Lasell University Honors Program

Honors adds polish and distinction to the student's major, transcript, resumé and commencement ceremony in a way that employers understand at a glance.  More importantly, Honors provides a community within a community, a social and intellectual arena for personal development, challenge, and collaborative work with dynamic and interesting peers and faculty from every program.  

The Honors Program focuses on collaboration not competition.

Requirements replace general requirements. They are specially designed for Honors students to ensure different dimensions of experience. Honors requirements at Lasell are not Advanced Placement-style courses that ramp up ordinary courses in the general curriculum. 

Honors is connected learning at its best.

Honors Courses, Honors Components, and a number of unique program activities and opportunities on and off-campus produce multidimensional thinkers and problem-solvers. Honors requirements enable students to reach beyond the bounds of their major by offering social and intellectual practice, debate, and dialogue. Honors develops ingenuity, resourcefulness and, even better, the confidence and mental flexibility to tackle life problems and questions as they arise. 

Lasell University Honors Program graduates stand out.  

Honors graduates demonstrate the drive, intercultural experience and global perspective that employers seek. Close working relationships with faculty foster independent thinking, social responsibility and enthusiasm for the power of ideas. Students gain the depth and innovation in thought that equips graduates to advance in their careers, build their own investigation or enterprise, or change the world. Honors students gain the skill to research problems from a number of angles. They develop the team and leadership strategies necessary to organize action and implement solutions.

Lasell University Customized Honors Curriculum = 4+4   
Four (4) Honors Courses + Four (4) Honors Components

This sequence is designed to blend with any student's major, minor and set of interests, including students who participate in Lasell Works, athletics, double majors, Double Lasers, study abroad, three-year degrees, and more. Students can work with the director to tailor their path.

Four Custom Courses: Honors courses replace other general requirements. These are specially designed for Honors students and offer opportunities and activities distinct from the regular curriculum.  Pacing is up to the student and can be tailored with the director and advisors. Courses are available fall and spring. It works to a student's advantage to take course in the fall.

Four Custom Components: These are passion projects with faculty guides. Each can earn one course credit. They are investigations into things that interest the student. Guidelines and sample Components are available. Component mentors and the director will help you come up with ideas. Honors students decide the pace themselves. Some may decide to do zero, one or two within any a given year. There are three types of Components to choose from.

Course-based Components. Each year students select a project in a non-Honors course they would like to tweak or customize. They substitute a project they themselves design (with the professor) and modify or replace what the other students will be doing. Components are different work. They need not be more work unless one designs the Component that way. These are equivalent to 20-25% of a course grade.

Independent Components. Students may decide to do a Component with a professor they select and work outside of a regular course.

Special Group Component options will be offered on occasion such as reading and film groups, marketing projects, editing the Honors Program magazine Laser Focus, participating on the social media team, etc.  Honors students are notified of options through the Honors director.

Continuing Eligibility Requirements
Students enter the Honors Program in three ways. They are invited in during the admissions process, or they nominate themselves, or they are nominated by a staff or faculty member during the fall semester. Transfer students, non-traditional students and advanced students should speak directly to the director about entry to the Program. 

Graduation from the Honors Program depends on good standing in academics and conduct. Students must maintain a 3.5 overall cumulative average to continue in the Honors Program. If they are unable to do this for a semester, they will be notified and asked to return to GPA eligibility by the end of the next semester. Students must pass all Honors requirements with a grade of C or better. Students can appeal Program decisions.