Honors Program
305 Sale Hall
Telephone Number: 404.215.2679
Fax Number: 404.507.8698
Dr. Jocelyn W. Jackson, Program
Director
Ms. Ora H. Drayton, Program
Assistant
Dr. Anne W. Watts, Associate
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Special Academic
Programs
Honors Program Mission Statement
The Morehouse College Honors Program is a four-year comprehensive
program providing special learning opportunities for students of outstanding
intellectual ability, high motivation, and broad interests. The Program
has majors from 14 of the College’s 16 academic departments.
It emphasizes leadership and social outreach systematically in classes
and in co-curricular activities from freshman year to graduation. The
Program has established a record of actively supporting the College’s
internationalization focus by introducing its students at the freshman
level, in classes and in external meetings, to active interest and
participation in global studies and study-abroad commitments.
Structure of the Honors Program
The Program is administered by a director, Program assistant
and an Honors Program council, composed of the Associate Vice President
for Academic Affairs, selected departmental chairpersons, administrators,
core faculty, and two student representatives.
Admission Standards
Admission to the Program is based on SAT and ACT scores
(generally a minimum of 1770 and 27,
respectively), high school GPA (a minimum of 3.0),
and a PROFILE completed by each prospective freshman. In some cases,
however, freshmen whose entrance scores fall just below the minimum are
admitted on a one-semester, conditional basis. Second-semester freshmen
and first-semester sophomores may apply for admission if they are not
admitted at the beginning of their freshman year. The Program is
open to students in all academic disciplines.
Retention Policy
The Honors Program student must maintain a GPA of at least
3.0 during freshman and sophomore years to remain in good standing.
The minimum for juniors and seniors is 3.25. Freshmen who fall
between 2.5 and 2.9 first semester
automatically are placed on probation, but they have until May of their
freshman year to raise their GPAs to 3.0. Unfortunately, any
freshman falling below 2.5 is dismissed from the Program. The
majority of our Honors Program students exceed the minimum GPA required
for retention. A scheduled meeting with the Director is recommended
to discuss and advise on successful continuation in the HP.
Special Advantages of being an Honors Program Student
- Smaller class sizes.
- Variety of scholarly, cultural and social activities.
- Practice and encouragement in thinking and working across various academic disciplines.
- Use of the Honors Program office library and computers.
- Opportunities to receive first-rate recommendations to graduate and professional schools.
- Opportunity to attend and present at Honors conferences.
- Graduation with Honors designated on the transcript.
- Honors cord to be worn with graduation regalia
| Honors Program Course Offerings | |
| African American Studies 100 | Mathematics 162 (Calculus II) |
| Economics 201 | Mathematics 263 (Calculus III) |
| English 103 (Composition) | Philosophy 101 |
| English 250 (World Literature) | Political Science 251 |
| French 251 | Psychology 101 |
| French 252 | Religion 201 |
| History 111 | HP Senior Seminar 340 |
| History 112 | Sociology 101 |
| Mathematics 100 (College Algebra) | Spanish 251 |
| Mathematics 120 (Pre-Calculus) | Spanish 252 |
| Mathematics 161 (Calculus I) |
Lower-Division Honors (Freshmen and Sophomores)
Students on this level are enrolled in special sections of
African-American studies, biology, economics, English, history, mathematics,
modern foreign languages philosophy, political science, psychology,
religion and sociology. Other freshman and sophomore courses chosen
by students are taken with members of the student body in the regular
program.
Upper-Division Honors (Juniors and Seniors)
On the basis of his status as an Honors Program freshman
and sophomore, a student is expected to earn honors on the departmental
level as a junior and a senior. At this level, there are no HP courses,
but the student will complete special course-related assignments, make
presentations, participate in seminars, attend and present at Honors
conferences, and focus on departmental research.
Honors Program Core Faculty
Honors faculty members are chosen on the basis of their reputations
as outstanding teachers, both rooted in their academic disciplines
and experimental in their classrooms. Chairpersons from the departments
which offer Honors courses recommend to the Honors Program director
the faculty members “released” from one or more regular
department courses to offer Honors sections. All Honors Program
core faculty members at Morehouse are committed to engendering leadership
among students by providing classroom curricula and academic experiences
leading to individual excellence, as well as to group productivity.
Our HP instructors practice the latest classroom pedagogies endorsed
by the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC).
Advisement /Counseling / Tutoring
HP freshmen (and upper-classmen upon request) are required to
meet with their individual departmental advisor and their
Honors Program director once a semester for counseling and advisement
for identification of specific needs and problems, as well as assistance
in solving any problems that the student might have academically, socially
or otherwise. Freshman and sophomore students are provided close guidance
from the director of the Program who also works regularly with departmental
chairpersons and the Freshmen Dean’s office on matters of advisement
and tutoring for HP students.
Big Brother-Little Brother Mentoring Program
The goal in the Big Brother/Little Brother program is to
have every freshman introduced to an upper-class Honors Program student
for communication before he gets to the campus. It is the objective
of the HP to have each pair maintain contact far beyond freshman year—ideally
until and beyond graduation. Other Honors Program students who have
come from high schools with strong mentoring programs are guided by
the Program to the Colleges’ community service network.
Affiliations / Activities and Services
The Honors Program is actively involved in national, regional
and state Honors organizations. The Program also has membership
in the Emerging Leaders Conference. Students, staff and faculty
travel five times a year to the annual conferences of these groups:
- Conferences
National Association of African-American Honors Programs (NAAAHP)
National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC)
Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC)
Georgia Collegiate Honors Council (GCHC)
Emerging Leaders Workshop (ELW)
The Honors Program Club (HPC)
The Morehouse College Honors Program Club (HPC) is a chartered
student organization on campus. The purpose of this organization
is to develop the academic and social potentials of its members through
leadership responsibilities in decision-making and organizational planning
and participation in the Honors environment. Club membership
is assured after a student is accepted into the Honors Program. The
HPC elects its own officers and sponsors activities, both for Program
members and for the College community.
Only students in good standing, from freshmen to seniors, are permitted to run for office in the Honors Program Club and to represent the College and the Program at AUC, state, regional, and national Honors conferences.
