Honors Program/Honors House/National Society of Collegiate Scholars/Phi Theta Kappa/Student World Assembly [M-377]
The Kingsborough Honors Program provides students who have a 3.20 or higher grade point average with the opportunity to challenge themselves academically in Honors classes that emphasize critical thinking, independent research, analytical writing, oral debate, and public speaking.
Students can select from a variety of Honors coursework: they can enroll in All-Honors courses, which are smaller in size than regular classes and where all participants have a 3.20 or higher grade point average, or add an Honors Enrichment Component (HEC) to one of their regular courses. Highly motivated students may also work with a professor to do a substantial research project called an Honors Contract, which usually involves writing a 10-page paper using documentation appropriate to the discipline to earn Honors credit.
The Honors Program celebrates student success. Distinctions: The Honors Student Journal, founded in 2005, is the bi-annual publication of the Kingsborough Honors Program. Honors students are urged to submit and are assisted in publishing their papers in Distinctions. Students who do outstanding work on a paper or project in an Honors or non-Honors course are encouraged to share it with the college community by taking part in an Honors Symposium held each term.
An “Honors” designation is entered on the student’s transcript for every Honors course taken. Honors academic participation is also noted in the commencement program for students who have successfully completed a minimum of nine (9) or more Honors credits.
The Honors Program also seeks to enrich students’ lives outside of the classroom. Through participation in a number of special programs, such as the Presidential Scholars Honors Program, the Honors Representatives Program, the Resources for Educational and Employment Opportunities (REEO) Program, and Honors sponsored student groups, such as the Honors Club, Phi Theta Kappa Two-Year College Honor Society and Student World Assembly, honors students are encouraged to “act locally and think globally.”
The ultimate aim of the Honors Program is to enable students to become “Citizen-Scholars” who have a strong academic and co-curricular résumé that enables them to successfully transfer to top public and private four-year colleges and universities. As a result of their involvement in the Honors Program, many students are competitive candidates for scholarships.
The criteria for admission into the Honors Program are as follows:
1. Day or Evening, full-time or part-time students who have completed 12 credits or more in residence at Kingsborough and have passed CUNY Assessment Tests in Reading and Writing, earned a grade of “B” or higher in English 1200 or English 2400, and have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher are eligible to participate in the Honors Program.
2. Kingsborough students who have accumulated less than 12 credits locally with a grade point average of at least 3.20, but have additional transfer credits, may participate in the Honors Program if they can produce transcripts of their transferred credits showing a grade point average of 3.20 or higher.
3. Transferring students with 12 transferred credits or more who have passed CUNY Assessment Tests in Reading and Writing and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher for their transferred credits will be allowed to participate in the Honors Program upon presentation of their transcripts to the Honors Program Director.
4. Entering freshmen who have a high school average of 85 or higher, and/or a combined SAT score of 950, and/or who have passed all parts of the CUNY Assessment Tests in Reading, Writing and ACCUPLACER CUNY Assessment Test in Math, are eligible to participate in the Honors Program. They must present a one- to two-page essay expressing their interest in the Honors Program to the Honors Program Director.
5. High school students entering Kingsborough with College Now credits who received a “B+” or higher in every College Now course they have taken and have maintained a high school average of 80 are eligible to participate in the Honors Program.
The Honors House in M-377 and Honors Lounge in M-378 serve as a one-stop shop for all Honors needs and services. Interested students should visit the Honors House to learn more about the Honors Program and the numerous cocurricular opportunities available both on- and off-campus to Honors students. For more information go to www.kbcc.cuny.edu/honors