The Honors College at Rutgers-Newark is a four-year undergraduate "college within a college," drawing the top students admitted to the Newark College of Arts and Sciences. The Honors College aims to prepare students from all disciplines for graduate and professional education and for leadership roles in the public and private sectors through the cultivation of strong skills in communication and critical thinking, a tradition of creative and independent enterprise, and a spirit of civic engagement. The Honors College draws on faculty in all disciplines to present colloquia, teach seminars, and serve as mentors for honors projects. Honors College students are given full consideration for all available merit scholarships, and enjoy close interaction with faculty, small classes and seminars, independent and cross-disciplinary study, research assistantships, and off-campus internships and service opportunities.

Students are invited to join the Honors College based on their academic record. In some instances, an interview with a member of the staff may be required. Incoming first-year students, as well as continuing and transfer students, are all considered for Honors College invitations. Those interested in receiving an invitation to join the Honors College may contact the director to request consideration.

Participants in the four-year program are required to enroll in 21:350:103-104 Honors English Composition and 21:525:100 First-Year Honors Colloquium during the first year. In addition, 21:640:155-156 Honors Calculus is available for students with the appropriate mathematics background as are honors sections of courses offered by other departments. Honors College sophomores satisfy their history and literature general degree requirement by taking special linked sections of history and literature courses. To graduate with Honors College distinction, students must take two Honors College topics courses while enrolled in NCAS and complete a Senior Honors project. The topics courses include upper-level honors seminars, graduate courses, internships, and independent study and research programs. The Senior Honors project is the capstone of the Honors College program and often is of either publishable or exhibition quality, thus giving graduates the credentials ordinarily characteristic of advanced graduate students.

For more information, contact Dr. John J. Gunkel, Director of the Honors College, Smith Hall 236, Rutgers-Newark, Newark, NJ 07102 (973/353-5860), email: jgunkel@andromeda.rutgers.edu.