The JMU Honors
Program
What is the Honors Program?
The JMU honors program provides
an enhanced academic experience
for superior students
Myths About Honors
Myth: Being in the honors program will mean
that I will need more classes to graduate.
Fact: You will not need additional credits to
graduate with the Honors distinction. You
will typically take one honors class a
semester and it will normally also count
toward meeting your General Education,
Major, or Elective requirements.
Myths About Honors
Myth: Honors will take too much of my
time and I will not be able to have a
normal college experience as a result
Fact: There is no part of the “normal”
college experience that you will need to
give up in order to be part of the Honors
Program at JMU. Honors students
participate and are leaders in the full range
of JMU curricular and extracurricular
activities
Myths About Honors
Myth: Honors classes are “harder” than
other classes and my grades will suffer
as a result.
Fact: Students describe honors classes
as being “different,” “more challenging,”
“more interesting,” and “more fun” than
their non-honors classes rather than
“more work” and grades in honors
classes are not lower than in non-honors
classes.
Benefits of Honors
 Enhanced
Academic Experiences; JMU is
a National Leader in Honors Education
 Enhanced Engagement with JMU’s
Faculty
 Enhanced Preparation for Graduate
School, Professional School, Business
Career,…
 Mentoring (Peer and Alumni)
Honors vs. Best of the Rest
100
Honors GPA = 3.579
2012 Track I
n=216
Non-Honors GPA = 3.119
2012 ARS 11-12
n=1,019
90
80
70
60
50
Frequency (NonHonors)
40
30
20
10
0
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0
Who Are Honors Students
 All
Colleges and Majors are Represented
 National Prestigious Scholarship Winners
 Editors of The Breeze
 Leaders in Student Government
 Varsity Athletes
 Orchestra, Choir, Band, and Theater
 Service, Social, Athletic Clubs
The Academic Experience
The Honors Program offers a premier and
distinct educational experience that will
foster both inside and outside of the
classroom:



Active Learning
Enhanced Engagement with JMU Faculty
Leadership Development
The Academic Experience
The Academic Core of the Honors Program
includes 27 credits of “honors classes”
 Small discussion based classes: honors
sections of existing classes and honors
seminars
 Make any class an honors class through
the “honors option”
 Honors senior project
Additional Opportunities for
Honors Students Include:
 Honors
residence hall
 On-campus apartment living for
upperclassmen (New for Fall 2015)
 Honors advising
 Priority registration
 Honors abroad seminars
 Honors Alternative Spring Break
Additional Opportunities for
Honors Students Include:
 Hillcrest
Scholarships
 Areas of emphasis in research, service,
leadership, global studies
 Hillcrest House study areas and computer
lab
 Early move-in
Admission into Honors
Admission into the Honors Program is highly
competitive with entering class size limited to
200 students.
- A separate application and transcript are
required. The Honors Program’s Regular
Decision deadline is 2/28. Notification date for
Regular Decision and deferred Early Action
applicants: first week of April.
- Other entry points into the program: Tracks II
and III
-
Costs of Being in Honors