About the Honors Program

The deadline for the PEL Honors Program application is July 31st.

The PEL Honors Program is designed for students who appreciate challenging coursework, are willing to take on in-depth projects, and enjoy discussing complicated material and engaging in scholarly discussions.

Eligibility

• Enter PEL at a level requiring at least eighteen Eckerd College courses, or be willing to make the commitment to complete 18 Eckerd College courses.
• Have completed five or more courses at Eckerd College by Fall I term and reached sophomore standing.
• Submitted an application consisting of: an application form, an essay, and two recommendations from PEL faculty members.

Students who wish to be considered for the PEL Honors Program should submit an application to Margret Skaftadottir, the Academic Director of PEL by July 31st. Selection will be based on academic performance at Eckerd College, previous academic record, capacity for independent scholarship, and the desire to be part of a rigorous learning community.

For further information contact Margret I. Skaftadottir, Academic Director, Program for Experienced Learners, at (727) 864-8363 or at skaftami@eckerd.edu.

Forms

The following forms are available in PDF format, you can open these files using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Once you have downloaded these forms, review the Tips for Applying to learn where to send them.

Honors Program Application

Honors Program Faculty Evaluation

Tips for Applying

1. Read the directions closely. They might seem routine and unnecessary, but if you don't read them and make a careless mistake, we may never consider your application. The directions are there to give you the best possible chance of being admitted to the Honors Program.

2. Read the essay topics carefully. Students who write wonderful essays that do not directly address the topic are less impressive than students who write wonderful essays that do. Read the question, write your essay, and then read back over the question and your essay to make sure you have written appropriately.

3. Proofread! When you make typos and grammatical errors, it is a clear give-away that you did not spend much time on the task at hand. Our ideal Honors students are people who work to make their applications impeccable. While we would not exclude you solely because you had a typo, we do notice. Please adhere to page limit instructions.

4. Please be courteous in asking faculty for recommendations. Be sure to ask the faculty member in plenty of time to meet the deadline. You should supply a stamped envelope, addressed to:

The PEL Honors Program
c/o Pam Buchanan
Eckerd College
4200 54th Ave South
St. Petersburg, FL 33711

5. Please send one packet containing your Honors essay, along with the application, directly to the Honors Program, c/o Pam Buchanan, by or before the deadline of July 31st. Please respect the deadline. The sooner we have your material, the sooner we can evaluate you application.

Honors Program Requirements

The PEL Honors Program provides the opportunity for ten PEL students selected each year to participate in a program designed for in-depth study and advanced work. The PEL Honors Program consists of four courses. Students take a sequence of two specialized honors courses, LT 323 History of Great Ideas and LT 423 Power, Rhetoric and Discourse. Students also select two additional courses designated as honors courses, drawn from the general curriculum. Each year classes designated as honor classes are published in the Four-Term Schedule. Students completing the PEL Honors Program will receive permanent recognition on their transcripts. PEL Honors students must complete a minimum of 18 Eckerd College courses to receive the Honors Program notation on their transcript.

Eligibility

Students entering PEL at a level requiring at least eighteen Eckerd College courses, or who wish to make the commitment to complete 18 Eckerd College courses, are eligible for application to the PEL Honors Program. Interested students should apply after they complete five or more courses at Eckerd College and have attained sophomore standing. Students who wish to be considered for the PEL Honors Program should submit an application to the Academic Director of PEL by July 31st. A complete application consists of an application form, an essay, and two recommendations from PEL faculty members. The support of two faculty members is necessary for application to the PEL Honors Program. PEL faculty and advisors may also nominate outstanding students who then may be invited to apply.

Selection will be based on academic performance at Eckerd College, previous academic record, capacity for independent scholarship, and the desire to be part of a rigorous learning community.

Requirements

During the year they are accepted in the PEL Honors Program, participants will take LT 323 History of Great Ideas in Fall term and LT 423 Power, Rhetoric and Discourse in Winter term. These two courses are offered on Saturdays on the St. Petersburg campus. In addition to LT 323 and LT 423, Honors Program students will be required to take two additional courses bearing the honors designation during their course of study in PEL. These courses will be listed as Honors courses in the Four-Term Schedule each year and may be taken at any time during a student’s matriculation at Eckerd College.

Honors Program Course Descriptions

LT 323 History of Great Ideas

This course will explore significant ideas in Western thought through intense engagement with major texts. Students will develop critical thinking, research, writing, and presentation skills. The course will allow students to explore critical issues of our time in an intellectual and cultural context. The course will entail significant amounts of reading and class preparation. Prerequisite: acceptance in the PEL Honors Program. May be used to satisfy the E or G perspective.

LT 423 Power, Rhetoric, and Discourse

This course will continue to explore significant ideas in Western thought through intense engagement with major texts. Students will develop critical thinking, research, writing, and presentation skills. The course will allow students to explore critical issues of our time in intellectual and cultural contexts. The course will entail significant amounts of reading and class preparation. Students will produce a major paper and participate in the PEL Honors Forum. Prerequisite: History of Great Ideas. May be used to satisfy the Humanities requirement.