Liberal Arts Honors Program

Contact Information

Phone: 401.865.2233
Fax: 401.865.1864
Location: Ruane Center for the Humanities 247

The Faculty

Stephen J. Lynch, Ph.D., Program Director
Suzanne J. Fournier, Ph.D., Associate Director

Honors Certificate

Honors courses are taught by selected faculty members and Dominican Friars from virtually every department at the College. 

The Liberal Arts  Honors Program offers students of high academic ability and initiative a challenging, rigorous, and in-depth Providence College Core Curriculum. The program aspires to develop students as lifelong learners with a broad range of intellectual and professional interests. The program also strives to enrich the cultural and co-curricular experiences of students on and off campus. Students are required to take a minimum of six Honors courses: the four-course sequence of Honors Development of Western Civilization during the freshman and sophomore years, a capstone Colloquium in the junior or senior year, and a minimum of one additional Honors course. Most Honors courses fulfill core requirements, and thus students enjoy plenty of flexibility to pursue any major (or double major) at the College.

Honors courses require substantially more reading, more writing, and more seminar discussion—and thus students develop greater breadth of knowledge and greater aptitude for critical and creative thinking. Small seminar classes of 12-15 students allow for lively and in-depth discussions and plenty of interaction among students and faculty.

Honors grades are weighted, so that students earn an additional .17 grade points for each course (though an Honors A is the exception and does not earn more than 4.0). In order to graduate with an Honors Certificate, a student must earn a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25.

The Liberal Arts Honors Program fulfills the Core Focus requirement by virtue of completing all requirements for the program.

How to Qualify

Invitations to the Honors Program are extended from the Office of Admission based on the student’s overall application to Providence College. Qualifying students are invited into the program on the basis of the rigor of their high school courses, class standing, recommendations, and sample essays. Students who are not invited as freshmen, however, can apply for admission into the Honors Program after one year of outstanding academic performance at the College.