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Honors Program

Academics Honors Program

A Unique College Experience

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The Honors Program at the University of South Carolina Upstate provides an exceptional experience for motivated students committed to academic excellence. Our program provides a unique learning environment that enriches and enhances students’ academic careers by offering a curriculum of study designed to prepare them for life-long learning and achievements. This program is unique in that it has a focus on experiential learning opportunities – getting students involved in activities beyond the classroom environment that enable them to learn in a real-world setting and grow in their knowledge of many different subject areas.

Serving the needs of the best and brightest, the Honors Program is designed to offer students a challenging and creative curriculum of honors courses, top professors, exciting seminars, student-faculty conversations, extracurricular activities and other honors opportunities. The Honors Program encourages students to grow intellectually, think independently and critically, and engage in a challenging honors learning experience.              

A USC Upstate Honors Student has:

  • The advantages of a large, traditional university
  • The interaction of a small cohort of high achieving and intellectually curious students
  • The support of an involved and talented faculty
  • The ability to take unique, stimulating, creative and multidisciplinary classes unavailable to other students
  • The access to specially designed opportunities for travel, community service and social functions
  • The consequence of being a part of a program that explores all areas of human interest and concern
  • The prestige of an honors program

Vision

The USC Upstate Honors Program underscores the commitment of USC Upstate to academic excellence and experiential learning. The Honors Program offers enhanced educational opportunities tailored to the special needs, aspirations and motivations of students with outstanding intellectual and creative abilities. By bringing together talented students and dedicated and accomplished professors in small classes and individual research settings, the Honors Program creates a community united by a passion for learning and driven by a hunger for knowledge.

The Honors Program enriches the learning experience with study abroad opportunities, research assistantships, faculty and community mentoring and a range of co-curricular activities and experiences that build a shared sense of intellectual curiosity and achievement of the highest standards of academic excellence.

Mission

The goals of the USC Upstate Honors Program are as follows:

  • To encourage an intellectual orientation by providing a challenging curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking, creative and active learning, integration of academic disciplines, in-depth exploration of new fields of study, and application of learning to other environments;
  • To develop the skills and qualities necessary for leadership both at USC Upstate and in the larger community through an emphasis on service learning and public presentations;
  • To offer experiential learning opportunities for learning outside of the traditional classroom environment
  • To provide a center of intellectual identity and community; and 
  • To meet the needs of outstanding students for engagement and intellectual pursuits beyond the classroom walls.

Honors students in good standing at USC Upstate receive the following benefits:

  • Priority Registration—honors students are the first to register for classes each semester.
  • Honors classes are small and exclusively designed and conducted for honors students
  • Honors students may substitute lower division honors classes for general education classes, and may substitute H-Option course for other courses in their major with instructor permission.
  • Honors students have special field trips, parties, academic and social events that are funded by the university.
  • The honors program offers special internships, service learning, and community opportunities.
  • At graduation, honors students have their name printed in the graduation program as having graduated from the honors program and receive special stoles to wear. This also appears on their permanent record.
  • If a student successfully completes the requirements of the honors program, he/she may apply for a $1000 travel abroad scholarship.

Admission to the Honors Program is selective and competitive. Great care is taken to admit the best-qualified applicants.

Eligibility for Admission to the Honors Program

First-year students, sophomore-level and above students, and transfer students are eligible for admittance in the Honors Program upon review and approval by the Director of the Honors Program.

A first-year student is eligible to apply to the Honors Program if the student meets at least two of the following criteria:
  • A minimum SAT score of 1100 or ACT of 24.
  • A ranking in the top 10 percent of high school graduating class
  • A cumulative high school grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
  • A Merit Award Program finalist.
  • A Chancellor, Promise, or Valedictorian Scholar.
  • Evidence of motivation and commitment to academic excellence.
A current USC Upstate sophomore or junior is eligible to apply to the Honors Program if the student meets the following criteria:
  • A cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher on a minimum of 30 hours from USC Upstate.
  • Evidence of motivation and commitment to academic excellence.
A transfer student is eligible to apply to the Honors Program if the student meets the following criteria:
  • A cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher from other academic institutions.
  • Evidence of motivation and commitment to academic excellence.

Application Process

Students apply for the Honors Program by submitting the following:

  • The Honors Program Admissions Application will include students’ academic records, significant extracurricular, community, and service activities (including employment); accomplishments, awards, and talents; and any involvement in academic research.

Honors Credits from Other Institutions

Up to 6 credit hours or two courses from other National Collegiate Honors Council institutions may be accepted for honors credit into the USC Upstate Honors Program. These courses must be compatible with the USC Upstate Honors Program. A syllabus or complete description of courses offered for acceptance into the program may be required for review by the Director of the Honors Program. All credits must be approved by the Director of the Honors Program.

Honors Students and General Education

All graduates of USC Upstate should demonstrate five core competencies as described in the Academic Programs section of the Academic Catalog. These competencies include the following: (1) the ability to communicate effectively in English in writing and orally, (2) comprehension and application of scientific and quantitative reasoning, (3) critical thinking and integration of information, (4) understanding and awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and (5) facility with information technology. A USC Upstate honors student must develop and refine these competencies by completing a coherent set of introductory-level courses which may be drawn from both honors and regular course offerings.

Honors students are encouraged to take an interdisciplinary approach to the general education competencies by enrolling in Honors Arts and Humanities, Honors Natural Science and Mathematics, Honors Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Honors General Education Tutorials, and special honors courses.

HONORS COURSES (HONS)

To enroll in honors courses, students must be members of the Honors Program or granted approval by the Director of the Honors Program in consultation with the faculty teaching the course.

Honors courses require coursework that is more challenging and enriching for honors students; projects and assessments that offer more opportunities for creativity, experiential learning and problem-solving; assignments that include more intensive reading, writing, and research ; and increased opportunities for co-curricular activities that complement course content. Honors sections may involve team-teaching or an interdisciplinary approach to the topics. Honors course options will be sent out each semester. H-Option courses may also be considered.

Requirements for Graduating With Honors

To graduate from the Honors Program, students must:

  • Complete at least 12 credit hours of honors courses.
  • Maintain an average cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher.
  • Students who fall below the required minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 in any semester are placed on honors probation. At the end of the probationary semester, students with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher are returned to regular honors status.

Honors Program Director

College Honors Program Coordinators