The Honors Program at Ferris State is your stepping stone to success. Established in 1997, Ferris State University Honors provides a community of college students with fresh ideas and broad interests. Students in the Honors Program are encouraged to demonstrate strong leadership abilities and great dedication to their studies and communities. More than 700 students from 95 majors are motivated to grow to their full potential through specialized university Honors courses, while participating in global, cultural, social and service-learning opportunities. The Honors Program at Ferris State offers advanced Honors courses in several fields of study within many academic colleges.
If you would like a campus tour hosted by a student in the Honors Program please call us at 231-591-2216.
As a member of the University Honors community, you are required to maintain a college GPA of 3.25, commit to 15 hours of community service each semester, join a campus club and attend at least three cultural events per semester. Tickets to cultural events are provided to university Honors Program students free of charge.
The Honors Residential Life Scholarship is valued at $2,000 per year and is awarded to all university Honors students living in the Honors residence halls. It is renewable for up to four years and may be added to other college scholarships. Scholarships are determined upon admission into the Ferris State University Honors Degree Program, if you meet the criteria, scholarships are renewable for four years.
Ferris State University administers 31 of the national CLEP examinations to provide incoming students with the possibility of earning credit in academic areas commonly studied by college freshmen. Credit is awarded to those students who obtain a score of 50 or higher as published by the College Board. Credit granted on the basis of CLEP examinations is entered on a student's record without a grade and is not included in the computation of the Ferris grade point average. Honors students who take a CLEP exam and do not earn credit are eligible to re-take the exam after a six month waiting period. If a student has been previously enrolled in a university honors degree program, or equivalent, at an accredited college or university (including Ferris State) for which college credit was earned, the student may not take a CLEP exam for that course. Once CLEP credit for a given course has been awarded, a student may not subsequently enroll in that course and receive a grade. The College of Pharmacy does not accept CLEP credit in the sciences or math, but all other colleges at Ferris State will accept CLEP credit towards a university degree. For more information about CLEP exams, click here (www.ferris.edu/admissions/testing) to visit the Ferris State Institutional Research and Testing Office.
There are many university honors societies on campus to which honors students belong. Membership in these organizations looks impressive on a resume, increases networking opportunities and rewards academic accomplishment. The honoraries at Ferris are Golden Key, Kappa Delta Pi, Lambda Pi Eta, Lambda Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, Order of Omega, Phi Delta Kappa, Phi Lambda Sigma and Sigma Lambda Chi. Through Ferris State University's Study Away program, Honors students have traveled to Paris, London, Rome, Florence, Isle of Capri, Jerusalem, Provence, Martinique and other places throughout the world. University Honors scholarships and financial aid packages can be readily constructed depending on funding. These experiences can be for a summer, a semester or an academic year.
For Honors students with Advanced Placement (AP) and CLEP credits, the Business Administration degree can be earned in three years. For those who desire an M.B.A., it can be earned in one additional year. This challenge presents tremendous cost savings for the dedicated and ambitious student beginning with residence in Honors Halls. Single living space in Helen Ferris, Henderson, Ward, Pickell or Puterbaugh Honors halls feature kitchenettes, laundry and recreational facilities. The Residential Life Scholarship helps finance the additional cost of a private room in one of these Honors halls. The rooms are wired for Internet access. Students in the Honors Program at Ferris State are required to live in one of the Honors halls during their freshman and sophomore years, except for non-traditional students.
Priority registration allows you to secure space in the Honors Program and design a schedule tailored to meet your specific academic needs. As an Honors student, you also receive other academic opportunities, such as participating in stimulating symposia, meeting with visiting scholars, taking advantage of mentoring options, contributing to the national award-winning Honors newsletter, The Endeavor, attending "Lunch and Learn" (monthly programs in an Honors hall featuring a sought-after guest as speaker), or joining the Registered Student Organization, The Honors Programming Board.
The Peer Mentor Program teams up Honors freshmen with an Honors upperclassman who serves as an informal guide and sounding board for the duration of the freshman year. Faculty mentors work with students on research projects of mutual interest either for the intrinsic value of the experience and/or for credit in an independent study context, or the mentor serves as a guide during the student's academic career.
In order to apply for admission to the Honors degree program as a potential freshman you will need a minimum cumulative High School GPA of 3.40 and a minimum 24 ACT composite or an 1120 SAT (combining math and reading scores). Upon receipt of your application for the Honors Program you will be contacted about the essay portion of our admissions process and the Honors Invitational Competition held the last Saturday in February.
If you have not completed an Undergraduate Student application to Ferris State University, you will need do that in order for your Honors application to remain valid. The Honors Program application can be found at www.ferris.edu/admissions.
For internal or external honors transfer applicants, students must have a cumulative college GPA of 3.25 in at least 12 credits (none of which are in remedial or developmental classes) but no more than 45 credits at the time of Honors acceptance. If you have any questions about the transfer process into the Honors Program at Ferris State, please contact the FSU Honors staff at 231-591-2216.
Being a graduate of Honors provides many avenues for immediate employment and for advancement to upper levels of management. Employers seek honors graduates for employment positions ranging from business manager and sales representative to production supervisor and project planner. Graduates of the Honors Program at Ferris State often obtain new employment positions in manufacturing, retailing, construction, financial institutions, government and a host of other fields. Honors students also find the Honors Program to be of great value in preparation for law school.
The purpose of the Honors Program at Ferris State University is to provide intellectual challenges, resources and support to highly able and motivated students, while encouraging service and leadership for the public good.
For more information on the Ferris State University honors degree program or to set up an appointment, please call the Ferris State Honors Program at: 231-591-2216
