>> The Honors Program

Many of our majors enjoy investing their creativity and independence in the honors program. This allows them to engage in research on and off campus, develop a close interaction with their advisors as well as other honors participants throughout campus, and enhance their mind through independent thinking.

More information on the Honors Program can be found at the home site. A short description is below.

General Guidelines: An Honors student should complete at least one Honors course (seminar, variant, or section) each year that she is in the Honors Program.  In order for the course to count as an Honors course, the student must receive a B, or better, in the course.

An Honors student should participate in at least one of the co-curricular activities sponsored by the Honors Program including the Honors Colloquia, the weekly lunch table, the MARCUS Conference, the Summer Research Program, and other events scheduled throughout the year.

The Senior Honors Thesis Project provides the Honors student with the opportunity to design and complete a long-term project in her major department.  Students complete 9 credit hours of research or creative endeavor in their major department (3 hours completed in the junior year and 6 hours in the senior year) and produce an appropriate thesis, creative work, or performance, approved by the major department and the Honors Committee. The Senior Honors thesis project is the culmination of an Honors course of study at Sweet Briar. The student will work closely with her faculty thesis advisor in developing her topic and executing her Honors Thesis Project. The GPA requirements for proposing an Honors Thesis Project are 3.0 overall and 3.3 in the major.

Honors Degree:

The requirements for an Honors Degree are:

1. Successful completion of the Senior Honors Thesis Project

2. Successful completion of at least six Honors courses, at least three of which must be Honors seminars, or the approved equivalent. The other three courses may be Honors variants or Honors sections. At least one Honors course must be at the 300 level. Successful completion of Junior Honors Research is considered equivalent to an Honors seminar. Students completing a Sweet Briar College approved course abroad may petition the Honors Committee to grant Honors seminar credit to appropriate work done abroad.

3. A GPA of 3.3 or higher in the major department at graduation

4. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher at graduation