Why Honors?
Prospective students often ask a very natural question: why should I join the Honors Program? Here are some answers to that question given by current Honors Program students.
Community of Friends and Learners
鈥Classes around a table rather than in rows of desks鈥 All Honors courses are discussion classes in which students and faculty sit together facing each other around a table. The teacher does not stand apart and lecture. Instead teacher and students are involved together to advance their understanding.
鈥Close-knit community鈥 Since the classes are all small, with no more than 15 students, it is easy to meet people and make friends.
鈥Personal attention from faculty鈥 It is easy to get to know your teachers.
鈥Not just grades, but real feedback every semester鈥 Each semester at midterm students meet with their teachers who give detailed progress reports that include recognition of excellence and specific suggestions for improvement.
Scholarships
鈥Money! 鈥 Honors Students are eligible to apply for special supplemental Honors Scholarships.
Opportunities
鈥We get to go to Conferences鈥 Students can travel and attend Honors Conferences where they can meet and talk with other like-minded students and gain the valuable experience of presenting their work to a wider public.
鈥Help for Study Abroad鈥 Study Abroad is encouraged (though not required), and special Honors Scholarships funds are set aside to help make it affordable. While some students are initially apprehensive about traveling to foreign countries, we have never had a student who was sorry to have studied abroad.
鈥Internships that carry academic credit鈥 Internships let Honors students earn academic credit while gaining real-world experience.
鈥Chances for leadership and service鈥 Students can take on leadership roles in the Whitney Young Honors Program Student Council. The Student Council annually performs public service on campus and in the local Frankfort community.
Honors Prepares You for the Future
鈥A broad education that makes you well-rounded鈥 Honors students receive an unusually well-rounded education which readies them for their future, whatever it may bring. Honors courses complement major courses (and in some science majors offer an efficient way to meet University liberal studies requirements).
鈥Self-knowledge鈥 Honors courses encourage students to make meaningful connections between their academic studies and their personal lives.
鈥Looks good on your transcript!鈥 Certification of completion of Honors Program requirements becomes part of your transcript and appears on your diploma. Completion of a rigorous program can impress potential employers or admissions officers of graduate or professional schools.