Honors Program

Introduction
Columbia College Chicago launched its Honors Program in the Spring of 2010, offering a limited number of Honors courses to a targeted, specific population of students who had excelled in their course work. The Honors Program and Honors-designated courses are offered in the Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) Core Curriculum.

The Honors Program
As of Spring 2010, Columbia students who successfully complete a minimum of 15 credits in Honors courses will satisfy the requirements of the Honors Program and earn a special Honors designation on their transcripts.

Honors courses enhance the academic rigor of courses in Columbia's LAS Core. As such, students best suited for Honors courses and the Honors Program are those who are ambitious, eager for greater challenges, independent in their learning and course work, and active participants in class discussions. Because every student at Columbia takes the LAS Core Curriculum, every student potentially has the opportunity to be invited to join the Honors Program.

Honors Courses
Honors courses are identifiable by the letters "HN" appended to the course number and the word "Honors" at the end of the course title. At present, only certain courses within the LAS Core are designated as Honors courses. These courses satisfy both the respective LAS Core credits and the Honors requirements. So, for example, the course "History of the American City: Honors" satisfies both three credits of HI (History) and three credits toward completion of the Honors Program.

Undergraduate Honors Research Award
To recognize and reward Honors students who produce exceptional research and writing in an Honors course, the Office of the Dean in the School of LAS, in collaboration with the college’s Library, offers the Undergraduate Honors Research Award in the Fall and Spring semesters. We are currently accepting submissions for the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 award. (Click here to get the details.) Music major Zachary Berinstein won the inaugural award in the Spring of 2011. His essay explored how music communities are formed.

Successful Completion of The Honors Program
Students who complete 15 hours of Honors courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher qualify for "Graduation with Honors." This will be cited at Commencement and entered on students' transcripts. Completing the Honors Program also shows potential employers and graduate school program directors one's ability to excel and succeed in a challenging curriculum.

Entering The Honors Program ("Declaring for Honors")
Current Columbia students who have an accumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher can declare for Honors here.

Fore more information
To learn more about Honors courses and the Honors Program, contact Dr. Neil Pagano, Associate Dean and Director of the Honors Program, at npagano@colum.edu or 312.369.8218. You can also contact Andrew Whatley, Assistant Dean for Faculty Advising and LAS Initiatives, and Associate Director of the Honors Program, at 312.369.7261 or awhatley@colum.edu. You may also visit either of them in person in the Office of the Dean for the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the 623 S. Wabash Ave. building, suite 600.