Benefits of Honors Program

Seminar style teaching: Seminar style teaching consists in thoughtful dialogue, where each person’s voice is heard within the context of a small group of peers (usually about 10-15 students per class). A professor guides the conversation and may also present information in lecture form. But students are not passive note-takers! Much of the preparatory work is done outside the classroom so that meaningful conversations may take place in class itself. 

Intellectual and character formation: Students often find that these seminar-style classes form them both intellectually and personally. In learning how to converse civilly, sometimes with humor, and always with integrity, they gain skills for living with people who often differ quite markedly from them. 

Devoted faculty: Accomplished faculty meet regularly with students in the Honors Program, to guide them in their academic pursuits and throughout their thesis projects. Faculty often invite students to their homes, or to church, and get to know them as people. Professors write informed and detailed recommendation letters for internships and graduate programs. And many mentorships continue long after students have graduated from Baylor. 

Informed engagement: In some respects, The Honors Program offers a training ground for informed political engagement. This is not political activism, but rather a growing awareness of the multiple perspectives students will encounter in the course of their adult lives. Baylor Honors Program classes engage meaningful and sometimes even contentious issues. We converse about difficult questions of faith, Christian doctrine, and about contemporary social problems. Perhaps most important of all, these kinds of intense conversations encourage deep and lasting friendships.