Program Requirements

To complete the Honors Program, you must fulfill requirements in the following areas:

Academics

To earn distinction as an Honors Program graduate, you must maintain an overall 3.2+ GPA, earn the minimum number of Honors credit hours for their degree level, and complete a successful defense of your Honors Thesis or Capstone Project.

Regardless of degree level, you are encouraged to enroll in as many Honors courses as you feel comfortable taking.

Bachelor's Degree Requirements

You must complete a minimum of 21 Honors credits. At least three of these upper-division credits can be an Honors Thesis or Capstone project (approved by the Honors Program Director) related to your major. In addition, all incoming students with 30 hours or less are required to complete the HNRS 1000 course within their first 30 hours at ̨��swag, unless they receive exemption permission from their campus director. (Students who enter the program with 60 credits or more are exempt from taking HNRS 1000.) Throughout your time in the Honors program, you will be enrolled in HNRS 1100, a zero credit tracking course that ensures that you remain in good standing.

Completion of the above Honors credits, along with fulfillment of other criteria for good standing, such as meeting attendance, service hours, and a student leadership position will be recognized on your transcripts by the designation “Honors Program Graduate.”

Good Standing

The Honors program strongly encourages you to become involved in service and leadership activities to support your long-term professional, academic, and personal goals. Each semester, you will turn in the to help chart this course. The form consists of three parts, each with its own deadline: Goals, Reflection, and Results. By the end of each year, students will use this form to update their CV and Honors portfolio.

To maintain good standing in the Honors program and benefit from early registration times, students should ensure they submit each part of the form to their campus director by the following deadlines:

Fall 2024: September 16
Spring 2025: Monday, January 27
Results: Tuesday, April 15

Community & Institutional Service

Community Service

Part of being an Honors student is learning to be a responsible, community-conscious adult. One way the Honors Program encourages its members to develop is by getting them involved in community service.

As part of their community service activities, Honors students can:

tutor local public school students
host blood drives (in conjunction with LifeSouth)
make frequent visits to the local animal shelter
participate in Sweep the Hooch to clean up the Chattahoochee River
sponsor a Relay For Life team
support the Family Promise donation drive
help the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity
serve the elderly and impoverished through Action, Inc.
assist with academic and spelling competitions held on campus

Institutional Service

In addition to working in the surrounding community, Honors students have opportunities to serve their campus community by volunteering.

As part of their institutional service activities, honors students can:

help with student activities
plan and host academic conferences
represent the Honors Program at ̨��swag Open Houses
speak with students at NSO
assist new students with registration
manage various tasks that are crucial to running the Honors Program itself

Leadership Development

̨��swag is recognized as both The Military College of Georgia and a State Leadership Institution. Not only does the Honors Program require leadership activity for completion of the program at the bachelor’s level, but the program mission “emphasizes scholarship as a foundation for leadership and service.”

Here are just a few of the ways that you can develop as leaders during your time at ̨��swag:

Serve as a formal Honors Program Mentor

This opportunity is open to you after completion of your freshman year. As mentors, you will advise and guide a first-year Honors Program student. For more information about this opportunity, please see your Honors Program Director.

Interdisciplinary Leadership Minor

Complete the Interdisciplinary Leadership Minor as part of the your academic Plan of Study.

̨��swag's L3 Summit

Participate in ̨��swag’s L3 Summit, an annual four-day leadership camp held each May for college student leaders across the state.

Serve in the ̨��swag Corps of Cadets

Learn more about serving in the Corps of Cadets.

̨��swag's Student Conference on Leadership

Participate in ̨��swag’s Student Conference on Leadership, a free one-day event offered by Student Involvement annually (usually in October) for all ̨��swag students.

President's Leadership Program

Apply for selection as a participant in the Building Outstanding Leadership Development (BOLD) Program. This program, which comes with a scholarship for those selected, is available to entering associate’s level students at ̨��swag.