The Honors Program at Fairfield University is an interdisciplinary course of study open to invited freshmen and sophomores from all of the University's undergraduate schools and reports directly to the Provost. Since the program offers a curriculum of team-taught courses and small seminars, it is highly selective. Students who pursue Honors study at Fairfield are highly motivated, passionate about learning, and willing to engage their professors and fellow students in lively discussions. Honors students at Fairfield also are invited to attend intellectual and cultural events outside the classroom and faculty-led colloquia on a variety of topics.
The Honors curriculum challenges students to achieve the following educational goals:
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Identify major intellectual questions about the past and present.
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Write coherently about the history and methods of research into those questions.
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Design a research project on a major question in their field of study.
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Implement and report on the results of that research project.
Students who complete the Honors Program in good standing have their achievement noted on their final transcripts. Those who complete the program with an average grade of B+ in Honors courses receive the designation "University Honors Program Completed with Distinction." Those who complete the program with an average of A in Honors courses receive the designation "University Honors Program Completed with High Distinction."
This curriculum applies to students in the Class of 2023 and later.
The Honors Program comprises 21 credits earned through six Honors courses and an Honors-only section of ENGL 1001. The program also requires a senior capstone project, usually undertaken in the student's major during their senior year.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| ENGL 1001 | Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition (Honors-Only Sections) | 3 |
| HONR 1101 | Enduring Questions | 3 |
| HONR 2201 | Emerging Questions | 3 |
| HONR 2202 | Honors Seminar (x3) | 9 |
| HONR 3301 | Finding Answers | 3 |
| |
| Total Credits | 21 |
Honors and the Core Curriculum
This mapping to the core curriculum applies to students in the Class of 2023 and later.
Students in the Honors Program will take one class in one of these seven areas and six classes in the Honors Program to fulfill this portion of the Magis Core. The remaining eight courses required in the Magis Core remain unchanged for students in the Honors Program.
Students may elect to apply their Honors Program courses to six of the following seven areas:
- History
- Literature
- Natural Science
- Philosophy
- Religious Studies
- Social Science
- Visual and Performing Arts
Students in the Honors Program will fulfill their History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies requirements in either Tier I or Tier II. Which courses fulfill which requirements and at which tier will depend on each student’s specific enrollment choices.
Signature Elements
Honors Program courses may fulfill signature elements of the core at the same time that they fulfill core requirements in the seven areas listed above.
All team-taught Honors Program courses (i.e. HONR 1101 Enduring Questions, HONR 2201 Emerging Questions, and HONR 3301 Finding Answers) will fulfill the Interdisciplinary Signature Element requirement.
Honors Capstone
The honors capstone provides an opportunity for students to engage in mature research under the supervision of a faculty mentor. The senior honors project is not a course in its own right but either an independent study of three credits, typically conducted in the student's major field of study, or an enhancement of a course, which is recognized toward the completion of honors requirements. In the humanities, the project should be a paper of at least 25 to 50 pages in length. In studio art and creative writing, the project should take the form of a significant portfolio. In the natural sciences, mathematics, social sciences, nursing, and in the various areas of business, the finished project should conform to the discipline's acceptable format and length for publication.
Progress in the Honors Program
Students entering Fairfield University in Fall 2019 or later must maintain a 3.75 GPA in order to remain in the Honors Program.
