Honors Program

Benefits

As a member of the Stevenson University Honors program, you will:

• Receive priority registration.
• Take academically engaging Honors courses taught by talented faculty.
• Have access to specialized advising and mentoring (including a dedicated Honors librarian and Career Services advisor).
• Participate in career preparation programming tailored to the specific goals and aspirations of Honors students. 
• Enjoy the opportunity to meet distinguished political, social, and cultural leaders from around the world.
• Receive an Honors designation on your transcript upon successfully completing the program. 

Expectations

In order to remain in good standing the the Honors Program, students must:

• Enroll as a full-time student
• Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 each semester
• Complete the academic requirements (see Curriculum)
• Attend co-curricular programming each semester
• Participate in the peer-mentoring program

Scholarships

Honors students receive the highest level of merit scholarship and are also invited to apply for the Founders’ Scholarship, which recognizes a student’s potential to be an active, engaged member of the Stevenson Community. All scholarships are renewable for four years. For more information, please see the Scholarship & Grants page.

Curriculum

HON 100
Second Semester Freshman Year

This course introduces students to foundational aspects of the Honors Program, including collaborative, interdisciplinary thinking.

General Education Honors Courses
Freshman and Sophomore Year

A minimum of four Honors sections of general education or introductory courses are needed to fulfill University degree requirements, such as the following:

• Honors Writing Seminar
• Honors General Biology Lab
• Honors General Chemistry I Lab
• Honors General Chemistry II Lab
• Honors Introduction to Psychology
• Honors Public Speaking
• Honors Introduction to Sociology
• Honors Intro to Creative Writing
• Honors Topics in Literature

Two Honors contracts
Sophomore - Senior year

The Honors contracts give you an individualized academic experience tailored to your own interests within courses you are already taking to meet your degree requirements. You will work one-on-one with your faculty member to design an additional component to the course work that will allow you to take an interdisciplinary approach to a project. This will give you the opportunity to explore the intersections between different areas that interest you and work closely with your instructor.

HON 400
Junior or Senior year

This course allows you to explore your creativity and work with fellow Honors students from all different disciplines in a semester-long project-based class that asks you to work as a team to tackle a real-world problem or challenge. This class is creative and fun and prepares you for the kind of collaborative problem-solving that you will find in the workforce.

Transfer Honors

Stevenson University welcomes transfer students to join its Honors Program, which provides academically talented students the opportunity to develop a strong network of mutually outstanding and motivated peers and work closely with talented and engaged faculty. 

Direct Admit

Any transfer student who has completed an honors program at another college/university and has a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or higher will be granted guaranteed admission into the Stevenson University Honors Program. If you meet these criteria, please click here to indicate your interest in joining the Stevenson University Honors Program.

How to Apply

Transfer students who have not completed an honors program but fall into one of the following categories are strongly encouraged to apply to the Stevenson University Honors Program:

• Students with a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or higher who are currently enrolled in an honors program at another institution.
• Students not currently enrolled in an honors program but who have completed fewer than 30 credits and have a cumulative GPA of 3.5.

Please click here for the online application form.

Click here to view the Transfer Honors FAQ page. 

Peer Mentoring Program

Our incoming students are matched with peer mentors who will help them navigate their first year at Stevenson. By participating in this program, our mentors will develop their communication and interpersonal skills as they share their experiences with students in their major.  Mentees will benefit from this program by developing meaningful relationships with their mentors, expanding their network of resources on campus, and learning about strategies for success from other students.

Student Honors Advisory Board

The Student Honors Advisory Board plans and hosts co-curricular events for the program in addition to serving as liaisons between the students and the director. 

Student Advisory Board Members 2020-2021

Jessica Alicea

Major and Year: Business Administration Major with Fashion Merchandising Minor, Class of 2022

Hometown: Piscataway, New Jersey

Campus Involvement: SU Softball Team, Women of Resilience, Tenacity, and Humility (W.O.R.T.H), & Fashion Apparel and Design Club (FAD) as their Marketing Manager on the E-Board.
Career Goal: Managing a fashion company

Lauren Brightwell

Major: Film and Moving Image, Class of 2022

Minor: Software Design and Coding

Hometown: Columbia, MD

Involvement: Softball, Wild Stang Radio, Film + Moving Image Club

Career Goal: Director or Editor

Amanda Curran

Major and year: Nursing, Class of 2022

Hometown: St. Leonard, Maryland

Campus involvement: Student Leader of the Service Scholars Program, CRLA Level 1 Certified Tutor in the Academic Link, Treasurer of the National Society of Leadership and Success, National Residence Hall Honorary, Student Representative of the Nursing Curriculum Committee

Career goal: Labor and Delivery nurse

Grace Fillmore

Major: Biology

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

Campus Involvement: Club Volleyball, Mustang Mentors

Career Goal: Geneticist

Hannah Gates

Major and year: Nursing, Class of 2022 (Junior)

Hometown: Waldorf, Maryland
Campus involvement: SAB member for the University Honors Program, member of the Leadership Scholars Program, Class of 2022 representative for the National Student Nurses' Association, student representative on the Nursing Curriculum Committee, secretary for the National Society for Leadership and Success, and member of the National Residence Hall Honorary.

Career goal: Labor & Delivery RN

Samantha Stephenson

Major: English Major, Class of 2024

Hometown: Odenton, MD

Campus Involvement: Service Scholar; Food Pantry Volunteer; & WSR DJ

Career Goal: High School English Teacher in MD

Janel Heasley

Major: English Language and Literature, Class of 2023 

Katrina Manabat

Major: Nursing, Class of 2023

Hometown: Ellicott City, MD

Campus Involvement: Service Scholars, Class Council, CDI SAB, NSLS, NRHH

Career Goal: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist or Certified Nurse Midwife

Ian Sachs

Major:  Environmental Science, Class of 2024 

Hanaan Abdulmalik-Volmer

Major:  Biology, Class of 2024

Director

Rivka Glaser , Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biology
Director, Honors Program
Owings Mills North N115
rglaser@stevenson.edu
443-394-9644

As a graduate of an honors program herself, Dr. Glaser is passionate about honors education and is thrilled to be the director of SU’s honors program.

Glaser earned her bachelor's degree in Biology from Goucher College and her Ph.D. in Human Genetics and Molecular Biology from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She joined the faculty of Stevenson University in 2006 and teaches introductory biology and genetics. She is a faculty member in the Genomics Education Partnership, a consortium of undergraduate institutions that strives to engage students in genomics research projects. She is the co-chair of the the Human Genetics Undergraduate Education Workshop, a member of the the Board of Directors of NFTumor Foundation, a support group for people with neurofibromatosis, and serves as the liason for Stevenson University to the Collaborative Teaching Fellowship Program, which helps mentor graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and University of Maryland School of Medicine who are interested in teaching.

Glaser has presented pedagogy workshops at local, national, and international conferences about her work with the Genomics Education Partnership and the innovative, interdisciplinary service-learning project she has done with colleagues in Stevenson University’s School of Design in collaboration with the National Human Genome Research Institute’s Education and Community Involvement Branch.