Honors Program

The Seattle Community Colleges attract students with strong academic records and promising futures because of our reputation for career relevance, dedicated teaching, small class sizes and exceptional diversity. We want to strengthen the academic experience of high-achieving students at our colleges, and attract more who could benefit, by creating an Honors Program.

The Honors Program at the Seattle Community Colleges will provide an enriched academic environment, featuring rigorous coursework and enhanced support services to encourage academically talented and well-prepared students to work to their full potential and achieve their goal of transferring to a four-year institution. The three colleges will offer an honors program built around a common district-wide approach. The goal of the Honors Program is to --

  • Inspire students to challenge themselves intellectually and work to their full potential;
  • Facilitate the transfer of honors students to selective four-year institutions;
  • Promote scholarship and community among program participants.

The Honors Program is intended to contribute to a climate of excellence in the colleges and in the surrounding communities by attracting and retaining academically talented, diverse and highly motivated students. The program will offer an innovative honors curriculum that emphasizes advanced coursework, scholarship, research and leadership. This program is expected to increase transfer rates to four-year institutions, improve student retention and encourage more high school students to enroll at the Seattle Community Colleges.

Fund a Scholar

Outstanding students who receive merit-based scholarships identify financial savings as a top reason for attending a particular college. Substantial merit-based scholarship plans have been successful in attracting academically talented students of diverse backgrounds to community college honors programs. A goal of the Power & Promise Campaign will be to:

  • Create endowed scholarships for students in the Honors Program at each college;
  • Create endowed funds to support international study and travel;
  • Fund faculty to teach, advise and develop special curriculum in the Honors Program.