revised requirements are:
- Core Courses: Students entering with 0-14 hours need four honors core courses; students entering with 15-29 hours need three honors core courses; students entering with 30-44 hours need two honors core courses; students entering with 45-59 hours need one honors core course; students entering with 60+ hours are not required to take honors core courses. The number of credits earned will be determined based on the calculation of hours earned prior to matriculation in the Honors College as they appear in a student’s DegreeWorks audit.
- CORE 2000 (honors section) or HONS 2000 (1 credit hour), which will begin fall 2023-onward.
- Experiential Learning: One Experiential Learning Activity per academic year.
- Upper Division Honors (choose one pathway):
- Honors Thesis: Completion of at least 3 credits of research. Includes submission of honors thesis and presentation.
- Capstone Experience: Completion of an Honors College approved capstone of at least three credit hours. Includes submission of capstone project and presentation.
- Graduate Coursework: Acceptance into an Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Program and completion of at least 6 credit hours of graduate credit OR completion of at least 6 credit hours of graduate credit (6000 level or higher). Includes submission and presentation.
- Grade Point Average: Must maintain a minimum 3.3 cumulative Georgia Southern University grade point average.
The Curriculum for Students Graduating Prior to Fall 2024
Traditional first-year students entering the College with fewer than 15 credit hours of earned college credit have the following requirements:
- Core: Four Honors Core Courses*
- Experiential Learning: One Experiential Learning Activity per year (four total)
- College Departmental Honors: Completion of College and/or Departmental Honors Courses
- Honors Thesis: includes proposal submitted one year before graduation and presentation at the Honors Research Symposium prior to graduation
* Note on Honors Core Courses for incoming first-year students with credit hours:
- Students entering with 15-29 hours need three honors core courses.
- Students entering with 30-44 hours need two honors core courses.
- Students entering with 45-59 hours need one honors core course.
- Students entering with 60+ hours are not required to take honors core courses.
- The number of credits earned will be determined based on the calculation of hours earned prior to matriculation at Georgia Southern as they appear in a student’s DegreeWorks audit.
Current students and transfer students who join the College will have the following requirements based on their credit hours:
- Core: Students entering with 15-29 hours need three honors core courses; Students entering with 30-44 hours need two honors core courses; Students entering with 45-59 hours need one honors core course; Students entering with 60+ hours are not required to take honors core courses. (The number of credits earned will be determined based on the calculation of hours earned prior to matriculation at Georgia Southern as they appear in a student’s DegreeWorks audit.)
- Experiential Learning: One Experiential Learning Activity per year: three for those entering as sophomores, two for those entering as juniors, one for those entering as seniors
- College Departmental Honors: Completion of College and/or Departmental Honors Courses
- Honors Thesis: Includes proposal submitted one year before graduation and presentation at the Honors Research Symposium prior to graduation
College/Departmental Honors Requirements and Thesis Details for Students Graduating Prior to Fall 2024
The College/Departmental requirements vary by major. Find your major by clicking on your college below for links to your particular requirements.
See the Undergraduate Research and Honors Thesis page for more details on the thesis requirement, including links for the Honors Thesis Proposal and the Honors Thesis Handbook.
Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing
Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Arts and Humanities
Communication Arts – All majors
Music – Composition and Performance
Philosophy and Religious Studies
World Languages and Cultures – All majors
College of Behavioral Health and Social Sciences
Criminal Justice and Criminology
Political Science and International Studies
College of Education
College of Education – All majors
College of Science and Mathematics
Jiann-Pin Hsu College of Public Health
College of Public Health – All majors
Parker College of Business
College of Business – All majors
Waters College of Health Professions
Athletic Training, Exercise Science, & Sport Management
Health Sciences – Armstrong Campus
Communication Sciences and Disorders – Armstrong Campus
Radiologic Sciences – Armstrong Campus (Info coming soon!)
Respiratory Therapy – Armstrong Campus (Info coming soon!)
Medical Laboratory Sciences – Armstrong Campus (Info coming soon!)
Rehabilitation Sciences – Armstrong Campus (Info coming soon!)
Last updated: 3/23/2023