James Scholar Honors Program
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 and includes these benefits:
- participate in courses for incoming James Scholars
- transform standard courses into honors courses
- early registration privileges
- work more closely with professors
- eligibility for upper-level undergraduate research awards
- invitations to co-curricular and leadership activities
- transcript designation as a James Scholar, awarded annually
- recognition at graduation
Nomination and Certification as a James Scholar
First-Year James Scholar Designees
The James Scholar Honors Program offers a number of curricular and co-curricular 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 realm 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.
Self-Nominating Students
Continuing or transfer students with a qualifying cumulative grade point average and meeting honors requirements may self-nominate themselves as James Scholars. Students eligible for self-nomination are limited to those meeting one of the following criteria:
- First-year students in their second semester at the University of Illinois who have earned a qualifying cumulative Illinois GPA.*
- Second-year students in their third semester at Illinois who have earned a qualifying cumulative Illinois GPA.*
- Newly admitted transfer students entering the College of LAS after one or two semesters in college (approximately 15 or 30 credit hours) with a qualifying transfer cumulative GPA.* These students must complete a self-nomination packet during the first two weeks of their first semester at Illinois.
- Newly admitted transfer students entering the College of LAS after two years in college (approximately 60 credit hours) with a qualifying transfer cumulative GPA* and documentary verification of successful, ongoing participation in an Honors Program at their prior institution. These students must complete a self-nomination packet during the first two weeks of the first semester at Illinois.
* The qualifying GPA for students whose matriculation (starting) term is Fall 2009 is 3.50.
Interested students who meet the above 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.
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 criteria:
- complete at least two honors courses or Honors Credit Learning Agreements during the academic year, and
- earn a 3.5 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 criteria have been fulfilled. Successful completion of the two requirements results in the placement of "Edmund J. James Scholar for Academic Year 200X-1X" on the transcript and nomination for the next year.
James Scholars and nominees are held responsible for adherence to the rules for Academic Integrity at UIUC (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 membership and privileges.
Participation in Honors Courses
James Scholar Designees are required to enroll in two required honors courses and one additional course for honors during their freshman year. In the fall, they are required to enroll in LAS 120 "Intro to World Citizenship." In the spring, they are required to enroll in LAS 122 "Leadership And Society." In addition to LAS 120 and 122, James Scholar Designees are required to enroll in one additional 3-hour course for honors during their freshman year.
All James Scholars (regardless of admission or self-nomination date) must enroll in one 3-hour course for honors each semester. There are two ways of doing so:
- Enrolling in an honors course during registration—honors courses are designated in the class schedule.
- Completing an Honors Credit Learning Agreement, a special agreement between a student and instructor that permits James Scholars to transform a "regular " course into an honors course and to receive transcript notation for the effort. 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.
Graduating with Honors
Completing 25 hours of honors credit as a James Scholar is one pathway to graduating with college honors, provided that the student's grade point average is within the top 12 percent of graduating seniors.
Qualified students are invited to participate in the Honors Convocation in the spring.
Participation in Other Honors Programs
The college and departmental honors programs are complementary, and departmental honors courses can be used to maintain certification as a James Scholar. Participation in departmental honors programs occurs during upper class years. James Scholars may concurrently participate in and be recognized by other LAS and University honors programs or groups including Cohn Scholars, Rogers Scholars, and Chancellor's Scholars.