Program Description

The SPU Honors Program is an accelerated alternative to the regular General Education curriculum for intellectually curious and academically motivated students at Seattle Pacific University. It requires fewer overall credits, but in a challenging, inquiry-based, and inclusive program that asks University honors students to go deeper into the key questions at the heart of our lives, our faith, and our world. Honors students will receive a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Honors Liberal Arts,alongside their regular disciplinary major (and any second major, if applicable), upon successful completion of the program. A minor in Honors Liberal Arts is also available for interested students.

SPU Honors is also a close-knit community of students and faculty members committed to academic excellence in a spirit of dialogue, collaboration, and intellectual hospitality. We are guided by the key liberal arts question “What does it mean to be human?” and the foundational curricular values of interdisciplinarity, critical inquiry, equity, inclusion, and service.

In the Honors Program, You Will

• Learn from and engage with world-class faculty from across the disciplines
• Push yourself to use the intellectual, personal, creative, and social abilities God has given you
• Discover what it means to learn in a rich intellectual community of fellow scholars
• Forge deep, lifelong friendships with other honors students over your years in the program
• Graduate prepared to join the ranks of SPU honors alumni who have gone on to success in careers and graduate programs

“What does it mean to be human?”

This question is an over-arching theme of the honors curriculum. And we ask this question in an inter-connected and interdisciplinary set of courses, forming a close-knit learning community of students and faculty members seeking and inquiring together. More detailed honors course specifics can be found on the program page in this catalog.

Note that transfer courses and credit for exams such as AP, IB, and Cambridge International will still count toward your degree, but they cannot be used to replace HON courses.

A limited number of students are accepted into the honors program every year and there is always a waiting list for admission. Students can apply to join SPU honors at any year during their time at SPU.

If you are interested in learning more, please explore the Honors Program website for further information about courses, professors, students, alumni, and application information. And always feel free to contact the Honors Program Director, Joshua Tom.

Additional Competencies and Requirements

• To remain in the program, every honors student must participate in their choice of a wide range of approved service and leadership opportunities and complete an annual service/leadership self-reflection report.
• Attendance is required three times a year for all students at the quarterly all-honors Touchstone Banquet.

Leaving the Program

Infrequently students determine that the Honors program is not a good fit for their academic goals.

• Students wishing to leave the program must meet with the program director for consultation.
• Those who were pursing the BA in Honors Liberal Arts third major may choose to pursue the Honors Liberal Arts Minor instead of leaving the program.
• Students leaving the program and those completing the minor are required to meet all requirements in the SPU standard General Education curriculum. They should consult with the Director of the Honors Program or their undergraduate academic counselor about how HON courses may count toward the standard curriculum.
• Many Honors courses will fulfill requirements in the standard General Education curriculum.

Entering and Completing the Major

Formal application and admission to the SPU Honors Program is required prior to enrollment in the Honors Liberal Arts major or minor.

You may apply for admission to Honors at anytime, using the online Honors application materials for incoming first-year or transfer students, as well as currently enrolled SPU students. 

To meet the minimum requirements for admission, you must:

• Have demonstrated intellectual ambition and a track record of academic success (which will vary depending on the applicants’ academic standing and history).

To successfully complete the major, note that:

• The University requires a grade of C- or better in all classes that apply to a major or minor; however, programs may require higher minimum grades in specific courses, as in honors. You may repeat an SPU course only once for a higher grade.
• To advance in the Honors Program, you should meet with the honors director and/or your Honors faculty advisor regularly to discuss your grades, course progression, and other indicators of satisfactory academic progress. If your grades or other factors indicate that you may not be able to successfully complete the Honors Liberal Arts major, the advisor can work with you to explore options, which may include choosing the Honors Liberal Arts minor and regular General Education track instead.
• You must complete the major requirements in effect in the SPU Undergraduate Catalog for the year of admittance to the major.

Honors Liberal Arts (BA)

Suggested Course Sequence

• All Honors courses are offered twice a year in different time slots (with the exception of HON 2000 Honors Core: Culture and Social Systems and HON 3200 Honors Core: Research and Writing, see below) to accommodate scheduling.
• The first year of Honors courses must be taken together but all other courses can be flexibly scheduled when time permits.
• HON 4899 Honors Research Capstone (1-5) must be taken in the final year of honors study for a total of 5 credits to prepare for the Honors Research Symposium – and at least one credit of HON 4899 Honors Research Capstone taken in both Autumn and Spring Quarters that year.
• All Honors Majors must complete a disciplinary major, as well, and satisfy the following:
  • All UFDN requirements in the General Education Curriculum (10-15 credits, based on class standing at entrance)
  • Foreign language competency
  • CUE (Cultural Understanding and Engagement)
  • W (Writing) requirements

First Year in Honors

• Students must take all three Honors Core courses in their first Honors year.
• HON 2000 Honors Core: Culture and Social Systems is only offered in Autumn quarter and is designed to be the on-ramp course for all honors study at SPU.

Second and Third Years in Honors

• Students should take the 3000-level Honors courses in any quarter that fits their schedule, with the exception of HON 3200 Honors Core: Research and Writing, which must be taken in the Winter Quarter of the third year.
• The HON 3950 Honors Advanced Studies(10 credits) may also be filled by any upper-division SPU course with the “H” designation as well as approved study abroad courses.
• All 3000-level Honors courses should be completed before taking HON 4899 Honors Research Capstone.

Fourth Year in Honors

• A total of five credits of HON 4899 Honors Research Capstone must be completed for graduation. And students must register for at least one credit of this course in both Autumn and Spring quarters.
• All students are required to present at the Honors Research Symposium in Spring quarter in order to graduate.