Member Institution of the National Collegiate Honors Council.
Director: Linda Tym
Honors Faculty Committee: Aaron Corbit (Biology), Dionne Felix (Academic Administration), Doug Frood (Financial Administration), Martin Klingbeil (Religion), Katie McGrath (Education and Psychology), Robert Ordóñez (Computing), Mark Peach (History and Political Studies), Julie Penner (Music), Ben Thornton (Biology)
The Mission
The Southern Scholars Honors Program provides motivated and capable students with an enhanced interdisciplinary educational experience that emphasizes the integration of spiritual values into the knowledge of nature and society.
The Purpose
The Southern Scholars Honors Program offers intellectually motivated students enriched learning experiences and a community of peers for the purpose of developing as fairminded critical thinkers who practice life-long learning and who seek to build a fairminded society for all of God's children.
Student Learning Goals
Southern Scholars students will:
- welcome intellectual challenge and responsibility for their own learning
- pursue their education with intellectual curiosity and intellectual perseverance
- seek diverse, enriched, and interdisciplinary learning experiences, both in and out of the classroom
- exhibit fairminded critical thinking habits in their personal, spiritual, and academic lives
- practice intellectual humility, intellectual integrity, and fairmindedness in their pursuit of academic success
- integrate their relationship with God into the depth and breadth of their learning
- understand the relevance and significance of a life of service to others
Admission Requirements
To be accepted to the Southern Scholars Honors Program, incoming Freshmen students must meet the following criteria:
- be accepted to Southern Adventist University
- have a cumulative high school GPA of 3.70
- have an ACT composite score of 23 or SAT cumulative score of 1140
- submit the online application, including two essays: (southern.edu/academics/academic-sites/southernscholars/admissions.html)
To be accepted to the Southern Scholars Honors Program, current students at Southern Adventist University must meet the following criteria:
- have completed fewer than 62 credits of university coursework
- have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher in completed university coursework
- submit the online application, including two essays: (southern.edu/academics/academic-sites/southernscholars/admissions.html)
Honors Studies Sequence
- General Education
Honors students must meet regular General Education requirements with the following stipulations: - ENGL 103 H:Critical Thinking in Academic Reading and Writing II must be selected in place of ENGL 102. If students have taken ENGL 102 then ENGL 106 is required.
- COMM 145 H:Communication and Public Speaking must be selected in place of COMM 135.
- HIST 280 H:Technology and Power
- Two lab sciences must be selected: BIOL 101 - BIOL 102; BIOL 151 - BIOL 152; CHEM 151 - CHEM 152; PHYS 211 / PHYS 213 - PHYS 212 / PHYS 214 or PHYS 221 / PHYS 223 - PHYS 222 / PHYS 224.
- ELIT 445 Ancient Classics or UD ELIT class (Honors Contract Literature)
- HMNT 151 H:Learning: An Introduction
- HMNT 251 H:Sophomore Honors Seminar
- HMNT 451 H:Junior Honors Seminar
- HMNT 452 H:Senior Honors Seminar
- PSYC 234 H:Social Psychology
- Senior Project (2-3 hours)**
A significant scholarly project, involving research, writing, or special performance, in the student's major area with an interdisciplinary approach, is ordinarily completed during an Honors student's senior year of study. The Senior Project will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the student's major field and another discipline. The student will seek advisement and supervision from two faculty members: one from the major field and one from a discipline relevant to the student's research. Prior to commencement of the Senior Project, the student must submit a Senior Project Proposal to the Honors Faculty Committee for approval. Upon completion of the Senior Project, the student must submit it via Turnitin on the Scholars eClass to the Honors Faculty Committee for approval. The quality of the Senior Project is expected to uphold the Universal Intellectual Standards, to warrant a grade of A, and to justify public presentation. Upon approval, the complete Senior Project will be submitted to KnowledgeExchange via McKee Library for publication.
- Complete six (6) hours of additional honors coursework:
- Elementary or Intermediate Foreign Language (maximum of 6 credits)*
- HMNT 205 Stories, Structures and Song
- HMNT 211 Introduction to Philosophy
- Religion Elective (select only one)
- RELB 270 The Epistle to the Romans
- RELT 317 Issues in Physical Science and Religion
- RELT 421 Issues in Science and Society
- RELT 467 Christian Philosophy and Worldviews
TOTAL 33-36 Hours
*If a student is completing a Bachelor of Arts degree that requires a foreign language, the student must select other courses to fulfill the 6 credits required for Honors Elective Courses.
**A student may take a non-Honors course to fulfill Honors Elective credits; however, a student must consult with the course instructor and must submit an Honors Contract Proposal to the Honors Faculty Committee for approval prior to enrollment in the course. The goal of the Honors Contract is to add enrichment to a student's understanding of the course material. In other words, the terms of the Honors Contract are that the student add depth and breadth to work already assigned in the course: it should not require the completion of additional assignments.
Southern Scholars Honors Program Financial Scholarship
Upon acceptance to the Southern Scholars Honors Program, highly-motivated students will qualify for financial scholarship to enrich their studies. After successfully completing one year in Southern Scholars, a student will be awarded the following:
| YEAR OF PARTICIPATION | TOTAL ANNUAL AMOUNT |
| Sophomore | $1,500 |
| Junior | $2,500 |
| Senior | $3,500 |
Policies
To continue as an active Southern Scholar in good and regular standing, students must
- complete a minimum of 12 credits each semester and 31 credits each calendar year.
- complete the Honors curriculum
- complete HMNT 151, HMNT 251, HMNT 451, and HMNT 452 with a minimum GPA of 3.00*
- maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50*
- conduct research and submit an Honors Senior Project
- attend at least 4 Scholars Program events per semester
- submit an Honors Portfolio each semester
- graduate within a four-year period unless involved in study abroad, student mission service, or internship.
*Southern Scholars students who have academic warning are welcome to participate in Southern Scholar social events, but are not eligible for the financial scholarship or other financial benefits.
Residency Requirements
Ordinarily, all courses of the Honors curriculum must be taken in residence; however, limited exceptions may be made by the Honors Faculty Committee. Students already enrolled at Southern Adventist University who wish to take an Honors course at another institution must secure approval from the Honors Faculty Committee prior to enrollment in the course.
Assessment
The program is administered by an Honors Director and an Honors Faculty Committee that admits students to the program and discontinues honors status of those who fail to maintain minimum program standards. The Honors Director and the members of the Honors Faculty Committee also advise individual Southern Scholars and continually assess their progress. Alumni are surveyed and studies are prepared comparing NSSE results, careers, and graduate or professional study success. The Honors Program is also externally assessed by the fellow institutional members of the National Collegiate Honors Council. Information gained from these diverse assessments is used to evaluate the Southern Scholars Honors Program.