General Education Honors

General Education Honors admits students directly from high school, during their freshman year, or as transfers. General Education Honors is normally, although not necessarily, completed by the end of the sophomore year.

Students take a minimum of five General Education courses, normally including the three core requirements, in specially designed honors sections. These sections are designed to be more intellectually challenging than regular courses and are kept small in size, thus allowing ample opportunity for class discussion and for individualized study.

Successful completion of General Education Honors requires a minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.00. All honors courses taken are noted on the student’s transcript, as is the completion of General Education Honors as a whole. Students may withdraw from the program at any time.

Admission to General Education Honors is by invitation of the director of honors and the College Honors Committee. Students invited into General Education Honors normally rank in the top 20 percent of their high school class, have taken demanding academic schedules, and have scored at least 1200 on the SAT. Each student’s application is reviewed individually and other factors are considered, such as activities, recommendations, the student’s high school curriculum, and his or her personal statement. Students may also join on the basis of their performance at Rhode Island College during their first year or as transfer students, if they have not already completed too many General Education courses.

Each year Rhode Island College awards a number of merit-based financial scholarships to students in General Education Honors. Those scholarships are renewable for a maximum of four years as long as the student maintains full-time status with a minimum GPA of 3.00 and makes satisfactory progress toward completing General Education Honors.

Other financial scholarships specifically for General Education Honors students are the Eleanor M. McMahon Award, which is presented to an outstanding graduating senior who has completed both General Education Honors and Departmental Honors; the Eleanor M. McMahon Rising Junior Award, which is presented to a rising junior in General Education Honors who plans to complete a departmental honors project; the John Nazarian Honors Scholarship, which is awarded to an outstanding incoming freshman in General Education Honors; the Director of Honors Scholarship, which is given to a deserving student in General Education Honors; and the Ruth Williams ’33 Honors Scholarship, which is given to students from the Westerly, Rhode Island area.