Honors at Houghton

Fearlessly pursue your university career from the start.

At Houghton, the Honors experience propels you to fearlessly pursue the rest of your university career. We approach Honors differently. Our concentrated first-year experiences take your further, faster than anything you could do anywhere else.

You won't believe what you can achieve.

Application Process & Interview Days

When you apply to Houghton, you will automatically be considered for Honors as well as for one of eight Honors Scholarships totaling $16,000 over four years.

Honors at Houghton is an immersive first-year experience that carries you through your university career and beyond.

Challenging. Interdisciplinary. Experiential.

Qualified first-year students are invited to interview for Houghton Honors upon acceptance to the college. Each track is co-taught, synthesizes multiple disciplines, and includes a significant experiential component. Honors in London features a semester in London, and Science Honors features a dedicated research project and a trip to Puerto Rico.

Transforming Together

Each program is a community as much as it is a course—a family of exceptionally bright, motivated students bound together by the intensity of a shared experience.

After Honors

Our Honors alumni have pursued master’s and doctoral degrees at institutions including Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, University of Chicago, and Indiana University in fields as diverse as neuroscience, molecular biology, law, music, and theology.

Alumni Success and Outcomes

Honors Seminars

Students who have successfully completed Science Honors or Honors in London are eligible to participate in Houghton’s honors seminars. Multiple seminars are offered each semester, covering a wide range of topics. At one credit hour each, honors seminars fit into the most demanding schedule, but give students ongoing opportunities to do honors-level work, surrounded by talented peers. Completion of three honors seminars earns a student an additional designation on his or her transcript.

Past Seminar Topics

  • “Religion and Violence,” Prof. Jonathan Case, Theology
  • “Madeleine L’Engle,” Prof. Laurie Dashnau, Writing
  • “The Social World of Old Testament Women,” Prof. Sarah Derck, Biblical Studies
  • “Human Happiness and the Built Environment,” Prof. Benjamin Lipscomb, Philosophy
  • “Alice Walker and Flannery O’Connor,” Prof. Susan Bruxvoort Lipscomb, English
  • “Cervantes’ Don Quixote,” Prof. Peter Meilaender, Politics
  • “Shakespeare and Film,” Prof. Ted Murphy, Art
  • “Has Neuroscience Disproven Free Will?,” Prof. Alison Young Reusser, Psychology
  • “Doing unto Others: Evolution and Altruism,” Prof. Aaron Sullivan, Biology