Honors FAQs
What is a Great Books program?
As the name implies, a “Great Books” program is an education comprised primarily of reading and discussing those works deemed to have contributed most to the intellectual, political, artistic, and spiritual life of our culture. Although attempts have been made to generate definitive lists of these works, no such list is necessary for the establishment of a Great Books education, since all that is necessary is a working list of important and profound books, a list which can be tended and adjusted from semester to semester and year to year. Who, for instance, would doubt the value of reading the works of Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Shakespeare, even when there is room for variety and disagreement over the works that may accompany these giants on the Great Books syllabus?
It is possible to locate the origins of a particular “Great Books movement” in the early twentieth century, but that movement should be understood as an effort to restore to education the content and procedures that typified liberal arts education for centuries previous to that. Professor John Erskine at Columbia University is often credited with founding the first Great Books program. His student and then colleague, Mortimer Addler, went on to become the greatest proponent and popularizer of Great Books education in the twentieth century and contributed, along with Robert Maynard Hutchins, to the founding of Great Books education at the University of Chicago and at St. John’s College. Today there are a handful of colleges, like St. John’s, that have dedicated the entire curriculum to the study of the Great Books. Slightly more common is the study of the Great Books within an honors college or honors program, as at OBU.
Although there is a great variety of approaches and philosophies in Great Books education, Great Books programs tend to share an emphasis on participatory learning and the Socratic seminar. Great Books education is generally understood to require active participation, and professors in Great Books seminars are often encouraged not to lecture but rather to guide a focused but free discussion of the work under consideration and the questions it raises. Most Great Books programs also share a commitment to read whole works rather than anthologized excerpts, in as much as is possible.
Will enrolling in the Honors Program add hours to my degree plan?
No, you can enroll in the Honors Program without changing the number of credit hours you need to graduate, especially if you plan to graduate with College Honors. To graduate with University Honors, you will need to enroll in the Contracted Study and in the Thesis course. These are both independent study courses aimed at producing the thesis, and together they could add from zero up to five credit hours to your degree, depending on your major and its options for electives.
Can I pursue Honors alongside my major?
Absolutely, the Honors Program is designed to work with every major on campus, and we have students from just about every major, including not just humanities but also business, engineering, nursing, and pre-med.
Can, and should, athletes join Honors?
Absolutely! We have had many athletes in the program over the years. We will work with you on seminars and lectures missed for away games. OBU athletics and OBU Honors share a commitment to calling you up to be your best, and thus they make an ideal pairing. As the Romans said, a virtuous person cultivates, “a sound mind in a sound body.”
How many Honors courses will I take each semester?
You will take two closely connected Honors courses each semester for your first two years, a seminar and a lecture. Thus you will enroll for six credit hours a semester for four semesters to complete your Great Books core. Your Honors colloquia can be taken anytime for 0-1 credit hour.
Do the Honors houses actually live together?
No, we do not offer Honors housing at this time. The house group is primarily for the purpose of forming your seminar group. You will stay with the same house group for all four semesters of your Great Books seminars. Your Honors house will also engage in social activities together for all four years of your time at OBU and will occasionally enter into friendly competitions with the other two houses.
Will Honors be redundant if I have previously attended a classical school?
Not at all. You will, of course, reread some great works, like the Aeneid and the Divine Comedy, but you will discuss them from fresh angles with new peers and new professors. These great works will repay reading again and again with rich insight and new depth each time. Some of our professors have been reading and rereading these works for over twenty years and continue to learn new things. In Honors, you will also read many books you have not read before and contextualize them in new ways in the history of Western civilization.
Will I be behind in Honors if I have not previously attended a classical school?
No, Honors will introduce you step by step to the Great Books and big ideas that have shaped our civilization. Many of our students do not have a classical educational background, but they want to start now to inherit the fullness of the Christian intellectual tradition.
What is the difference between College Honors and University Honors?
Students who complete the Honors Great Books core and at least four colloquia and who maintain a GPA of 3.25 or higher graduate with College Honors. Students who meet those requirements and who complete both an Honors thesis and one other capstone graduate with University Honors.
Do I have to decide between College Honors and University Honors when I start the program?
No, you do not have to decide which Honors track to pursue until time to begin work on a thesis in the spring of your Junior year.
Can I take Honors capstones if I am pursuing College Honors?
Yes, you do not have to be on the University Honors track to take capstones, and we encourage all Honors students with the means and room in their degree plan to complete at least one Honors capstone.
What are the advantages of enrolling in Honors?
The main advantage to the Honors Program is, of course, the wisdom and understanding you will gain through conversation with your peers and with the great minds of the past. You will graduate from Honors as a deeper, more thoughtful person.
Honors will also contribute to your spiritual growth as you study the Bible in depth and read the works of the greatest thinkers in the Christian tradition. You will study church history and theology and you will consider every great question in the light of God’s truth. You will be shaped to love God more through the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty.
On top of that, the Honors seminars will help you to develop your reasoning ability and writing skills well-beyond the typical college graduate, which will serve you well no matter what career you pursue.
Graduating with College Honors or University Honors will also help to distinguish you as someone who received an exceptional and deep education, someone who understands the world we live in and can think deeply. In a job market crowded with college graduates, the Honors designation will help you stand out.
Lastly, you will join a growing network of OBU Honors graduates who understand the significance of the Honors distinction.
Who is eligible to join the Honors Program?
Any student who graduates high school with at least a 3.5 GPA is eligible to apply for the Honors Program. That said, if you are interested in reading the Great Books, we want to see your application.
Where will I find the Honors Program application?
The Honors application will become visible in the OBU application portal for eligible students once they have been admitted to OBU. After you have been accepted to OBU, you will find the Honors application on the status page in your application portal.
Can I join Honors after my freshman year?
Absolutely. If you join in your sophomore year, you will need to circle back around to take Great Books I and Great Books II during your junior or senior year. As long as you begin Honors by the fall of your Junior year, you will have time to complete the Great Books core.
Is there an added cost for students in the Honors Program?
No, the Honors courses are part of your regular course schedule and are included in your tuition. The only aspect of the Honors Program that involves extra cost is Study Abroad.
Are there scholarships for Honors students?
Yes, we have several single-semester scholarships through the Honors Program. Freshmen are encouraged to apply for the C.W. Riley Scholarship, which currently awards $1,000 to three students. Upperclassmen can apply to be Travers Fellows, which will carry an award of $500–$1,000.
In addition to these dedicated Honors scholarships, we encourage all students to work with their financial aid counselor to discover additional scholarship and grant opportunities available, including those we offer directly through OBU. To see what you may be eligible for from OBU, use our Award Estimator tool.
Can transfer students join Honors?
Yes! We love to have transfer students join the Honors Program. Transfer credits, however, cannot be counted for credit in the Honors Great Books core. That means that, if you transfer in Bible, History, Literature, or Fine Arts credits, those transfer credits are likely to be counted as electives. Many majors have requirements for elective hours which these courses can fulfill.
What courses in the regular OBU core are covered by Honors?
While our Great Books courses are far from simple equivalents to other core courses, students in the Honors program receive credit for their Bible and Theology core requirements, their Composition II requirement, their Western Civilization I and II (history and literature) requirements, and their Fine Arts or Arts and Western Culture requirement.
Is Comp I credit included in the Honors curriculum?
No, Honors students who have not taken Composition I are strongly encourage to enroll in OBU’s ENGL 1153 their first semester.
How often do Honors Study Abroad trips occur?
We try to offer a Study Abroad trip at least every other summer. You will have at least one opportunity for Study Abroad during your time at OBU, and you will likely have several trips from which to choose.
How much does Study Abroad cost?
Thanks to student rates and the generosity of our donors, the current cost for most of our Study Abroad trips is between $3,000 and $5,000. That does not include tuition if you decide to take the trip-associated colloquium for 1 credit hour.