The Honors Program

Honors at Shoreline
The Honors Program at Shoreline Community College is designed to offer a challenging curriculum for students planning to transfer to four-year institutions of higher learning or who simply wish to deepen their college experience.  Students have the opportunity to work on in-depth projects in specific academic disciplines and to create a community of scholars with whom to share their ideas. The Honors Program encourages students to work closely with faculty in seminars and colloquia to develop original research and/or projects. Graduation with Honors may lead to greater scholarship possibilities and admission to more selective colleges and universities.

Scholarships and Aid
Scholarships that cover the tuition costs of Honors coursework may be available for some students based on need. For more information, contact the Honors Program Coordinator, Kenneth Lawson (546-4691, klawson@shoreline.edu).

Entrance Requirements for the Shoreline Scholars
Complete an application form and submit to the IAS/SS Division office (FOSS 5329, or email to klawson@shoreline.edu).  Shoreline students must have 12 credits of college level work with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Running Start students may participate in the program with a 3.5 or better High School GPA (High School Honors or AP experience would be helpful.) Students who do not have a 3.5 GPA can also enroll in the Honors Program with a written recommendation from a Shoreline Community College faculty member.  (Faculty members recommending a student are expected to provide additional mentoring to to that student while in the program.)  The Honors Program at Shoreline is committed to an environment that reflects our pluralistic society. We welcome and encourage individual applications from members of under-represented groups.

Honors Application (Choose format to download: Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF)

Program Requirements for Graduation with Honors*
The Honors Program is a four-quarter program that involves the following sequence of courses:

Honors 100—Ways of Knowing—introduces students to diverse ways of grappling with some of the enduring philosophical and scientific questions of our world. This course provides a survey of research methods from a range of academic disciplines and is designed so that students emerge with questions of their own to pursue as they progress through the Honors Program.

Honors 200—Colloquia— is designed to provide students with an opportunity to engage in a sustained exchange of ideas centered on a few selected readings and public lectures and presentations.  Course instruction focuses on rhetoric and reasoning skills. Students are encouraged to make logical connections with colloquia materials and the research questions they have developed in Honors 100.

Honors 251—Seminar— provides an opportunity for students to focus on their own chosen areas of inquiry by completing an “Honors Project.”  Honors Projects must be associated with a 5 credit college course and require a signed Honors Project contract with the instructor. Honors Project contracts are available from the Honors Coordinator.

Honors Projects may include the following:

1. Research

2. Service Learning

3. Experiential Learning

4. Web-based projects

5. Creative options upon approval

In addition to completing the Honors Projects, students will meet with other Honors students periodically throughout the quarter to discuss progress and share ideas.

Honors 295—Honors Thesis— is a capstone course in which students present original research that responds to the question or set of questions identified by each student at the beginning of the program. Course instruction covers leadership skills and effective public communication.

All honors courses require mandatory decimal grading.  Graduation with Honors requires successful completion of all Honors Program coursework and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher in meeting Shoreline’s graduation requirements.

Continuation in the Program
An Honors student should maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to continue in the Program.  If a student's GPA drops below 3.0, he or she may have the option of staying in the Program with additional faculty mentoring. Arrangements must be approved by the Honors Program Coordinator.

Timeline of Honors Program Course Requirements: Class of 2009

Certificate of Participation
All students who fulfill all the course requirements in the Honors Program, but are unable to meet the grade point requirements for Graduation with Honors, will receive a Certificate of Participation in addition to having the Honors designation on successfully completed Honors courses on their transcripts.  Students who do not complete all the coursework will still have the Honors designation on their transcripts for those courses completed.

*Please note that Honors Program requirements are subject to change and revision.  The Honors Program at Shoreline seeks to maintain innovation in education. Changes in curriculum or Program requirements may be necessary to deliver a high quality experience and to serve students efficiently.