Honors College

Program Overview

The Honors College is designed to prepare academically advanced students for transfer to high-quality baccalaureate programs through focused interdisciplinary coursework linked to a variety of extracurricular activities. Studying in a rich environment that encourages scholarship, faculty/student relationships, active participation in the community and an emphasis on connecting learning to life, students in Honors College will have a challenging and enriching experience that makes the most of what Hudson Valley Community College has to offer.

Prerequisites

Applicants must meet the entrance requirements for the designated program:

• Biological Sciences, A.S.  
• Biotechnology, A.S.  
• Business Administration, A.S.  
• Computer Information Systems, A.S.  
• Computer Information Systems, A.S.  -Computer Science Track
• Criminal Justice, A.S.  
• Digital Media, A.S.  
• Engineering Science, A.S.  
• Environmental Science, A.S.  
• Hacking and Cybersecurity, A.S.  
• Liberal Arts and Science - Mathematics and Science, A.S.  
• Liberal Arts and Sciences - Humanities and Social Science, A.A.  
• Liberal Arts and Sciences - Humanities and Social Science, A.A. -English Track and Political Science Track 
• Physical Education Studies, A.A.  
• Physical Sciences, A.S. -Chemistry Track, Earth Science Track and Physics Track
• Psychology, AA  

Admission Procedures and Financial Guidelines

• Applications are accepted for admission into the Fall term only.
• Applicants must be first-time college students; transfer students are not eligible.
• Applicants must be enrolled as full-time students for the fall and spring terms.
• Applicants are not eligible if they exceed 15 college credits prior to their freshman year.
• Students accepted into the Honors College must complete financial aid forms through the HVCC Financial Aid Office and report scholarship awards; any remaining financial assistance will be covered through the HVCC Foundation Honors College Award.
• Students accepted into the Honors College will receive financial assistance through the HVCC Foundation Honors College Award to cover tuition, college fees, and textbooks for the fall and spring terms of the first year and the fall and spring terms of the second year. Textbook coverage is only for the required courses and total credits allowed in each semester for the designated program.
• The HVCC Foundation Honors College Award is only applicable for the first and second year at HVCC, consecutively. Any student that skips a term (fall/spring) will be removed from the Honors College but may keep their standing as an HVCC student.
• The HVCC Foundation Honors College Award cannot be used for courses outside of the specific requirements for affiliated programs, classes taken in the winter session, classes taken in the summer session, classes taken outside of HVCC, and any repeated classes resulting from withdrawing, dropping, or failing of a course.

Requirements for Completion of the Honors College Curriculum

To qualify as an Honors College graduate, students must complete the program requirements for their major in conjunction with: the required 13-credit core honors courses, an honors course specific to the major, an Honors Capstone, complete 25 hours of service learning, and document progress in an e-portfolio.

Course substitutions are highly restricted but may be made with the department chair’s approval to meet transfer institution requirements.

Curriculum Requirements

• All students must fulfill the following 13-credit designated core courses combined with the major degree requirements and electives.
• 13-credit core sequence These courses fulfill the SUNY General Education requirements for the respective program affiliated with the honors program.
  • FORM107: Honors College Forum (1 credit)
  • ENGL107: Honors Composition I (3 credits)
  • ENGL108: Honors Composition II (3 credits)
  • ENGL126: Honors Public Speaking (3 credits)
  • SOCL125: Honors Cultural Diversity in American Society (3 credits)
• Honors course specific to the major.
• Honors Capstone: Internship, research, or service project related to the major.
• Center for Service Learning & Civic Engagement at HVCC: Opportunities for volunteering and incorporating service learning into coursework.
• e-Portfolio A digital platform that allows students to keep track of coursework and service, highlight accomplishments and reflect on their progress.

English Composition Course Exemptions (restricted)

Students that have successfully completed ENGL 101 (Composition I) or ENGL 102 (Composition II), either through HVCC or College in High School, may be exempt from ENGL 107 (Honors Composition I) or ENGL 108 (Honors Composition II).

The English Department Chair will review the course equivalency for any Composition I course or Composition II course taken at an accredited institution outside of HVCC to determine its admissibility.

For AP Composition and Literature courses, students who received a 4 or 5 on the exam will receive credit for Composition I and Composition II. Students who received a 3 on the exam, will receive credit for Composition I, and only be exempt from ENGL 107: Honors Composition I; they will be required to take ENGL 108: Honors Composition II

Students that have successfully completed Composition I and Composition II, through HVCC or another accredited institution, have met the requirement for that sequence and will be exempt from ENGL107 and ENGL108. However, they will be required to complete one other honors course that will also fulfill the requirements for their specific program, excluding FORM 107, ENGL 126, SOCL 125, and the major-specific honors course for their program.

Major-specific Honors course

Liberal Arts and Sciences - Humanities and Social Science AA
Students in the LAS – Humanities and Social Sciences program are eligible to take any Honors course as the “Honors major-specific” course that also fulfills their program requirements, excluding FORM107, ENGL126, SOCL125.

STEM programs
Students in STEM programs affiliated with the Honors College will be required to take MATH 181: Honors Calculus I

Digital Media
Students in the Digital Media program will meet the Honors major specific-program by completing the art and digital media studio classes with 6 contact hours per week.

Other programs
For a specific program (not listed above), see the Honors College schedule for the Honors major-specific course that is offered.

College GPA Requirement

Students must maintain a GPA of 3.5 to remain in good standing with the Honors College.

When a student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.5, they have one semester in which to bring their cumulative GPA up to 3.5. If their academic performance remains below the minimum GPA students will be advised to complete their studies in the non-honors track of their program