Honors Programs

For students in liberal arts and business, education, and mental health and well-being:

Students with a record of academic promise and leadership in high school apply to join the honors program when they apply to enter Lesley University. Others are invited to join afterward, based on their academic record. The goals of this honors program can be separated into three pillars: forming a close-knit intellectual community, fostering scholarly independence, and developing close interaction with faculty.

This honors program seeks to create a strong intellectual community from the start. Most students come into the program in their first year and are strongly encouraged to enroll in the honors section of the writing program, CWRIT 1101 English as Thinking and Process, or the honors section of CLITR 1100 Word and Image.  For students in either of these sections, they would complete their first of five required honors courses.

This program also facilitates honors students’ ability to develop into independent scholars through close interaction with faculty. Students have the option of turning any of their regular coursework into an Honors Contract by proposing to complete advanced assignments or an honors project. Planning and completing this work builds relationships between the faculty and the honors students and requires these students to do independent research.  Students pursue their passions in close consultation with experts in those fields.

Students complete senior year having built lasting friendships among honors students and the wider Lesley community. Having completed the requirements of five honors courses, they have developed the skills and practice of independent scholars that can plan and execute well-designed research projects that often engage with the community outside the walls of Lesley’s campuses. They graduate having developed close relationships with faculty who have guided their intellectual pursuits and mentored them in how to use those skills and talents in their future careers and their future advocacy efforts. 

For more information about this honors program, contact:

Dr. Sonia Pérez-Villanueva

Associate Provost of Liberal Arts and Business

Professor of Spanish Studies and Literature in Translation

sperezvi@lesley.edu

For students in Art & Design:

Students who wish to engage in rigorous, interdisciplinary coursework and dialogue are invited to participate in Lesley's Art & Design Honor's Program.

Students who participate in this program can expect added rigor in project-based courses, integrated and interdisciplinary practice with group project dynamics, and collaborative experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Focused critiques and special events serve to support the development of students' skills as they prepare for lives as creative professionals and active participants in visual culture.

Students will be expected to take an Honors Seminar in their first and second years. First year students who are interested in participating in the Honors program can simply enroll in the Foundation Honors Seminar (INTGR 1000). For more information, please contact First Year Experience Coordinator, Leah Craig, lcraig@lesley.edu.

Students can also petition to take honors-based courses in liberal arts and business by contacting Sonia Pérez-Villanueva (info above).