Do you have an idea you want to explore outside the classroom? Do you want to pursue a passion project that speaks to your interests and creativity? Babson College's Honors Program is designed to enrich your educational experience through unique curricular and cocurricular opportunities, including a research capstone project, seminar courses, and special social and cultural offerings.
The Babson Honors Program is a supplemental project to your undergraduate business program. Babson honors students are exceptionally self-motivated and possess superior academic ability. You will work with a faculty member one-on-one on your research project and will graduate as an expert in your chosen research topic.
Honors students can also take this experience global, which may entail an internship, coursework, or research abroad. Students have worked on memoirs, researched the music and entertainment industries, leadership of athletes, migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates and Greece (including travel), and the impact of hate speech on social media.
The Honors Program offers academically accomplished students enhanced curricular and co-curricular opportunities. Honors students are accepted into the Honors Program during the first semester of their second year through a process including an application, interview, and a review of the student’s academic achievement during the first year. Honors Program students enroll in two honors seminar courses, participate in an education abroad experience, and create an 8-credit honors project on a topic of their choosing, working one-on-one with a faculty adviser. The Honors Program also aims to create a community for its students by scheduling social and cultural events including dinners, study breaks, visits to Babson alumni, and an off-campus retreat. For additional information on the Honors Program, contact the Associate Director of the Honors Program or visit the website.
The Honors Program is designed to enrich the experience of academically accomplished students through unique curricular and co-curricular opportunities. Honors students enroll in two Honors Seminar courses, and participate in a two-semester honors project. The Honors Program aims to create a community within the larger Babson community by scheduling academic, social, and cultural offerings.
Unique Opportunities to Grow Outside the Classroom
Students attend a wide range of special programming offered by the Honors Program throughout the year. Programs include social events, community-building activities, and arts performances in the Boston area.
Application Criteria
Students who have earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.4 in their first year at Babson are invited to apply during the fall semester of their sophomore year. Transfer students who have completed at least one semester at Babson, and meet the minimum cumulative GPA of a 3.4 or higher at Babson, are also invited to apply. The fall semester application cycle is a student’s only opportunity to apply for admission to the Honors Program. Students receive an email invitation during the first week of the fall semester with further instructions on how to submit their application online.
The Honors Council faculty selects students based on a wide variety of factors including academic performance, scholarly passions, and writing ability. The Honors Council considers each applicant’s academic record, letter of application, co-curricular involvement, and interview with Council members in deciding who will be admitted to the program. Space is limited and the process is competitive.
Requirements
In order to remain in the Honors Program, students are required to:
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher at the end of each academic year
- Attend the Sophomore City as Text Exploration and Cape Cod retreat
- Enroll in and pass Honors Seminars I and II
- Complete a two-semester Honors Project with a grade B+ or higher
- Remain in good disciplinary standing at the College
The Honors Project
The capstone experience of the Honors Program is the year-long Honors Project. Students work closely with one or more faculty members to complete work on either a scholarly project or a scholarly project with a creative component. The project is not simply a research endeavor that synthesizes prior research; rather, it is a substantial contribution to its field of inquiry. The scope of the project depends on the nature of the chosen discipline. Regardless of the area of inquiry, students develop strong research and writing skills.
Program Administration
The Honors Program is administered by a faculty Director, an Associate Director and the Honors Council, which consists of faculty from the various academic divisions. Members of the Honors Council select students for admission to the program, act as liaisons to the honors project, join students at Honors Program activities and events, and set policy for the program.