A general education grounded in the traditional liberal arts is emphasized, and special Honors courses, a tutorial and seminar, reduced class size, close student-professor relationships, and interaction with other honors students are included. Students in the Honors Program must fulfill any established requirements for their selected major. The four courses provide Honors students with a common body of knowledge, language, and literature. They foster critical thinking, help students gain a perspective on the traditions and problems of western civilization, and equip them with a well-rounded background so that they may more intelligently construct their lives in the modern world. The tutorial, a crucial part of the Honors Program, is one of its main features.
Tutorials enroll between five and eight students.
They are often offered in a non-classroom setting. They meet once a week for three hours and serve to create a sense of collegiality that is frequently lacking on a commuter campus. The tutorials provide an opportunity for intensive concentration, study and discussion. In most cases a major writing assignment will be required. Students are automatically qualified to apply to the Honors Program if they have a 3.2 high school GPA, have an ACT composite score of 25 or higher, score in the 90 th percentile or higher in PSAT scores, or achieve a combined SAT score of at least 1150.