The Art & Phyllis Grindle Honors Institute

The Art & Phyllis Grindle Honors Institute offers programs for students who want to enrich their academic experience. Students involved in the Honors Institute are eligible for scholarships, faculty advisors and travel/study opportunities. The following programs are available:

• Honors Diploma
• Honors Certificate
• Phi Theta Kappa
• Science Merit Diploma
• Science Diploma

Contact the Honors Institute at 407.708.2335 for more information.

Honors Diploma and Honors Certificate

The Honors Diploma Program is a 23-credit curriculum that offers qualifying students a unique academic opportunity to broaden and enrich their college experiences. The primary goal is to provide an atmosphere for talented students to learn to think critically, grow intellectually and expand their education beyond the classroom into the public arena. The program offers enriching classes in all areas of the general education requirements. Additionally, students are encouraged to attend conferences to present scholarly papers as well as experience and participate in related cultural and social activities offered within the college as well as the community.

Upon completing a minimum of 23 honors credits, students in the program graduate with an Associate in Arts Honors Diploma. The Honors Institute also offers an Honors Certificate program. Students who qualify for the Honors Diploma program may elect to earn a minimum of 13 credit hours to 22 credit hours in honors classes to receive a certificate upon graduation. This allows students whose majors, such as chemistry, music, nursing and computers, require a strict course of study to take some of their general education courses, such as English, speech, and humanities, within the Honors program. The certificate may be earned in the Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees.

SCC Honors students traditionally excel. Many have earned prestigious scholarships, such as the Woodrow Wilson Scholarship and the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship, upon transferring to four-year institutions in Florida, the United States and abroad. In addition, they earn places on the All-USA Academic Teams sponsored by USA Today, as well as nomination for inclusion in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.

Honors classes typically have 16-20 students. Consequently, ample opportunity is available for students to bond with each other, as well as the professors. Intellectual growth occurs because collaborative and experiential learning, hands-on activities, and intellectual interaction can be offered because of the small classes. SCC's Honors Diploma program welcomes any student into the program who meets the qualifications. High school seniors must have a minimum GPA of 3.2, a minimum score of 1050 or higher on the SAT I or a minimum of 23 or higher on the ACT. Those who take the College Placement Test must have minimum scores of 95 in Reading and Sentence Skills and a minimum of 75 in Math Skills. College students who have completed a minimum of six hours of credit courses with a 3.2 GPA may also apply for admission. Higher scores than minimums are preferred on all entrance tests. In addition students are required to submit letters of recommendation, come for an interview, and complete an on-campus writing sample. Once admitted to the Honors Diploma program, students must maintain a 3.2 GPA.

Because SCC is a community college, many non-traditional students attend. Those who are uncertain of their qualifications as previously explained are still urged to apply or call for more information. Questions and concerns can be discussed in an interview.

Scholarship money is available to Honor students who maintain the required grade point average.

Contact: Dr. Laura Ross, 407.708.2062 or rossl@seminolestate.edu or the Honors Institute at 407.708.2335, honors@seminolestate.edu.

Did you know?

Seminole State awarded 1,377 A.A. and A.S. degrees in 2005-06 - an all-time high!