Faculty

The Honors Program at Springfield College is made possible due to the dedication and hard work of our faculty.

Ways You Can Support the Honors Program:

Participate in Honors Program events
Come to Honors Program activities and have conversations with Honors Program students. Share your expertise with them, as well as your passion for life-long learning
Add the Honors Program to your mailing list
Let the Honors Program faculty know about the great events you’re planning in your department or program, and we’ll encourage students to attend
Encourage outstanding first-year students to apply to the Honors Program and write a letter of recommendation
The Honors Program faculty invite outstanding students with approximately 30 or fewer credits after their first college fall semester to apply to join the Honors Program for the following fall. Faculty members can send recommendation letters to honors@springfield.edu. Students must submit their materials by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 15.
Join the Honors Program Advisory Committee
A committee of faculty and staff meets monthly to advise the Honors Program director on policy, curriculum, and programming.
Serve as a department liaison
Support the Honors Program students in your major by helping advise them on which honors courses would best complement their major field of study and when to take them.
Teach an honors course
In addition to teaching Honors First-Year Seminar and honors sections of selected General Education coursework, faculty will supervise Guided Individual Study, Honors Colloquia, and Advanced Honors Projects. Previous experience teaching honors is not required, and professional development and support will be provided.
Follow the Honors Program on social media

Can students in every major participate in the Honors Program?

Yes. The program was designed to work for every current traditional undergraduate major, although the requirements and sequencing in certain majors (athletic training, health science pre-physician assistant, health science pre-physical therapy, and education licensure) make it a little more difficult for students to complete the Honors Program unless they begin Springfield College with some college credit (as many of these students do).

Can current students apply to join?

Students who will have approximately 30 credits or fewer after their first college fall semester may apply for admission to the Honors Program. Learn more.

Are honors courses harder or more work than non-honors courses?

No. Honors education is not about requiring longer papers or more work per credit hour, or asking students to complete 300-level work for a 100-level course. Rather, honors education is about a learner-directed approach that leads to “broader, deeper, or more complex” learning experiences to meet the educational interests and needs of these students.

Are grades for honors courses worth more to a student’s GPA?

No.

Do faculty members need previous experience in honors education to work with the Honors Program students?

No. All that’s required is a commitment to the mission and methods of honors education, and a willingness to participate in professional development on honors education. Many of the College faculty members are already using honors approaches in their courses and would find it easy to adapt to the Honors Program teaching philosophy.

Is there a thesis requirement?

Writing a thesis (or, as we will call such projects, completing an Advanced Honors Project) is an option within the program for most majors, and we hope that a significant number of honors students will develop projects appropriate to their majors or minors. However, most majors already have senior capstone experiences that the Honors Program would not duplicate. Also, not every major allows students sufficient electives to complete an additional three- or six-credit thesis project; therefore, we have allowed students to pursue individual study in forms appropriate to their majors, including incremental study (for example, taking one individual study credit per semester). Every honors student will complete at least three credits, and as many as six credits, of guided individual study.