LVC Honors Program
Excellence is more than a grade on a transcript. It is bold action that comes in many forms: Leadership. Service. Working toward justice. Sustainability efforts. Creative expression. And myriad other ways to explore and improve the world.
We honor the excellence in you. LVC’s Honors Program is a living-learning experience for a select group of curious, passionate, action-oriented students.
It combines specialized academic and out-of-class opportunities, including designated Honors courses focusing on immersive learning and interdisciplinary exploration.
You belong. Together—and with the guidance of Honors First-Year Mentors and your professors—you’ll form a community of support, inclusion, respect, and friendship. You’ll collaborate to develop programs and projects to further your interests and get more out of your LVC experience.
For residential students, you’ll also live with your Honors Program peers, who come from diverse backgrounds and have varied academic interests.
Our admissions process is holistic; we seek to admit students who combine strong academic preparation in high school with strengths that move beyond the classroom, such as evidence of leadership, interdisciplinary interests, and community service. Academic standards for admission into the program are usually a high school GPA of 3.5 and rank in the upper 20% of your high school class.
The Honors community is intentionally diverse and inclusive, with people from various backgrounds coming together to respect and support each other. We encourage applications from students of all races, ethnicities, national origins, religions, abilities, gender identities, and backgrounds; from students who are first in their family to go to college; and from all students who are passionate about learning and making the world better.
The Honors Program application for the 2025–2026 academic year will open in November. Students will receive an email with additional information once the application is available. The Honors program application process is competitive, and not all applicants will be accepted into the program. Your application will be a primary factor in the decision. Respond thoughtfully to those questions, and the Honors Committee will look forward to reviewing your application and learning more about you. After applying, students move through a selection process that includes a one-on-one interview with a faculty representative from the Honors Committee.
Honors Advantages
- An annual $1,000 scholarship toward tuition
- Honors courses with inspiring faculty
- Community residence hall assignments to help you develop friendships across the program
- A unique curriculum focused on the significant challenges facing the world
- An Honors graduation ceremony, regalia, and recognition on your transcript
- A competitive career advantage through our partnership with the Breen Center for Career and Professional Development
Your Honors Commitment
We get it. You’re passionate, and you want to make the world better—but you want to get involved with other amazing opportunities the College offers, too. So, what’s the commitment?
It’s pretty simple. You need 18 Honors units to graduate from LVC with Honors. Most of those units (95%) are completed in special sections in general education courses that are for Honors students: so, you’re taking classes you would take anyway, just with other members of Honors. Honors classes focus on the significant challenges facing our world, and what we can do to help our society and communities solve those problems.
And if you decide it’s not for you? You can withdraw at any time.
If you commit to Honors for the upcoming academic year, know that you’re committing to:
- If you’re a residential student, living with other Honors students in our Honors First-Year Learning Community
- If you’re a commuter student, participating in Honors activities on campus and spending time outside classes bonding with the group
- Participating in fun activities in the residence hall and community with other Honors students
- Taking the Honors First-Year Experience courses in fall and spring, both of which fulfill general education requirements
- Taking a 1-credit Immersive class that introduces you to local community service opportunities in the spring semester—this will also fulfill one of your Immersive requirements for general education!
- Maintaining your GPA. Though we don’t have a GPA requirement for first-year students to remain in the program, we do as you progress through your academic career. The GPA threshold for sophomores is 3.1, juniors is 3.2, and graduation is 3.3.