The program
The SPU honors program is an accelerated alternative to regular General Education for intellectually curious and motivated students at Seattle Pacific University, guided by the framing question, “What does it mean to be human?” Its challenging, inquiry-based, and interconnected curriculum asks students to go deeper into the key questions at the heart of our lives, our faith, and our world.
Honors at SPU is also an important vehicle for fostering equity and inclusion through a curriculum that focuses explicitly on knowledge construction in order to both understand and interrogate it. This commitment is foundational to the liberal arts tradition as well as to faithful academic scholarship, informed by values of intellectual hospitality, inclusion and embrace, and “loving our neighbors as ourselves.”
Successful completion of all requirements leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Honors Liberal Arts as a second or co-major only. A minor in Honors Liberal Arts is also available for interested students.
As a University Scholar, 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 here.
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. Note that transfer courses and credit for exams such as AP, IB, and Cambridge International cannot be used to replace HON courses, though they will still count toward the SPU degree.
If you are interested in learning more, please explore this website for further information about courses, professors, students, alumni, and application information. And always feel free to contact the Honors Program Director Joshua Tom at jtom@spu.edu.