James Scholar Program Details « James Scholars « Honors Programs « Students « College of Liberal Arts & Sciences « University of Illinois

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James Scholar Honors Program

Being a James Scholar | First-Year James Scholar Designees | Self-Nominating Students | Maintaining Eligibility | Participation in Honors Courses | James Scholar Graduation Honors

The LAS James Scholar Honors Program offers a number of curricular and cocurricular opportunities to high-achieving students. This program is designed specifically for students with a passion to push beyond the typical classroom experience.

Being a James Scholar

Participation in the James Scholar Honors Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences complements and enriches a student’s educational experience. As part of the honors experience, a James Scholar can:

• participate in honors courses, including those designed for incoming students
• transform standard courses into honors courses
• receive early registration privileges
• work closely with professors
• apply for upper-level undergraduate research awards
• receive invitations to cocurricular and leadership activities
• be designated as a James Scholar on his or her transcript, awarded annually
• receive recognition at graduation

First-Year James Scholar Designees

The James Scholar Honors Program offers a number of curricular and cocurricular opportunities to entering first-year students who are invited to participate in the honors program as James Scholar Designees. Opportunities are designed to build a foundation towards discovering a student’s voice, readying the student to make a difference, and becoming a competent and agile learner in the realms of citizenship, stewardship, and leadership. These incoming students are notified of their eligibility by a letter from the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. No additional information or application, other than the admissions application, is necessary for students to be considered.

Self-Nominating Students

Interested students who meet the Self-Nomination qualifications must collect an application packet during the first two weeks of the semester from the LAS Honors office at Room 1 of the University YMCA. Students must complete the entire application process, which includes attending a mandatory LAS self-nomination orientation meeting within the specified time period.

Students Eligible to Apply for Spring 2012

• Continuing first-year students in their second semester at Illinois who have earned a cumulative Illinois GPA of 3.60 or higher.
• Students who transferred directly to the College of LAS in Fall 2011 from a prior institution (approximately 15 credit hours) and who are now in their second semester at Illinois (still first-years) and have earned a cumulate Illinois GPA of 3.60 or higher.
• Newly admitted transfer students entering the College of LAS after two semesters in college (approximately 30 credit hours) with a transfer cumulative GPA of 3.60.
• Newly admitted transfer students entering the College of LAS after more than two semesters in college (approximately 45-60 credit hours) with a transfer cumulative GPA of 3.60 and documentary verification of successful, ongoing participation in an Honors Program at their prior institution.

Students NOT Eligible to Apply for Spring 2012

• Transfer students entering the College of LAS after one semester in college (approximately 15 credit hours) are not eligible for Spring 2012 self-nomination and should visit the LAS Honors office for more information.
• Students who transferred to Illinois prior to Spring 2012, who have completed three full semesters in college (approximately 45 credit hours) or more, are no longer eligible for self-nomination to the LAS James Scholar program and should make an appointment for after Week 3 of the term to speak to an LAS Honors representative about other opportunities for recognition and distinction.
• Continuing Illinois students who have completed three or more semesters at Illinois are no longer eligible for self-nomination to the LAS James Scholar program and should make an appointment for after Week 3 of the term to speak to an LAS Honors representative about other opportunities for recognition and distinction.

Maintaining Eligibility

James Scholars must meet program requirements each academic year to remain in good standing and to continue receiving the program’s benefits. To be certified as a James Scholar in LAS each year, scholars must fulfill the following requirements:

• complete at least two Integrated Honors Courses or Electronic Honors Credit Learning Agreements (EHCLA) during the academic year
• earn a qualifying cumulative grade-point average*

At the end of each academic year, the transcripts of James Scholar Designees are examined to determine if the college’s requirements have been fulfilled. Successful completion of the two requirements results in the placement of “Edmund J. James Scholar” for that academic year on the transcript and nomination for the next year.

James Scholars and James Scholar self-nominees are held responsible for adherence to the rules for Academic Integrity at Illinois (Code of Policies and Regulations Applying to All Students, Article 1, Part 4). Students who are found to have been penalized within the scope of Article 1, Part 4 will automatically forfeit their LAS James Scholar memberships and privileges.

* The qualifying GPA for students whose matriculation (starting) term is Fall 2010 or before is 3.50.

Participation in Honors Courses

James Scholar Designees (First-Year Students)

James Scholar Designees are required to enroll in one required honors course and one additional course for honors during their freshman year. In the fall, they are required to enroll in LAS 122: “Leadership and Society.” In addition to LAS 122, James Scholar Designees are required to enroll in one additional 3-hour course for honors credit, preferably during the fall term of freshman year.

James Scholar Requirements

All sophomore, junior, and senior James Scholars (regardless of admission or self-nomination date) must enroll in two 3-hour courses for honors credit per academic year. There are two ways of doing so:

• Enrolling in an Integrated Honors Course during registration; this is a course with integrated topics and assignments offered only to honors students that—upon completion of the course with a grade of B- or higher—results in honors credit on the transcript.
• Completing an Electronic Honors Credit Learning Agreement (EHCLA), a special agreement between a student and instructor that permits James Scholars to transform a “regular” course into an honors course. The student is required to complete additional, course-related assignments or projects as per this agreement. The assignments or projects agreed upon between student and instructor must be academic in nature and serve as enrichment to the regular syllabus. This work may be in addition to or in lieu of regular course work.

James Scholar Graduation Honors

See LAS Distinction and Recognition.