The Tusculum College Honors Program is designed to provide a challenging and engaging educational experience for academically talented, committed students. The Program seeks to create a vital and supportive community of learners through distinctive honors courses and honors versions of general education courses. The majority of the courses will substitute for core Commons courses.
Interaction with academic peers Opportunities for independent work and study Scholarship and presentation opportunities Close mentoring with faculty members Occasions for travel and fun!
Entering students with an ACT score of 25 or higher (1100 or higher on the SAT) and a high school GPA of at least 3.3 will be invited to apply to the program. Students who do not meet the requirements but have demonstrated a potential for academic success may still apply. Normally students enter the Honors Program as incoming freshmen, but rising sophomores may apply if they have achieved a 3.3 GPA during the first semester of their freshman year. A separate application to the Honors Program is necessary. To stay in the program, students need to hold a 3.0 GPA after the first year and a 3.3 GPA after the second year.
To satisfy requirements for the Honors Program, students must complete 24 credit hours in honors courses, including general honors courses and a departmental honors course or leadership studies course.
Quest for Meaning (4 hours credit)
An interdisciplinary exploration of the question of meaning through close analysis of literary, philosophical, artistic, and
religious materials. Particular attention will be given to the development of effective writing and critical thinking skills.
This course will be offered during the first semester of the freshman year in Block 1 and fulfills the Commons Humanities requirement.
Leadership Studies (4 hours credit)
An interdisciplinary examination of the nature and history of leadership, models and exemplars of leadership, and the place of leadership within different types of communities. This course is offered in the fall of every year and is open to all Tusculum juniors and seniors. Honors students may take the course during their junior or senior year.
The Hebrew and Christian Traditions (4 hours credit)
This course will acquaint the student with the dominant themes of the books of the Old and New Testament,
the process through which they became canonical, and the struggles down to the present time over the meaning
and relevance for issues of social ethics.
The Political Traditions of the West (4 hours credit)
This course will acquaint the student with the republican tradition of responsible and virtuous citizenship and of the individual
rights tradition as they were developed in Europe and America. Some consideration will be given to the relevance of these
traditions for the world at large in the 21 st century.
Honors Project
A substantial independent project that draws on skills developed either in the major or in the honors program and represents
significant intellectual work at an advanced level. The project must have a written component and be presented in a public
forum. Pre-requisite: completion of Leadership Studies or departmental honors course. To be taken during the senior year.