The French philosopher Pascal once said that most of the ills of the world could be traced to people being unable to sit in a room and think. The Honors Program at Loyola University Maryland attempts to teach students how to think. Because it is committed to liberal arts learning in the Jesuit tradition, the program places special emphasis on ideas and their expression. Students in Honors engage in a dialogue with great thinkers, writers, and artists—ancient and modern—in order to understand how ideas have shaped and continue to shape the world in which we live.
Honors brings together students and faculty who seek not only academic achievement but also intellectual challenge and growth. The program focuses on the whole person, helping and challenging students as they work to refine and deepen their ability to think critically, to discern the true and the good, to respond to the beautiful, and to explore the intersection of faith and reason. It offers students who are serious about their intellectual growth a series of classes and activities designed to lay the groundwork for responsible and informed choice in later life.
Eligibility
Honors students are distinguished by their superior academic records and by their desire to participate in the program’s distinctive curriculum and activities.
Curriculum
The Honors Program curriculum offers students a fully integrated program of study that is both multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary. It accomplishes the goals of the regular University core curriculum, but through an alternate path, and is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate the requirements of all majors across the University.
Learn more about the curriculum
Community
Though Honors courses are rigorous and challenging, professors endeavor to foster an atmosphere of mutual support and collegiality rather than of rivalry or competition. Honors students speak often of the sense of community that develops among them, and many lasting friendships have grown out of the program. At the same time, Honors students are by no means isolated from the larger University community. Because they often are among the most talented and engaged students on campus, Honors students tend to excel both in the program and in a whole range of extra-curricular campus activities.
Connections
The Honors faculty includes many of the University’s finest professors—teachers and scholars who are selected for their love of learning and their ability to communicate that love to students. They take a deep personal interest in their students and are readily available outside of the classroom for individual consultation and guidance.
Honors students benefit from seminar-style courses in small classroom settings.
Off-campus excursions and activities foster connection among students and help them explore the City of Baltimore and neighborhoods surrounding Loyola’s campus.
Honors students can take advantage of full access to the Honors Lounge, a space for studying, collaborating, and meeting featuring large tables, comfortable couches, and a printer, located in the Humanities building.
Honors courses are combined with an extensive program of trips, events, and extra-curricular enrichment.
Honors classes are taught by Loyola’s most distinguished faculty, experts in their field who are also dedicated professors and mentors.
Students are encouraged to undertake independent study, often interdisciplinary, through their honors courses and other classes at Loyola.
Our annual trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is always a highlight.