The College Honors Program offers students opportunities to reflect upon the processes by which new intellectual and creative work comes into being. Students in College Honors ask for more from their educations: more study of what constitutes knowledge, more engagement across fields and disciplines, more opportunities to connect with others. This program—one of the oldest at Holy Cross to offer special educational opportunities for students—convenes a vibrant community of highly motivated students with interests in the natural and social sciences, humanities, and arts.
College Honors is a selective and challenging program composed of sophomores, juniors, and seniors from any major. Guided by rotating faculty experts, students meet regularly to explore how various disciplines generate meaningful work, and how that work might be transferred and shared across fields.
Program requirements include two honors seminars, participation in the honors colloquium, composition of the thesis prospectus during the junior year, and completion of the senior thesis, which is an advanced, independent project that in its final form represents honors students’ original contributions to one or more fields. Each year, senior thesis writers present their work at the academic conference.
Please note that some academic departments offer discipline-based honors programs, and details regarding the requirements for these opportunities can be found on the department websites:
Chemistry, Economics and Accounting, English, History, Mathematics and Computer Science, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology and Anthropology.
Students hoping to pursue theses in both CHP and one of these programs should contact the department chair at the end of the sophomore or beginning of the junior year to discuss program requirements.
Staff
College Honors Program Director
Melissa Schoenberger
Director, College Scholar Programs
Associate Professor, English
Fenwick 222
508-793-3521
Administrative Assistant
Kimberly Lier
Class Deans’ Office