Opportunities for Honors Program Students

Honors First Year Research Experience

Honors Program students majoring in the Departments of Biology or Chemistry and Biochemistry may become members of a faculty-mentored research team during their first year at Bradley.

This program is part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative to advance research skills and knowledge by undergraduate students

Special honors sections of Core Curriculum courses

Certain sections of Core Curriculum courses are designated for Honors students and are recommended because of their smaller size and emphasis on fostering creative and independent thinking. Students participate in five Honors sections of the twelve Core Curriculum classes required for graduation, mixing these courses with regular sections of other classes.

Honors seminars on interesting and controversial topics

Seminars generally meet one hour per week and encourage students to explore topics not typically covered in a standard college course. Recent offerings include “The Psychology of Dreaming,” “Producing Shakespeare,” “Religion and Film,” “Debating Tax Policy,” and “Understanding Cancer.” These seminars are so popular that students often enroll in more than the three required for completion of the Program.

Social and cultural activities

Each semester, the Honors Program sponsors special events that bring students together to enjoy camaraderie with their peers. Students are encouraged, but not required, to attend these events that include dinners at faculty members' homes, weekend trips to Chicago, group outings to concerts and theatre, career preparation presentations, and evening discussion sessions.

Research or creative project

The Honors Program, having enhanced each stage of a student’s course of study, culminates in a capstone project. During the junior or senior year, each Honors student, in consultation with a professor in the major field, completes an individualized project that demonstrates excellence in the academic major.

The Honors Program has been carefully designed so that it will not lengthen a student’s course of study. While the Honors classes emphasize active learning, discussion, and interpretation, they do not require more work quantitatively and do not use a more demanding grading scale.

Priority Registration

Beginning with registration for their third semester, Honors students who meet eligibility requirements are offered Priority Registration, allowing them to register for classes at 8:15 on the first morning of registration. This assists Honors students in optimal scheduling for their majors, minors and Honors courses.

In order to qualify for Priority Registration, a student must have a GPA of 3.2 or higher. Once students achieve senior status, they must have a 3.4, which is the minimum required to graduate in the Honors Program. To ensure that students are making progress toward completion of the Honors Program, they will need to have completed three Honors courses/seminars by the time they have completed 45 hours at Bradley and four by the time they have 75 hours.

Honors With Distinction For Students Majoring In LAS Departments

In Fall 2019, the Honors Program, in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, launched a new opportunity for juniors and seniors majoring in LAS departments: Honors students who develop and successfully complete a multi-semester Honors thesis mentored by a full-time faculty member will be awarded the designation of having completed the Bradley University Honors Program “with Distinction.”

Peer Mentoring

At the beginning of Fall semester, each first-year student is paired with a junior or senior Honors Program student, almost always in the same major. The mentors, having recently walked in the first-year students' shoes, offer to meet and talk with the new students regarding organizations and opportunities at the university, course work, the registration process, and anything else the student would like to discuss. Peer-to-peer, one-on-one connections are a valuable part of Honors at Bradley.