Acting Program Director: Erin Walcek Averett
Acting Associate Director: Eric Haas
Program Office: Hitchcock 303
Rooted in the university’s Christian, Catholic, and Jesuit traditions, the Honors Program relies on the belief, articulated by Pope John Paul II, that “the united endeavor of intelligence and faith will enable people to come to the full measure of their humanity.” Its goal is to foster a community committed to the ongoing education of students and faculty members as fellow seekers for truth. The program seeks individuals of all faiths and backgrounds who are intelligent, well prepared academically, highly motivated, and academically adventurous. The curriculum then immerses these students in an academically rigorous but flexible program of study guided by a faculty mentor who is charged with paying special attention to the personal dimension of learning. The program ultimately understands itself as a fellowship of inquiry whose individual members have dedicated themselves without reserve to love of learning.
Admission
Admission to the Honors Program is by invitation from the Honors Program Advisory Board (or the Honors Program Director or the Dean). Invitations to the Honors Program are sent to those students whose applications to the Creighton College of Arts and Sciences suggest that they would be strong candidates for admission to the Honors Program.
Good Standing
Once admitted to the Honors Program, students must continue to meet the following standards in order to remain in good standing in the program:
- They must make acceptable progress towards fulfilling the requirements of the Honors Program. Ordinarily, this means that they should have completed at least six (6) credit hours of Honors courses by the end of their freshman year, 12 by the end of their sophomore year, and 18 by the end of their junior year.
- They must maintain a GPA of at least 3.3 for all courses taken at Creighton.
- They must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 for all Honors courses taken at Creighton. (This Honors-specific GPA will not be computed until a student has completed at least two Honors courses.)
Honors students found not to be in good standing will be notified and given one semester to remedy the situation. Failure to do so may result in their dismissal from the Honors Program.
Limited Tuition Waiver
Honors students in good standing may apply for 1-3 credit tuition waivers for a given semester, for up to 21 credit hours, subject to Dean's Office Approval.
The Honors Program Core Curriculum provides an alternate path to the University learning outcomes, and Honors students fulfill these requirements in lieu of the Magis Core Curriculum.
All of the Honors Core elements are incorporated into Learning Plans, developed individually by Honors students in close consultation with assigned faculty mentors. The mentoring process shapes Honors students into confident, independent learners who take active roles in their own education and expect the most of themselves. Through their individualized Learning Plans, Honors students integrate their backgrounds and interests with the strengths and Mission of the University and the College. As a general principle, these four-year Learning Plans include courses distributed among the areas of fine arts, foreign languages, history, literature, mathematics, natural science, philosophy, social science, and theology. Students’ Learning Plans are reviewed and approved by their faculty mentors and by the Program Director. While Honors students are expected, therefore, to excel in all areas that characterize a Creighton undergraduate education, fulfillment of these goals is determined on an individual basis rather than by the more structured curricular requirements that apply to other students.
Honors Core Requirements
Foundational Sequence: Honors students take three courses (9 credits) in their first three semesters that introduce them to the Christian, Catholic, and Jesuit intellectual traditions that lie at the heart of a Creighton education within the context of Western civilization and of the pluralistic world we inhabit.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Honors program Foundational Sequence required courses: | ||
| HRS 100 | Honors Foundational Sequence I: Beginnings of the Christian Intellectual Tradition | 3 |
| HRS 101 | Honors Foundational Sequence II: The Rise of the West | 3 |
| HRS 200 | Honors Foundational Sequence III: The Modern World | 3 |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Sources and Methods Courses. Honors students take five courses (15-20 credits) that induce them to think critically about information, assumptions, and arguments found in multiple forms of academic and cultural discourse. Several such courses are offered each semester in a range of academic disciplines.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Sources and Methods courses | ||
| Select 15-20 credits of HRS 300-level courses | 15-20 | |
| Total Credits | 15-20 | |
Discipline Distribution Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Discipline Distribution requirements | ||
| Fine Arts | 3 | |
| Foreign Language * | 3 | |
| History | 6 | |
| Literature | 6 | |
| Mathematics | 2 | |
| Natural Sciences | 7 | |
| Philosophy | 6 | |
| Social Sciences | 6 | |
| Theology | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 45 | |
- *
Foreign Language course 112-level or higher. See full list below.
Intersections Course. Honors students are required to take an Intersections course and may select from any such course offered in the College.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| One course that fulfills the Magis Core Intersections requirement | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 3 | |
Independent Research Project. Honors students are required to demonstrate their capacity for advanced, self-directed, individual work by completing an approved project within a field in which they specialize. They undertake these projects under the guidance of assigned faculty mentors and present their findings during a campus-wide “Honors Day.”
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Independent Research Project | ||
| Honors Day Presentation | 0 | |
| Total Credits | 0 | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign Language requirement | ||
| ARA 112 | Beginning Arabic for Daily Life II | 3 |
| CHN 112 | Beginning Chinese for Daily Life II | 4 |
| CHN 225 | Intermediate Chinese | 3 |
| FRN 110 | Beginning French for Daily Life II: Online Lab | 1 |
| FRN 112 | Beginning French for Daily Life II | 3 |
| FRN 225 | Intermediate French | 3 |
| FRN 311 | Advanced French I | 3 |
| GER 110 | Beginning German for Daily Life II: Online Lab | 1 |
| GER 112 | Beginning German for Daily Life II | 3 |
| GER 225 | Intermediate German | 3 |
| GER 303 | German Literature and Civilization I: From the Middle Ages to 1871 | 3 |
| GRK 112 | Beginning Greek II | 3 |
| GRK 225 | Intermediate Greek | 3 |
| ITA 110 | Beginning Italian for Daily Life II: Online Lab | 1 |
| ITA 112 | Beginning Italian for Daily Life II | 3 |
| ITA 225 | Intermediate Italian | 3 |
| ITA 311 | Advanced Italian I | 3 |
| JPN 112 | Beginning Japanese for Daily Life II | 4 |
| JPN 225 | Intermediate Japanese | 3 |
| JPN 311 | Advanced Japanese I | 3 |
| LAT 112 | Beginning Latin II | 3 |
| LAT 225 | Intermediate Latin | 3 |
| SPN 110 | Beginning Spanish for Daily Life II: Online Lab | 1 |
| SPN 112 | Beginning Spanish for Daily Life II | 3 |
| SPN 225 | Intermediate Spanish | 3 |
| SPN 311 | Learning Spanish in Cultural Contexts | 3 |
| SPN 350 | Spanish for Heritage Speaker | 3 |