Overview of the Honors College

Founded in 1956 with the charge to provide a distinctive educational experience for students of high ability, the Honors College coordinates the University's efforts to offer Honors courses and programs. It encourages faculty in all units to provide opportunities for Honors students to work at the highest levels for which they are capable so that they will graduate with greater mastery of the subject matter in and out of their fields of specialization than other students. In this way the Honors College has significantly affected the academic careers of thousands of students.

The hallmark of the Honors College is the freedom it bestows on members to choose, and mold, a unique course of study. This privilege is supported by a strong advising system which makes certain the freedom is wisely exercised and carefully monitored. Being free from the normal constraints imposed on undergraduates, Honors students can substitute Honors or other courses to meet University and major requirements; they can bypass prerequisites and limited enrollment stipulations; they may take graduate-level courses; and they are provided more and earlier opportunities to participate in faculty research projects and conduct their own research. To realize these ends, Honors students are given a very high priority in enrolling for classes. Honors College members are entrusted with the responsibility for actively using these options to plan individualized programs in close consultation with Honors advisers.

Until 1970, students were admitted to membership in the Honors College at the end of the freshman year. Subsequent changes to the Honors College legislation permitted the admission of incoming freshmen, thereby creating a four-year Honors program. Now, members enjoy the privileges described above for all their undergraduate years, provided they fulfill the expectations described in the Honors College Handbook. They may, and do, major in virtually every department at MSU. Furthermore, many successfully combine interests and pursue more than one major.

To complement the emphasis on academic challenge and achievement, the Honors College has provided many opportunities for enrichment through cocurricular activities. These activities have varied over the years but typically have included musical and theatrical performances, seminars associated with visits to campus of distinguished artists and scholars, newsletters with broad coverage of local cultural events and opportunities, and group travel to noteworthy exhibits and performances.

Over the years, many of the students who have benefited from these privileges and opportunities have become Rhodes Scholars, Churchill Scholars, Truman Scholars, Marshall Scholars, Mellon Fellows and recipients of National Science Foundation and other prestigious national graduate fellowships. The Honors College continues to seek new ways to enrich the undergraduate education of rising generations of high-achieving students so that they can sustain this tradition of excellence.