Honors

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Program
Honors
Degree Type
Program
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Director: Dr. Anna Moreland, Ph.D.
Office Location: G113 Garey Hall
Telephone: 610-519-4650
[Website]

About

Students who are invited into the University Honors Program have the option to earn an Honors Degree or one of three Honors minors. Honors courses can fulfill core requirements and electives. All Honors students are required to maintain a minimum 3.33 cumulative GPA to remain in the Honors Program and to earn an Honors credential. There are different requirements to earn an Honors Degree for each college. Please see below for the requirements to earn an Honors Degree, or any of the three Honors minors, in each college.

DEGREE (30 credits)

Additional Honors Curricular Options

In addition to taking HON classes and H sections of classes, Honors students may obtain Honors 
credit for additional curricular options like contract courses, eligible study abroad courses, 
independent studies, graduate courses, and colloquium bundles.

  • Contract Courses: Sophomores, juniors and seniors may "contract a course" by submitting a 
    proposal to do an Honors-level project in a non-Honors course to earn Honors credit towards their 
    Honors Degree. This proposal must be approved by the Honors Program and by the professor of the 
    course. The student must submit the appropriate form to the Honors Program with the signature of 
    the professor within one week after the end of the drop/add period. Students may use this option up 
    to twice in the pursuit of an Honors Degree. Only 3-credit classes with a course number of 2000 or 
    higher (excluding ETH 2050) are eligible to be contracted.
  • Study Abroad Courses: Students studying abroad may count up to two eligible Honors-level study 
    abroad classes or six credits of study abroad coursework towards their Honors Degree. Students must 
    submit the appropriate form, which contains more information about course eligibility, to the 
    Honors Program within 3 months of returning from their study abroad experience. Students are 
    encouraged to notify the Honors Program about their intention to count study abroad coursework 
    towards an Honors Degree ahead of time.
  • Independent Study: Students may enroll in HON 5501: Ind Study & Research to complete an 
    independent study counting towards their Honors Degree. Up to one independent study may count. 
    Students must submit their independent study proposal using the appropriate form to obtain the 
    approval of the Honors Program and the professor overseeing the study by noon on the last business day of
    the add/drop period.
  • Graduate Courses: Students may count up to two courses or six credits of graduate coursework as 
    long as the classes are counting towards the student’s undergraduate degree.
  • Colloquium Bundles: Students may take three 1-credit Honors colloquia to form the equivalent of 
    one upper-level 3-credit Honors course. Colloquia are letter- graded courses; the Honors enrichment 
    workshops graded at the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory level do not count. Colloquium courses are 
    designated as bundle-eligible in the master schedule.

The Honors Degree, Thesis Concentration (30 credits)

Requirements:

At least 3 upper level Honors courses, which will include a six-credit HON 6000 and HON 6002 senior thesis; minimum 3.33 GPA. 

Required Courses:

Course
Title
Credits
9
21
Sub-Total Credits
30

The Honors Degree, Integrative Capstone Concentration (31 credits)

Requirements:

A one-credit Integrative Capstone, culminating in an oral examination during the senior year, that integrates three upper-level Honors courses in a primary major or area of academic interest; minimum 3.33 GPA. 

Course
Title
Credits
9
21
Sub-Total Credits
31

Honors Minor (15 credits)

Requirements:

The Honors Minor requires 15 credits of Honors coursework, at least six of which must be upper-level. Honors students must maintain a minimum 3.33 GPA. The Honors Program also offers upper-level seminars that fulfill degree requirements in specific academic disciplines. Students cannot contract a course to fulfill an Honors minor requirement. All courses must be taken at Villanova. Graduate course work that applies to a student’s undergraduate degree may fulfill an Honors minor requirement.

 

Course
Title
Credits
6
9
Sub-Total Credits
15

Honors Philosophy, Politics & Economics Minor (18 credits)

The Honors PPE Minor is an interdisciplinary minor offered through the Honors Program focusing on the intersection of the disciplines of politics, philosophy and economics (PPE). The Honors PPE minor requires participation in the Honors PPE Cohort upon entrance to Villanova.18 credits of Honors coursework, 9 of which must be specific PPE upper-level courses, are required for the Honors PPE minor. Honors students must maintain a minimum 3.33 GPA to earn this credential. Excluding the 3 Honors PPE Cohort classes, which must be taken at Villanova, students may fulfill two of any other requirements by taking the equivalent course in an Honors-approved student abroad experience. Students pursuing a PPE minor in Honors may contract only 1 course in total to fulfill the requirements. Students only receive 1 Minor from Honors. If students are pursing the Honors Degree, the PPE Minor would be considered a “track” within their Honors Degree. Students may only contract one non-Honors course to complete the PPE minor requirements.

Requirements:

To achieve the Honors PPE minor, students must take 6 courses from among the following requirements (minimum 3.33 GPA and active status in Honors required).

Course
Title
Credits
9
3
3
3
Sub-Total Credits
18

Honors Medical Humanities Minor (15 credits)

The Honors Medical Humanities minor (MDH) is an interdisciplinary minor offered through the University Honors Program focusing on the intersection of the humanities, medical care, medical ethics, and a holistic approach to medicine. Students pursuing the MDH minor must participate in the Honors Medical Humanities Cohort upon entrance to Villanova, and may contract only one course to fulfill the requirements. Students only receive 1 Minor from Honors. If students are pursing the Honors Degree, the Medical Humanities Minor would be considered a “track” within their Honors Degree. Honors students must maintain a minimum 3.33 GPA to earn this credential.

Requirements:

To achieve the Honors Medical Humanities Minors students must take 5 courses from among the following requirements (minimum 3.33 GPA and active status in Honors required).

Course
Title
Credits
6
3
3
3
Sub-Total Credits
15