Academic Honors
Explore opportunities to deepen your learning, pursue your passions and be recognized for academic achievement at Bluffton.
The honors program at Bluffton is a four-year program designed to challenge intellectually ambitious, highly motivated students in all disciplines. In keeping with the mission of Bluffton University, the honors program has a special emphasis on integrating academics, spiritual growth, individual growth and service. Finally, in addition to coursework, the program sponsors special cultural, social and professional events for honors students.
Requirements:
- 18 credit hours
- Including a specially-designed section of Becoming a Scholar in your first semester on campus
- Remaining hours may be taken from specially-designed Enduring Values General Education courses, a semester abroad (3 hours) or completion of a departmental honors project (6 hours).
What are the benefits of the Bluffton University honors program?
- Extensive faculty-student interaction
- Cultural, fine arts and social events available only to honors students
- Opportunities to explore relationships between academic study, religious faith and vocation
- Workshops and seminars for professional development
- Completion of honors program noted on official transcript
- Special advising for graduate and professional school admission and applications
- Qualified new students will be invited into the C. Henry Smith Honors Program.
Qualified high school seniors will be invited to enter the honors program.
Requirements for program eligibility include:
- Acceptance into Bluffton University
- Minimum 3.5 GPA and minimum 24 ACT or 1160 SAT
- Or 3.75 GPA on a 4.0 scale with no test score required
The program thrives on the uniqueness of its students. Diverse life experiences, academic interests and extracurricular activities all add to the classroom and social environment of the program and are highly valued. Membership in the honors program will be limited to 22 new students each year. The first 22 invited students to deposit will be accepted into the program.
To remain a member of the honors program, students must maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA and remain in good standing at Bluffton.
Current/transfer students
Bluffton first-year students and sophomores who were not invited into the honors program
as new students, and transfer students, may apply to join the honors program. They
must be in good standing and have a minimum cumulative college GPA or 3.5 or higher.
If you have questions about the honors program at Bluffton, please contac the Bluffton University Admissions Office, admissions@bluffton.edu or 419-358-3257
A departmental honors project gives you the opportunity to explore your interests. Students have written research papers, developed art shows and created children’s books and novels. You will earn between 5-7 semester hours of credit spread over at least two semesters.
To begin, develop a proposal with the help of a sponsoring faculty member. Your proposal will be taken to a faculty committee. When your project is approved, you may begin work and meet periodically with your faculty sponsor.
Past Student Projects:
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The Pi Delta Society was established by faculty vote in 1922 to recognize Bluffton
students who demonstrate high academic success. The Greek letters pi and delta are the first letters of each word in the Society's motto, πάντα δοκιμάζετε, which
translates to, "put everything to the test."
These words appear in the apostle Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, in chapter 5, verse 21. Paul is advising the Thessalonians that they should not dismiss proclamations and activities inspired by the Holy Spirit, nor should they take them as a given. They should test everything, keep what is good, and steer clear of everything that looks evil. Records of who might have suggested this motto are lost to history, but the motto aligns with how Bluffton inspires its students to pursue living in the global community.
Today, Pi Delta is an honorary scholastic society established to promote high standards of scholarship. Admission is by vote of the faculty from those seniors who, at the time of their graduation have met the following academic success criteria:
- Students who have completed 30 or more but less than 62 semester hours at Bluffton University at the time of graduation and have a GPA of 3.90 or better.
- Students who have completed 62 or more but less than 93 semester hours at Bluffton university at the time of graduation and have a GPA of 3.80 or better.
- Students who have completed 93 or more semester hours at Bluffton University at the time of graduation and have a GPA of 3.75 or better.
New inductees to the society are announced each spring during Bluffton University's academic awards forum and are presented with a pin bearing the society's logo.
Academic Awards are given to graduates named as best scholar in each major. In addition, special awards are presented to the international student and student-athlete with "highest scholastic record," and to individuals who excel in oratory, business, music, visual art and education.
All undergraduate degree-seeking students with at least a half-time load of graded courses whose GPA for the period is no lower than 3.6 are named to the Dean’s List. Students on the dean's list whose cumulative GPA, as based on at least 20 semester hours, is no lower than 3.75 will be indicated as receiving distinction for continued high achievement. Students with incompletes are disqualified.