Honors Opportunities
The Honors Program at Alma College
The Honors Program at Alma College celebrates our identity as a liberal arts college. We believe that honors graduates of Alma College should have both strong disciplinary achievements and a powerful sense of interdisciplinary integration and collaboration. We want honors graduates to have had significant experiences working together in this academic community and to have completed outstanding independent projects. The Honors Program at Alma College is intended to inspire all students to perform at high levels, but ultimately provides a pathway for students who seek extraordinary achievements and uncommon opportunities.
By being engaged and motivated, Alma College Honors Scholars create an
intellectual community centered on both independent excellence and
collaboration. They participate in special seminar opportunities and
enroll in courses designed for Honors Scholars. They pursue
departmental honors and membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most
prestigious honor society. They create independent projects and develop
an Honors Portfolio. Below, you will find the individual components of
the Honors Program at Alma College broken down by academic year.Freshman Year
- Participate in a First-Year Honors Seminar (FHS) for an introduction to various disciplinary perspectives and liberal arts education (4 credits).
- Participate in special events with other Honors Scholars.
- Begin an Honors Portfolio and work with a faculty advisor to plan coursework and objectives.
- Enroll in courses that qualify you for membership in Phi Beta Kappa.
The middle years of the Honors Program highlight the mastery of disciplinary work but also cultivate connections, inside and outside of the classroom.
- Continue participating in special Honors Scholars events and seminars which include visiting artists and scholars.
- Continue building an Honors Portfolio and a Phi Beta Kappa record.
- Enroll in a curriculum leading to departmental honors.
- Enroll in an independent study project with a faculty mentor (4 credits).
- Take at least one course that crosses disciplinary boundaries or links different subjects (4 credits).
- Consider the option of spending a term in one of our 17 overseas locations or off-campus programs in Chicago, Philadelphia or Washington, D.C.
- Participate in a Senior Capstone Course (2 credits) that provides cross-disciplinary links and mentoring for new Honors Scholars.
- Continue participating in special Honors Scholar events and seminars.
- Complete departmental honors, including presentation of your work.
- Finish your Honors Portfolio.
Honor Societies
Phi Beta Kappa National Honorary Society
Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honorary Society
Gamma Delta Alpha Senior Women's Honorary Society
Alpha Mu Gamma – Foreign Language
Beta Beta Beta – Biology
Chi Epsilon Mu – Chemistry
Exercise and Health Science Honor Society
Kappa Pi – Art
Lambda Pi Eta – Communication
Omicron Delta Epsilon – Economics
Phi Alpha Theta – History
Pi Mu Epsilon – Mathematics
Pi Sigma Alpha – Political Science
Psi Chi – Psychology
Rho Chi Epsilon – Business
Sigma Delta Pi – Spanish
Sigma Pi Sigma – Physics
Sigma Tau Delta – English
Nationally Competitive Scholarships
A committee of faculty members identifies and nurtures exceptional candidates for nationally competitive scholarships, grants and awards. For more than a decade, Alma College students have consistently been named as national scholarship winners and finalists. In recent years Alma students have been recipients of the following prestigious postgraduate scholarships:8 Udall Scholars (2000-04)
10 Fulbright Scholars (2003-06)
4 Truman Scholars (2000-05)
1 British Marshall Scholar (2004)
2 Gates-Cambridge Scholars (2001 & 2005)
1 Goldwater Scholar (2000)
Kapp Honors Day
The Ronald O. Kapp Honors Day gives Alma College students the privilege of presenting academic and creative projects before an audience of their peers, professors and community members. Held each spring on Alma’s campus, the Kapp Honors Day celebrates the liberal arts and creates a forum where students can both take pride in their own accomplishments and appreciate the diverse work of their classmates. Many students also choose to present their independent research or projects – the result of hours in the library, the laboratory or the studio – at other local, national and international venues. As part of the Honors Day festivities, an annual Ronald O. Kapp Honors Day Prize of $1,000 is awarded to a collaborative student project that best responds to a local challenge.
