Academic Aspects of the Honors Program

The academic program of Aquinas Scholars is distinguished from that of non-scholars by two main factors. 

First, while all students have seventeen general education requirements, Aquinas Scholars must take at least four of these courses as honors sections.  Honors sections generally teach the same material as non-honors sections, but they are distinctive in that there is a substantially smaller class size, they are taught by faculty recognized for excellence in teaching, and there is an increased focus on student participation and in-depth examination of topics.  To learn more about these courses, go to the page devoted to upcoming honors sections.

Second, Aquinas Scholars are required to take three honors seminars.  These seminars are two-credit, team-taught, interdisciplinary courses that allow Aquinas Scholars to study more creative and experimental topics.  Some recent or upcoming examples include "Symmetry and Music" (co-taught by faculty from the Music and Mathematics departments), "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (co-taught by faculty from the Physics and Justice and Peace Studies departments), and "Why People Believe Weird Things" (co-taught by faculty from the Psychology and Computer Science departments).  Aquinas Scholars are allowed to take these courses free of charge, and they do count toward the 132-credit graduation requirement.  At current tuition rates, this means that Aquinas Scholars save over $4,000 in tuition expenses through the course of their academic careers.  To learn more about these courses, go to the page devoted to upcoming honors seminars.