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Honors

Montgomery College's Honors Program is a collegewide program for motivated students seeking exciting and academically rewarding experiences. It allows students to discover and develop their talents and interests through honors courses, seminars, independent study, internships, service-learning opportunities, and social and cultural activities. It features five special programs: Renaissance Scholars, STEM Scholars,  Macklin Business Institute,  Montgomery Scholars, and the Scholars Circle.

Eligibility

Students have to meet one of the following criteria to become an MC Honors student:

  • Completion of at least 12 MC credits with a GPA of 3.4 or higher in transfer-level classes, including ENGL 101 or ENGL101/011 with a grade of A or B
  • SAT scores of 600 on each section and a minimum high school GPA of 3.5, unweighted
  • Eligibility for ENGL 102, as determined by the MC placement process, and a minimum high school GPA of 3.5, unweighted

Students who are applying from high school or who are new to the school should contact an honors counselor.

Honors Update – Change in Eligibility Requirements

 The recent changes in the GPA requirements to graduate with honors instituted by Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) raised the qualifying cumulative GPA to 3.5. Our honors program has always been committed to helping students develop as scholars. The mission has not changed, but the GPA eligibility requirement needs to align more closely to state standards. Several honors programs and initiatives already require more than a 3.2 – Macklin Scholars 3.5, STEM Scholars 3.4, and the Paul Peck Humanities Institute Honors Internships a 3.4.

CURRENT AND NEW STUDENTS:
Effective June 1, 2020, the cumulative GPA required to take any honors course will be 3.4. New students applying to take an honors course in the fall (aside from those who have been grandfathered in through a program listed below) will have to meet the 3.4 requirement.

MACKLIN SCHOLARS, MONTGOMERY SCHOLARS, AND RENAISSANCE SCHOLARS:
Current students in the Montgomery Scholars and Renaissance Scholars who were accepted into these programs before June 1, 2020 will be grandfathered in with the requirement of 3.2 or above (which was the required GPA at their time of admission).

Search For Honors Courses

  1. Go to Search the Class Schedule
  2. Click on Advanced Search
  3. Select the Term and click Submit
  4. Follow the instructions on the page to select subject(s)
  5. Under Attribute Type, select Honors Course
  6. Click Class Search

Scholarships and Internships

Students accepted into Montgomery Scholars and the Macklin Business Institute honors programs receive full tuition scholarships up to 30 credits per academic year.

The STEM Scholars Program offers a limited number of scholarships each fall and spring semester. Each scholarship will cover the cost of tuition of a three, four or five credit honors course at the in-county rate.  

  • In addition, our advisors assist students in applying for national scholarships including the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, and others.

MC Honors students are eligible for unique internship opportunities through the Paul Peck Humanities Institutenew window, the Potomac Review, the Women's & Gender Studies Program, and more. Contact an honors advisor to learn more about scholarships and internships. 

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Renaissance Scholars

This selective honors program features scholarship support, special advising, and the opportunity to earn college credit for a summer study/travel experience.

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Montgomery Scholars

Montgomery Scholars accepts 25 outstanding high school graduates each year. This academically challenging program offers a full tuition scholarship and combines a rigorous curriculum of honors courses, special advising, and an honors capstone research project.

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Macklin Business Institute

Macklin Business Institute (MBI) Honors Program offers experiential learning and internships in economics, statistics, and other core business courses, and includes a full-tuition scholarship. 

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The Scholars Circle

Designed for high-achieving students, The Scholars Circle allows students to design their own honors curriculum and provides special advising and activities.

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STEM Scholars Program

The STEM Scholars Program is a selective honors program for students majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) at Montgomery College.

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The Honors Program is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council, a national organization of honors programs at two- and four-year colleges and universities, and the Maryland Collegiate Honors Council. Montgomery College is also a member of the Beacon Conference, a conference for student scholars at two-year colleges.

Honors Coursework Codes

  • Honors modules (HM suffix) – honors enriched coursework, paired with standard class section
  • Honors sections of existing classes (HC suffix) – classes with all honors students for standard course offerings
  • Honors independent study (HONR prefix) – student initiated independent research projects guided by faculty

Honors Conferences

  • Maryland
  • Beacon
  • Northeast Regional

Honors Transfer Agreements

Having challenged themselves, MC Honors students find bright futures ahead. MC Honors students have transferred to distinguished schools including Boston University, Cornell University, New York University, and many others. We also have an honors-to-honors transfer agreement with Dickinson College, meaning that MC Honors students have the opportunity to transfer to Dickinson as honors students.