Baylor Honors College Designated as Hidden Gem
ACTA initiative shines a light on Baylor's high-quality interdisciplinary education across the liberal arts
Front lawn of Baylor University's Honors Residential College, home to 330 Baylor students enrolled in one of the Honors College majors or programs. (Robert Rogers/Baylor University)
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Baylor University’s Honors College has been designated by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) as a Hidden Gem, an initiative that shines a light on honors programs, major degree programs, minor degree programs and certificate programs that guide students through a high-quality and coherent education across the liberal arts, from philosophy and history to politics and the Great Books.
“Students who participate in one of ACTA’s Hidden Gems receive a deep liberal arts education,” said ACTA’s Program Manager for Academic Affairs Jeffrey Schulman. “Baylor’s Honors College is a shining example of one of these programs, thanks to offerings like its Great Texts core classes and residential community as well as high academic standards and accomplished faculty.”
An academic unit at the University since 2002, Baylor’s Honors College offers several rigorous interdisciplinary programs in classical literature, politics and the arts, including the Honors Program, which provides a traditional-style honors education marked by special classes, research and a thesis project, and a Great Texts of the Western Tradition major. Students can complete their requirements through a Bachelor of Philosophy degree program, the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core or create an individualized curriculum with faculty mentorship in the exclusive University Scholars major. Students often mix and match more than one Honors College program.
“ACTA’s recognition of the Honors College acknowledges things we prize at Baylor: academic rigor, interdisciplinary breadth, liberal arts education, gifted faculty and staff and highly engaged student learning communities,” said Douglas V. Henry, Ph.D., dean of the Honors College. “We’re thus delighted to see Honors College featured among a select company of undergraduate programs across the nation.”
With around 1,400 students, the Baylor Honors College provides a close-knit community of extraordinary talent like that found at an elite national liberal arts college, yet surrounded by the far-reaching opportunities and resources of a major national research university. At Baylor, Honors College students experience the best of both worlds – lifelong friendship in an intimate community of exemplary learning, together with the exhilaration of big-time university experiences.
“At the heart of it all is our spirited commitment to liberal arts education that integrates scholarship and teaching, faith and learning, and academic and student life,” Dean Henry said. “This commitment itself flows out of a capacious vision of loving truth, kindling faith and cultivating virtue in friendship, study and service to Christ and neighbor.”
ACTA’s Hidden Gems initiative complements the What Will They Learn?® project, which rates the core curriculum requirements at more than 1,100 schools. Baylor is one of only 19 universities nationwide – and one of only 13 private institutions – who received an “A” for their core curriculum requirements. Baylor requires six core subjects, including composition, literature, foreign language, U.S. government and history, math and science.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.
ABOUT THE HONORS COLLEGE AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
The Honors College at Baylor University unites five academic pathways: the Bachelor of Philosophy degree, the Great Texts major, the University Scholars major, the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, and the Honors Program. Students may also choose to live in the Honors Residential College, a multi-year community of students that fosters formation through friendship, study, service, and spiritual engagement. Together these opportunities invite undergraduates to explore questions that reach beyond the boundaries of individual disciplines. For more information, visit the Honors College website.