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Story from Pigeon 605

For qualifying students at ����Ӱ��, it’s the best of both college experiences: the appeal of a Division I university combined with the personal experience of a school that feels much smaller.

The Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College offers that unique value — a program that blends rigorous, smaller classes, immersive cocurricular experiences and extensive leadership opportunities.

“Honors is a huge part of attracting the best and the brightest to SDSU,” said Greg Heiberger, dean of the Fishback Honors College.

An SDSU alumnus, his previous roles included serving as associate dean for academics and student success in natural sciences and supporting the premedical program.

At Fishback Honors College, “what’s really amazing is that we are living the land-grant mission by being open-access,” he said.

“Our admissions requirements for the Honors College emphasize academic achievement while still being very approachable, and there are no additional fees thanks to our generous donors. We really embrace an ‘arms-wide-open’ approach to honors education.”

To qualify for the Honors College, students must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• ACT score of 27 or higher
• SAT score of 1280 or higher
• 3.7 or higher high school GPA

Current SDSU students or transfer students are automatically eligible to join the Fishback Honors College if they have a cumulative 3.2 GPA in their college coursework.

Students who do not meet one of the automatic eligibility criteria but who are interested in joining the Fishback Honors College can apply for consideration.

“Students in the Honors College benefit from small classes that allow for engagement with some of the best and brightest faculty and peers,” Heiberger said.

About 5% of the student body participates in the Honors College, which means a couple hundred first-year students across all majors start in the program each year. They have a high retention and graduation rate, benefiting from a growing number of opportunities throughout their SDSU experience.

Academically, honors students are granted priority registration and complete 24 credits of honors coursework integrated into the requirements for their major. Most of the honors credits are taken in place of or along with courses that already are required for the student’s major.

“Honors courses often include in-depth discussions and hands-on activities,” Heiberger said. “Students also complete a colloquium, which is an interdisciplinary course that students find really unique and interesting.”

Colloquium topics vary from semester to semester, and recent examples have included current and future issues in health care; mathematics and the arts; sport and globalization; and the psychology of popular culture.

Starting strong

As first-year students, many Honors College members participate in a first-year orientation course to enhance connections and well-being during the first few months of their college experience, meeting weekly during the first half of the fall semester. They also work with returning honors students who serve as mentors.

“If you talk to students, there will be graduating seniors applying to grad school or jobs who are still reaching out to their mentor who already has the job or has gone to medical school or has an internship,” Heiberger said.

First-year students also can live in Honors Hall, which includes the Honors College dean’s office, a library, a conference room, group study rooms and lounges. Amenities include kitchens, fireplaces, flat-screen TVs, a printing station and a pool table.

The Honors Living-Learning ����Ӱ�� in Honors Hall offers both traditional two-person rooms and suite-style living. All Honors College students, regardless of Living-Learning ����Ӱ�� participation, can use the shared spaces and engage in honors programming.

“It’s a beautiful building with amazing social spaces. A lot of college is about the people: connecting with others, developing relationships and just living life and having fun.”

Throughout the Honors College experience, students build community at events, including potlucks, ice cream socials, the Honors Literary Circle and many Honors College student organization events.

Defining experiences

Fishback Honors College students also have the option to participate in a unique honors travel studies experience. Typically, students enroll in a spring course followed by a two-week travel opportunity in the summer. Past locations have included Indonesia, Greece and Ireland.

“Our students can still engage in the broader university study abroad experience, but those tend to be pretty narrow in focus,” Heiberger said.

“Honors College travel studies programs are much more interdisciplinary, which is really valuable. A couple of our faculty are leading a group to the Netherlands and Belgium this spring, and although their primary focus will be on peace and conflict resolution, they will also cover agriculture, art, economics, health care and history. It’s a robust, broad experience with students from all majors.”

Students also complete an honors capstone, which can include original research, creative work or applied projects in their discipline under the direction of a faculty mentor. The project is accompanied by a final paper and a public presentation of the work.

Throughout their time in the Honors College, students benefit from enhanced learning and other opportunities — from attending conferences to practice interviews, resume assistance and community service.

“It’s this really dynamic, well-thought-out experience,” Heiberger said. “Once students discover honors and realize they qualify, they jump right in because of all the extra value, experiences, community and academics.”

Honors students tend to be incredibly engaged on campus at SDSU. For instance, they comprise between one-third and one-half of the student senate in any given year. Honors students march in The Pride of the Dakotas Marching Band, compete in Division I athletics, serve as academic tutors and lead student clubs and organizations. The Honors College also supports LeadState, a semester-long program for sophomore students to help them identify and build on their leadership strengths, set leadership goals, connect with campus and community leaders, and engage in service.

Honors students also regularly serve as teaching assistants, peer mentors and as part of the student recruitment team.

“These students are serving as SDSU ambassadors, winning national scholarships and competitions, and giving back to the community as leaders,” Heiberger said.

To learn more

Students interested in learning more can request to visit with the Honors College as a part of any SDSU admissions visit or attend an Honors Visit Day specifically for prospective honors students and families.

To begin learning more online, visit the Fishback Honors College webpage.