About the Honors Program
What is the Honors Program?
What distinguishes the Merrimack Honors community?
What does the Program expect of its students?
What are the requirements for admission to the Honors Program?
How do I apply?
Does the Honors Program require extra courses?
What is the Honors Program?
The Merrimack College Honors Program offers students with strong academic credentials, class standing, and leadership qualities the opportunity to study with other exceptional students in smaller and more challenging classes. Inspired by Augustine’s philosophy of teaching and learning, the Program is dedicated to active learning in community with others, leading to transformative experiences.
What distinguishes the Merrimack Honors community?
- Intellectually curious, creative, and hard-working students who inspire, challenge, support, and befriend one another.
- Approximately 50 students join the Program each year.
- Small, dynamic classes with some of the College’s best professors.
- All honors courses are capped at 15 students.
- Numerous so-curricular activities throughout the year—concerts, plays, dinners, museums, hockey games, maybe even a trip to New York City, or an opportunity for an international study experience.
- Honors advising throughout your four years that pays close attention to your life at Merrimack and beyond—the best courses to take; meeting graduation requirements; advice on internships; applying to graduate schools and major scholarships (Fulbright, Truman, etc.); discussions of career choices and opportunities; and a concern with the student’s overall well-being.
- “Honors Program” will be noted on transcripts and diplomas signaling to employers and graduate schools that you have achieved something exceptional in your college education.
What does the Program expect of its students?
Students in the Honors Program must take at least eight honors courses (usually one per semester). Each semester, the Program offers special honors sections designed to satisfy the College’s general education requirements (for example, Honors Introduction to College Writing). Other honors courses are electives based on student interests, or allow students to earn honors credit in advanced courses. A final capstone course is taken in the student’s senior year.
Outside the classroom, students are expected to take part in one or two co-curricular activities each semester, maintain an active involvement in the Honors Program itself, and play a leadership role on campus in general. Honors students must also satisfy a two-semester service and experiential learning requirement, normally satisfied during their sophomore year.
Students must maintain a 3.4 GPA their freshman year and a 3.5 thereafter.
What are the requirements for admission to the Honors Program?
Students applying to the Merrimack College Honors Program must be in the top 10% of the high school graduating class and have achieved a 3.5 GPA or higher. The typical Honors Program student also demonstrates excellent writing and/or mathematics and science skills, and shows evidence of leadership and community involvement.
How do I apply?
Interested students may apply to the Merrimack College Honors Program using our online form. Notification of acceptance is usually within six weeks of applying.
For more information, please contact email Prof. William Wians, the Program director, at honors@merrimack.edu or by phone 978-837-3479.
Does the Honors Program require extra courses?
No. The eight courses are simply honors sections of courses you would take anyway—courses to satisfy institutional and distribution requirements, electives, even courses in your major. The difference is that honors sections are distinguished by smaller class size and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. If, for instance, you have to take Organic Chemistry for your major, you might take Honors Organic Chemistry and conduct original research. Or you may choose an honors elective such as the Honors Philosophy of Music, which includes concert attendance and review writing among its requirements. The Honors Program is designed to work with all majors, and Honors students graduate with the same number of credits as all Merrimack students.