College's catalog - Trinity Christian College

Academic Program
65
Honors Program
The Honors Program at Trinity seeks to challenge and support academically gifted students
through seminars, unique opportunities within the major program, and participation in
cocurricular activities. Requirements include at least 15 semester hours, as follows:
1. Four honors courses that satisfy general requirements:
a. English 108 (Honors Writing), 3 hours
b. Philosophy 108 (Honors Philosophy), 3 hours
c. two interim courses, 2 hours each. At least one honors interim is offered each year.
2. At least one honors seminar, to be taken in the sophomore, junior, or senior year, 3 hours.
3. At least two semester hours of honors work in the major. This requirement may be
fulfilled by taking a designated honors course in the major, by taking an additional hour of
honors credit attached to two regularly scheduled major courses, or by participating in the
Vander Velde Junior Scholars program. Arrangements for fulfilling this requirement are made
by a contract with a supervising faculty member in the major and the director of the Honors Program.
Co-curricular activities. Honors students are invited and encouraged to attend a selection of
on-campus and off-campus cultural, social, and intellectual events.
General Educational Assumptions
One of the guiding principles of program planning at Trinity is that every student should study
one or two areas in sufficient depth to master that discipline beyond the level of a general survey
and build the foundation for further academic or vocational work. Every student, therefore, is
required to complete a major program, and most are required to complete a minor area as well.
A good education includes more than a major. A well-educated person must have knowledge
and understanding that includes more than specialization, and true meaning can be grasped only
when knowledge is seen in the context of a coherent whole. Thus all students, in all programs,
are required to complete a set of courses outside the major, both in fixed requirements and
distributive electives.
The fixed requirements are based on the premise that certain studies are foundational to all
academic work: philosophy, theology, history, English composition, and literature. Students are
encouraged to complete these courses in the early years of their studies, so that major courses can
build on the knowledge and insights gained in these foundational studies.
The general distribution of course requirements addresses the need for breadth and variety to
enable students to appreciate the diversity of creation and discover interests and aptitudes beyond
their major fields of study. Finally, because the concept of vocation is viewed at Trinity as a calling
by God to service in one’s occupation, students are helped to understand the dynamic application
of their studies to lives of service in their chosen vocations.
admissions@trnty.edu