Honors Program
The Honors Program is based on the close reading and vigorous discussion of a curriculum of “great books” comprising what is aptly described by Matthew Arnold as “the best that has been thought and said.”
Students of the Honors Program critically study many of the great works of the Western tradition including the works of such writers as Homer, Plato, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Jefferson, Kant, Marx, St. John Paul II, and others. Close reading and vigorous discussion in the seminar mode is the norm for honors classes so that the large and ultimate questions of life can be aired and given due attention.
The aim of these seminars is truth: Together, by critical discussion, students and professors seek the truth contained in the great authors, seek to uncover their errors, and generally delight in the goodness of their mutual pursuit.
Thus, guided always by the teaching authority of the Church, students and professors consider such questions as: man’s nature, his place and purpose before God, the universe, and the community of men. It is hoped that this mutual pursuit will develop a community of scholars formed in the love of learning within which students will discuss, debate, ponder, write, and thereby learn in the highest tradition of the liberal arts.
To graduate as an honors scholar from Franciscan University, a student must successfully complete 32 credit hours of honors work, or the equivalent of eight 4-credit hour honors seminars. For the beginning freshman, this requirement is met by taking one 4-credit-hour honors seminar each semester for eight semesters at the University. Thirty hours of honors seminar credits apply to the core curriculum, satisfying the American founding principles, economics, history, literature, math, philosophy, social science, and THE 110 core requirements.
For more information regarding eligibility requirements, visit the Honors Program page.