Honors society sees record with most seniors graduating program in recent history

Last semester, honors students were treated to a new lounge which was formerly the Courtyard Food Court. Photo by Claire VanOstenbridgeBy Shamira McCray

In May, the Winthrop University Honors Program will graduate its largest number of members in several years. 

The Honors Program consists of a little over 200 students with 26 graduating this spring. With this many students completing the program, members say it shows the growth of the honors program as well as the quality.

Students who participate in the program are privileged to have small class sizes in a variety of honors courses, honors floors in residence halls, independent study with a professor of choice and access to the new Honors Center at Courtyard.

Allison Howard, senior psychology major, has seen changes in the program over the time that she has been a member.

“The honors program has come a long way in such a short time, and I couldn’t be prouder to have participated in it,” Howard said.

Since Howard became a member of the honors program, she has noticed that they have received more campus-wide recognition as well as greater interest from incoming freshmen.

“Receiving priority registration was easily our biggest triumph,” Howard said.

Howard said they began receiving priority registration during the spring semester of 2010. Members of the Honors program register for classes before anyone else at Winthrop, including athletes.

With the Honors program graduating as many students as it is this May, Howard said that it speaks highly of Winthrop as an institution, as well as the quality and rigor of the honors program.

“Clearly, this class has come to acknowledge the importance of entering the honors program with the full intent of graduating with an honors program degree,” Howard said. “Understanding and following through with these additional commitments is essential to the continued growth and promotion of our program.”

Kathy Lyon, professor of psychology and director of the honors society, said the reason there are so many students in the program is due to the fact that they have a significant presence on campus.

“Honors students appreciate a different type of learning experience and see the value of an honors education,” Lyon said.

Any Winthrop student with a GPA of at least 3.30 can apply to become a member of the program. Letters of invitation are currently being sent to freshman students, Lyon said. Freshmen have to make at least a 1200 on the SAT or 27 on the ACT, and have at least a 3.5 GPA to apply to the program.

At the end of the year, students present their honors thesis research to the Winthrop community at the annual Honors Thesis Colloquium. The honors thesis is a commitment of the program and students usually conduct an independent study with a professor of their choosing for research. 

The Honors Thesis Colloquium is usually completed in an hour and a half. With so many students having to complete a thesis this year, concerns were raised by students on how every thesis would be completed during that time frame. However, Lyon said that was not a problem.

“The students will be doing both oral presentations and poster presentations,” Lyon said.

Seven students will be doing 45 minute oral presentations and 19 students will be doing poster presentations.

Students completing the Honors program will receive honors regalia in the form of a garnet cord and an honors program degree. Most of these students will also graduate with an academic honor.