Honors Program

The Honors Program at Bethel University offers selected students the opportunity to work with other highly motivated scholars during their college careers at Bethel.

The Honors Program is a broad-based, liberal arts program combining four all-honors classes; individual work with professors of your choice in two additional courses; and an ongoing program of social events, cultural activities, speakers, and forum presentations.

During your senior year, the Honors Program blends into advanced work in your major through a department-sponsored Senior Honors Project, which may be a scientific experiment, an original artistic work, a senior research thesis, or a similar project.

Honors Program students are exempt from several standard curriculum requirements, so the honors degree requires no more credits than a regular degree and can be completed within a normal workload.


Our goal is to accept about 25 new students into the Honors Program each year, with roughly an equal number of men and women. Students usually enter the program at the start of their freshman year. Transfer students should contact the Honors Program director.

You must commit to two honors courses your first year and maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.3, rising to 3.4 by the end of your sophomore year.

If you have further questions, please contact Dr. Sara Shady, director of the Honors Program, at 651.638.6174. You may also contact the Office of Admissions by emailing BUadmissions-cas@bethel.edu or by calling 651.638.6242 or 800.255.8706, ext. 6242.

The Honors Program application may be completed and submitted on Bethel's Admissions website.