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About the Program

Honors Students
 

Founded in 1999, the mission of the University Honors Program is to provide an academically enriched learning experience for the university's most outstanding and highly motivated students. It brings together students, faculty, and friends of the University to seek challenges, participate in experiential and interdisciplinary learning, grow as individuals, and expand the boundaries of their academic potential. The Honors Program currently comprises over 400 students from a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, and talents. These students represent over forty-two different majors in all six undergraduate colleges on campus. Four key components comprise the cornerstones of the Program:

  • Honors Courses
  • Honors Community
  • Honors Commons
  • Honors Leadership

Throughout the curricular and extracurricular programming, the Program fosters active intellectual engagement and a mutual exchange of ideas, in which students and faculty are partners in discovery. Honors courses, research opportunities, housing, service learning projects, and other activities provide Honors students with many opportunities to expand and enrich their academic experiences in the company of similarly motivated peers. Following Cal Poly's distinctive "hands-on" approach to education, students may participate in community projects and co-curricular activities to enhance their coursework and develop leadership skills and global perspectives. In addition to classroom learning, Honors students may take advantage of numerous opportunities to:

  • Work closely with an individual faculty members in a more intimate setting.
  • Take part in study groups and interact with academically motivated peers in an interdisciplinary community of scholars.
  • Study or hold meetings in a special designated area in the library.
  • Engage in "hands-on" learning by taking advantage of both on campus facilities and community resources.
  • Opportunities for taking leadership roles on campus and in the community.

Honors students who complete the Program requirements earn a "with Honors" distinction on their diploma, a special notation in the commencement program, and are awarded a special sash to wear during graduation ceremonies. The Honors Program holds an Honors Recognition Day event each spring for the students, their friends and families, and the Cal Poly community to celebrate the achievements of the Honors students, and to award various distinctions to particularly outstanding students.