About
The George F. Whitworth Honors Program allows high-achieving, motivated students who are admitted with honors to be eligible for a menu of challenging academic-enrichment experiences over their four years at Whitworth. The strength of the program is that the student directs himself/herself through a diverse set of learning experiences across multiple disciplines. These experiences may include honors general education or interdisciplinary courses, honors courses within a major, advanced seminars, honors creative projects, honors research, honors off-campus programs, and honors internships. Eligibility for priority enrollment in many honors courses is dependent upon the student's GPA. Eligibility to participate in certain types of honors experience (ex. research, internship, performance) is by faculty approval, based on applications that demonstrate preparation related to the honors area.
Philosophy and Values
The George F. Whitworth Honors Program seeks to deepen student engagement in learning through educational activities that add depth, complexity, synthesis and individual experiences. The program responds to research that identifies specific high-impact learning activities that transform the learning experience for students and prepares them most effectively for graduate school and professional success.
Whitworth's honors program also responds to research showing that university honors curricula benefit all students, not just those in the program. Our honors courses are open first to honors students and then, on a space-available basis, to all interested and committed students. Rather than being characterized by simply working through more material at a quicker pace, Whitworth honors courses are differentiated by their emphasis on the following high-impact learning experiences and outcomes:
- Depth and complexity
- Integrative education
- Active faculty-student and student-student collaboration
- Discipline-specific and interdisciplinary research
- Rich synthesis of ideas
- High accountability
- Innovative forms of assessment
Stipends and Awards
Honors students are eligible for various stipends and awards, for which they must apply. These include stipends for juniors and seniors conducting research with faculty members and for honors study away. Application procedures and deadlines are announced via the honors Blackboard email distribution list.
Questions? Contact Bert Emerson, associate professor of English and director of honors (dbemerson@whitworth.edu).