Why Join Honors

The Honors curriculum features a core of four classes that immerse students in the great ideas and works of human civilization and equips them with the tools to think critically, analytically and with the ability to integrate and synthesize across disciplines and concepts. As a part of that, the Honors senior seminar/thesis is intended to challenge the student to conduct a research project that integrates the strands of expertise developed through the Honors core, minor and the student's major program. The four Honors core classes satisfy a block of seven Foundational Studies categories, allowing Honors students to move more quickly through those requirements.

• General Honors (GH) 101: Honors Seminar: Contemporary Issues
• General Honors (GH) 201: Introduction to the Great Works
• General Honors (GH) 301: Honors Junior Seminar
• General Honors (GH) 401: Senior Thesis

In addition to completing the Honors core, students specialize in Honors through one of three elective concentrations designed to allow more substantial exposure and experience in sub-areas:

• Leadership and Civic Engagement
• Global Perspectives
• Honors in the Major and/or Foundational Studies

To graduate from the Honors College, students must maintain a 3.25 cumulative grade point average, a 3.0 GPA in the Honors curriculum, and complete the Honors core, thesis, and one of the three elective concentrations. The Honors curriculum is designed to work with any degree program by overlapping with Foundational Studies requirements and major classes.

Pickerl Hall and Burford Hall are the primary Honors residence halls for incoming Honors students. Honors students are not required to live in Honors housing; however, choosing to reside in an Honors living-learning community gives Honors students opportunities to develop friendships and form study groups with peers from all different majors in the Honors College. 

Benefits of living in Honors housing include:

• Living with and around other Honors students
• An Honors Resident Assistant (RA) lives on each floor
• Private bathrooms
• Central air conditioning
• Quiet hours on each floor
• Floor lounges for studying and hanging out
• Programming space for Honors events
• Close proximity to the Hulman Memorial Student Union, Dede Plaza and the ISU Fountain, and the Sycamore Dining Hall
• A short walk from most classroom buildings

For more information, including floor plans, please visit the Residential Life website: Pickerl Hall  •  Burford Hall

There are a number of ways for Honors students to get involved in the Honors College! These are opportunities that you can choose to be part of based on the amount of time you have to invest and your interests. We hope that you will choose to be an active member of the Honors community by attending events, helping to plan them, and/or serving as a peer mentor.

• Honors Council - The Honors Council is a student group that develops and facilitates many of the social and philanthropic programs we offer for Honors students each semester. The Honors Council annually hosts a Fall Picnic and a Halloween Party, participates in ISU's Homecoming, coordinates volunteer opportunities and career preparation workshops, and invites campus and community guests to speak with the Honors students. They also welcome ideas for other events and service projects from the Honors student body.
• Honors Peer Mentors - Honors Peer Mentors are experienced students in the Honors College who mentor first-year Honors students as they adjust to life at Indiana State University. Each incoming Honors student is networked with a peer mentor, who will offer advice, answer questions, and be a friendly face on campus as you transition into the ISU community. The Honors Peer Mentors are involved in numerous organizations on campus and also with the Honors College, so they know first-hand what it is like to be a motivated student, take Honors classes, live on campus, study abroad, and effectively balance time between school and extra-curricular commitments. 

• Incoming freshmen may be competitive for a variety of Indiana State University scholarships (including President's and University Honors scholarships), which are awarded through ISU's Office of Scholarships: http://www.indstate.edu/scholarships/
• There are several awards offered by the Honors College to assist current Honors students during their sophomore, junior, or senior year. Scholarship opportunities for current ISU students can be found in The Branch: https://indstate.academicworks.com/