University Honors Program

The mission of the University honors Program is to challenge students at a higher level as they grapple with deeper questions of life, identity, and purpose within a global community.

The University Honors Program (UHP) is a challenging program offered on an invitation-only basis to incoming students with superior academic credentials. Once a student is part of the UHP, he/she must maintain a cumulative CLU GPA of 3.5 or higher to remain in the program. In addition, incoming students who accept a position in the UHP are awarded Honors at Entrance.

As a first-year UHP student, you will attend one of two year-long foundational seminar courses, HNRS 115 Humanities Tutorial or HNRS 101/102 At Home in the Universe. These foundational seminars are infused with lively, intellectual discussions with talented peers and professors, and are designed to stimulate the exceptional student beyond the level of mere comprehension. Students emerge with critical skills widely applicable to many disciplines and a level of competence that will benefit them while at CLU and after graduation.

During their second and third years, UHP students attend at least one semester-long honors seminar each year. These seminars explore the interesting intellectual connections among different disciplines, and many fulfill core curriculum requirements. Honors seminars include:

  • HNRS 303 Don Quixote and Modern Fiction
  • HNRS 304 St Augustine's City of God
  • HNRS 306 Masterpieces of German Literature in Translation
  • HNRS 402 Post-Modernism:Politics and Philosophy of Art
  • HNRS 413 Music and the Civil Rights Movement
  • HNRS 477 Cityscapes
  • HNRS 482 Freud and Beyond
  • HNRS 482 Urban History: Paris

In their final year, UHP students attend a one-semester capstone seminar course. A student can choose to take either HNRS 435 Faith and Reason or HNRS 497 Goodness Truth and Beauty.

Students who have completed the University Honors Program will have grown in identity and values, learned a greater appreciation for diversity, developed their critical thinking skills, learned to integrate knowledge with ethical reflection, and demonstrated comprehension of issues from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.

After successful completion of the UHP curriculum (a total of 20 units) and maintenance of a cumulative 3.5 GPA or higher, students will be awarded University Honors at graduation, and this significant honor will appear on their permanent CLU transcript.

Honors Visit Day: First-year students who submit their Application for Admission and all supporting information by January 15, and are invited to the UHP are also invited to join us for Honors Visit Day. This program is an opportunity for students to come to campus to learn about CLU, the UHP, and also interview for the Presidential Scholarships, which range from $17,000 up to full tuition for four years.

Transfer Students: If you are a transfer student and are interested in being a part of the University Honors Program please submit a letter along with supporting documentation outlining your cumulative GPA, any honors courses taken at other institutions, and why you feel you should be accepted into the UHP. Petitions by transfer students are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Appeal Process: If you are an incoming freshman student and you would like to be a part of the University Honors Program, but were not invited, please submit a letter an supporting documentation detailing your cumulative high school GPA, SAT or ACT scores, information about creative or research-oriented work completed, and why you feel you should be accepted into the UHP.

Petitions and Appeals should be mailed to:

CLU Admission
ATTN: Rebecca Keenan
60 West Olsen Road #1350
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

If you have any questions about the UHP, please email Dr. Jim Bond at jabond@callutheran.edu.

 

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