Geneva College · Honors Program
Think creatively.
Live courageously.
Bring your curiosity. Ask meaningful questions. Discover how your learning can shape a life of faithful service.
Intellectual Discipline in a Thriving Community
The world needs leaders who think critically and creatively, pursuing faithful living amid changing environments. That’s why Geneva’s honors program offers students an enhanced, rigorous experience of Geneva’s core courses, taken together with curious and driven peers.
The Honors Program at Geneva includes a First-Year Fellowship, a sophomore and junior honors curriculum, and a senior honors capstone research experience.
Faith. Learning. Community.
In Their Own Words
The Honors experience
The honors program isn't just a few intellectual exercises and more homework; rather, it's a chance to pay attention to the world you live in, pursue knowledge in community, and love the privilege of higher education.
The Honors experience
Honors was not just a series of additional classes, but a community. The late nights spent debating my fellow honors students will always be one of my favorite memories. Those nights were the nights we grew as people, both spiritually and academically. As a STEM major, this program let me be able to engage the liberal arts in a way that few other colleges offer.
The Honors experience
I am very thankful for the honors program because it provides me with an opportunity to read excellent wisdom and to meet a group of wonderful people, including the professors. In a community that pursues the Truth at its core, I also get a glimpse of the communion of saints. The Honors program has opened my eyes to see in a fuller sense the joy of the Lord while living in a world of sufferings.
The Honors experience
I am a new student in the honors program, but already it has helped me make real and meaningful connections with my peers. Living and learning together through the honors program is such a blessing. On the last cultural events trip, I spent about 45 minutes in a random bookstore downtown with 10 other honors kids, and it was one of the highlights from my week. A huge thank you to Dr. Miller and Bridget for making this so special!
The Honors experience
The honors program helped present the Gospel to me in a new (and unexpected) light such that I did not recognize it at first and was able to see it clearly without any past bias or presuppositions. Being able to see the Gospel for what it really is enlivened me and was one of the best gifts I received from being in the honors program.
The Honors experience
The Honours Program serves as a great way to challenge yourself academically among like-minded peers, constantly growing in both education and community. The professors in the program care deeply for their students and subjects, and desire earnestly to see them succeed. The stuff you learn in the program is important, both for academics and for life-- don't pass it up!
Pursue academic distinction
Honors Invitational 2027
A weekend of purposeful discovery
Prospective Geneva students with high academic achievements in high school will be invited to an exciting weekend summit featuring workshops, round-table discussions, and networking with peers and faculty members.
Together, participants will explore an array of academic spheres and think deeply about purposeful learning and faithful living.
Your opportunity to stand out.
Students will also participate in an interview and essay writing session in order to compete for admission to the Honors Program and available scholarships.
February 6-7, 2027
Friday: Dinner and activities, 6 - 10 p.m.
Saturday: Honors Competition, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Two scholarships available
Full tuition
Compete for one of two full tuition scholarships.
Five scholarships available
$5,000 /year
Five students will receive a scholarship of $5,000 per year.
All other invited students
$1,000 /year
All other invited students will receive a scholarship of $1,000 per year.
A Christ-centered academic journey
Grow into the questions.
Make them your own.
Begin in community.
Year one enables you to build a foundation through shared learning, meaningful relationships, and opportunities to connect faith with your studies.
While discovering God’s design in all things, you will participate in honors-specific sections of core classes, explore exciting opportunities such as first-year retreats, and engage in cultural experiences off campus.
Questions to explore
Students will begin the year with HON 101, the honors section of the required Learning and Transition course, and Introduction to Humanities, the honors section of a required Core class. In the spring, students will take HON 102, a continuation of HON 101, and HON 491, Civil Society Near and Far, that will cover 3 required credits for the Core curriculum.
Yes! In year one, students will live on an honors floor of Clarke (one of our women's dormitories) or Pearce (one of our men's dormitories). This is a great way for students to get to know each other and create memories!
Students will attend two off-campus retreats during their first year. The Fall Retreat is a time to get to know one another, meet some of our Honors faculty, and dive into the Honors curriculum! The Spring Retreat is a great way to close out the year with time for reflection on the year before students head off on summer adventures.
Explore with purpose.
During sophomore and junior year, you will continue to develop your interests, engage challenging ideas, and connect classroom learning with opportunities to serve and gain experience.
You will take courses that delve into the topic of calling and examine how the lordship of Christ shapes different academic fields. During this time, you are encouraged to study abroad and/or attend academic conferences in your field.
Questions to explore
Students begin the second year with HON 201, a 1-credit course titled The Thinking Christian in which they begin to discuss what it means to pursue God and the intellectual life. In the spring semester, students take HON 300 which is the honors section of the required BIB 300 course. In their third year, students take HON 301, Civic Presence, a 1-credit course that considers our civic responsibilities as Christians seeking to live actively in our communities.
You decide who you'll live with! Many of our students choose to move to the Geneva College apartments or become Resident Assistants. Often, our students have created deep friendships with each other and choose to room with one another.
During your third year, you'll have the chance to travel overseas with the Honors Program. Check back for more details!
Prepare to make an impact.
Bring your learning together, share your work, and prepare to use your knowledge and gifts in your career, community, and church.
Senior year, students conduct meaningful research with colleagues in an Academic Partners project within their shared field of study. The students receive a stipend to cover research costs and present their research findings at the end of the semester.
Questions to explore
In their final year at Geneva, students will complete Academic Partners projects. Students will take the Honors Program Capstone, a 1-credit seminar on the intellectual culture of the contemporary academy. Students will also take an independent research course of either 1, 2 or 3 credits- the student will make this decision with their advisor for the Academic Partners project.
Students will partner with a faculty mentor on a research project conducted over the course of the semester. Students will choose a topic of interest from their field of study and present their project at Works of Our Hands during the last week of the semester. These projects have served to prepare students for further study in graduate programs.
Honors Reading
What will I Read?
The following are a few selections of books that Honors students will read.
A Guide to Christian Living
The Death of Ivan Ilych
Christian Worldview
Presence in the Modern World
He Is There and He Is Not Silent
The Last Battle
Remembering
The Silver Chair
Total Eclipse
Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story
Orthodoxy
The Confessions of Saint Augustine
The Honors Difference
An honors education for your whole life
What is worth knowing? How should we live? What does faithfulness look like in your field? Make room for questions that reach beyond the next assignment.
Faith and Life
Intentional, Not Unmanageable
Honors students take only four additional credits outside the required curriculum. This gives you the value of Honors education while allowing you to fully enjoy the student experience.
Scholarship
Academic and Civic Education
Develop an intellectual capacity to become informed, active, and responsible citizens who engage their communities through meaningful work that advances the Kingdom of God.
Community
Relational and Intellectual
Learn alongside students and professors who support and challenge one another academically, relationally, and spiritually. Cultivate the whole person to live out God's calling in the world.
Educators and Mentors
Who Will Teach Me?
Learn alongside faculty and leaders who invite you to ask thoughtful questions, engage challenging ideas, and connect faith with learning.
Explore the people and courses that shape the Honors experience at Geneva.
Faculty and Leadership
Eric Miller, PhD
Professor of History & Humanities, Director of the Honors Program
Honors courses
- Invitation to the Humanities
- Freshman Honors College
Calvin L. Troup, PhD
President, Geneva College
Honors courses
- Academic Faithfulness
Bridget Fox
Director of Crossroads: Center for Enriched Learning
Honors courses
- Invitation to the Humanities
- Freshman Honors College
Julie Durbin, PhD
Associate Professor of Humanities and Writing
Honors courses
- Civil Society Near and Far
Daniel J. Cross, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics
Honors courses
- The Thinking Christian
The Honors Experience
An open door to profound experiences
The Honors Program provides three opportunities each semester for students to engage with creative life outside of Geneva. Students have the opportunity to experience the Pittsburgh Opera, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, off Broadway shows, museums, and events like the Pittsburgh Jazz Festival and the quarterly Gallery Crawl. These opportunities are particular to the Honors Program and free to all Honors students.
Honors Event
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
A performance by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra gave Honors students the opportunity to hear orchestral music brought to life and appreciate the precision, expression, and collaboration behind each piece.
Honors Event
Pittsburgh Jazz Festival
The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival brought Honors students into the rhythm of the city’s musical life, where they experienced live jazz and the creativity of improvisation while sharing in a celebration of Pittsburgh’s jazz heritage.
Honors Event
Spring Soirée
Honors students organized a Spring Soirée, in which they dressed in World War II-era styles and listened to live big band music to experience life in the '40s.
Honors Event
Spring Honors Retreat
The Spring Honors Program Retreat brings together high-achieving students for a weekend of collaborative workshops, outdoor team-building activities, and academic goal-setting sessions with faculty.
Honors Alumni Outcomes
Where are Our Graduates?
Whether going on to graduate school, or a career with various organizations throughout the world, our students find excellent organizations such as:
Academic Partners Projects
WORKS of our HANDS
Participating junior and senior students partner with faculty mentors on professional research projects, presented in a collection called “Works of our Hands”.
Working with their experienced faculty mentors, students engage in meticulous research and deep study on a topic of interest in their field of study, presenting their projects to the community in April each year.
Recent presentations
Lydia Cummings
English and Writing
Form and Faith: Emily Dickinson, Denise Levertov, and Blank Space
Lexi Lee
Communication Media and Rhetoric
How the Soviet Occupation has Shaped Lithuanians' Political Views
Luke MacKenzie
English Writing and Literature
What We Bring From Elfland: Beauty through the Fantastic
Laura Kleber
Psychology
How the Mind Differentiates Fictional Horror from Horrific Reality
Tell Me More
Discover more about our Honors Program
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