Honors Program

What Is It?

The honors program at BVU is a program designed to encourage our best and brightest students to go further, to develop their academic talents beyond the regular programs. It is designed to provide greater depth to our student's regular academic program through specialized courses, dialogue and research work.

Who Qualifies?

You are selected for the program based on academic achievement and potential and by displaying an interest in completing research at the undergraduate level. You will be qualified for the honors program if you meet two of three criteria:

• 28 ACT or higher
• High School Rank in top 10% or
• 3.75 Grade Point Average

If you transfer to Buena Vista you can also be admitted to the honors program if you have a 3.5 cumulative college GPA or above, complete an interview and fill out the intent to enroll forms after being selected from the interview process. BVU students must maintain a 3.5 GPA to remain in the program.

What are the benefits?

The primary benefit of the honors program at BVU is intellectual.  It is about what you learn from taking honors explorations courses that make you think, from learning how to do research in your field, from working closely with your professors to propose, conduct, and present a research project over the course of several semesters, and from being part of an intellectual community dedicated to academic leadership on campus.

Other benefits you receive as a participant in the honors program include:

• priority registration for classes
• $500 funding support for your research project
• a designation on your transcript
• $2000 travel stipend (for those students who complete All College Honors)