Since 1936, the Honors Program has provided an enriched educational experience for the university’s most talented students. Only a small percentage of freshmen are invited into the program each year.  Honors students are academically and professionally aspirational and ethical leaders in their communities. 

The Curriculum 

Interdisciplinary in design and international in scope, Loyola’s Honors Program offers a dynamic general education that enables our students to bring many perspectives to real world problem-solving, in the Jesuit tradition. Faculty craft intensive courses that refine analytic and communication skills. The formal curriculum is supplemented with many cultural excursions and service opportunities. You can read more about the curriculum and requirements and our award-winning teaching faculty on our website. 

Requirements

• The program requires 27 credit hours (9 classes) of honors courses.
• All honors courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better.
• Students must have an overall GPA of 3.33 or better to graduate with honors. Students with 80+ credit hours or at the end of their Junior year will be removed from the program if their cumulative GPA is below 3.2.
• Education, Engineering, Nursing, and Social Work majors have modified Honors Program requirements. Education, Nursing, and Social Work majors may take the HONR 301 Capstone in the second semester of their junior year. Education majors are exempt from the requirement for HONR 203 and Engineering majors are exempt from the requirement for HONR 204.

The Benefits  

As an Honors student, you will come into contact with Loyola’s most effective teachers, our most exciting researchers, and, of course, our most talented students. You’ll benefit from priority registration each semester; individualized advising; small class sizes; and faculty mentorship. As the highest academic distinction awarded by the university, the Honors Degree commands special acknowledgement. Candidates are identified separately in the commencement program, and the official transcript identifies all Honors courses. 

The Freshman Year Experience 

Honors Freshmen are housed in modern facilities located on the southern end of campus, close to the lake and the city. In residence, you’ll have many opportunities to connect intellectually and socially with students majoring in fields from across the university and joining us from across the US and the globe. Together, you and your friends will make your way through the Honors Freshman Seminars, reading Darwin’s The Origin of Species and visiting the Art Institute of Chicago as a group. You can learn more about the freshman Honors residence experience here.

For more information on our dynamic community and program, look through the online issues of the Honors Magazine.