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Students

James Scholar Honors Program

Encouraging Academic Excellence Among Undergraduates

The James Scholar Honors Program is a University-wide honors program founded to recognize and encourage the talents of academically outstanding undergraduate students within each college. The program is named for the fourth president of the University of Illinois, Edmund J. James, who believed that scholarship and research are fundamental to human progress. In the years of his presidency, from 1904-1920, he procured top scholars, developed graduate programs, and encouraged a sense of community among faculty and students. His many achievements helped to transform the University of Illinois into a university with an international reputation.

Within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the James Scholar Honors Program encourages academically gifted students to fully develop their intellectual abilities and achieve the college's highest academic recognition. Scholars are charged with the responsibility of seeking sustained intellectual achievement as undergraduates by achieving and annually maintaining certification as a James Scholar.

Being a James Scholar

Participation in the James Scholar Honors Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences complements and enriches a student's educational experience and includes these benefits:

  • participate in new Encounter courses for incoming James Scholars
  • transform standard courses into honors courses
  • early registration privileges
  • work more closely with professors
  • eligibility for upper-level undergraduate research awards
  • invitations to co-curricular and leadership activities
  • transcript designation as a James Scholar, awarded annually
  • recognition at graduation

Nomination and Certification as a James Scholar

First-Year James Scholar Designees

The James Scholar Honors Program offers a number of curricular and co-curricular opportunities to entering first-year students who are invited to participate in the honors program as James Scholar Designees. These incoming students are notified of their eligibility by a letter from the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Incoming students participate in the James Scholar Encounter Series, a two-course sequence reserved for incoming James Scholars. In the fall semester, students elect "Intro to World Citizenship" (LAS 120), a course that offers both a gateway to the University and a critical look at current global events. Incoming freshman students should also be sure to look out for the spring semester's second Encounter course for James Scholars—"Leadership And Society" (LAS 122). Both courses build a foundation towards discovering a student's voice, readying the student to make a difference, and becoming a competent and agile learner in the realms of citizenship, stewardship and leadership.

Self-Nominating Students

Qualified continuing or transfer students with a 3.5 (A=4.0) cumulative grade point average and meeting honors requirements may self-nominate themselves as James Scholars. Students eligible for self-nomination are limited to those meeting one of the following criteria:

  • First-year students in their second semester at the University of Illinois who have earned a cumulative Illinois GPA of 3.5 or higher.
  • Second-year students in their third semester at Illinois who have earned a cumulative Illinois GPA of 3.5 or higher.
  • Newly admitted transfer students entering the College of LAS after one or two semesters in college (approximately 15 or 30 credit hours) with a transfer cumulative GPA of 3.5. These students must complete a self-nomination packet during the first two weeks of their first semester at Illinois.
  • Newly admitted transfer students entering the College of LAS after two years in college (approximately 60 credit hours) with a transfer cumulative GPA of 3.5 and documentary verification of successful, ongoing participation in an Honors Program at their prior institution. These students must complete a self-nomination packet during the first two weeks of the first semester at Illinois.

Interested students who meet the above qualifications must collect an application packet during the first two weeks of the semester from the LAS Honors Office at Room 1 of the University YMCA. Students must complete the entire application process, which includes attending a mandatory LAS self-nomination orientation meeting within the specified time period.

Maintaining Eligibility

James Scholars must meet program requirements each academic year to remain in good standing and to continue receiving the program's benefits. To be certified as a James Scholar in LAS each year, scholars must fulfill the following criteria:

At the end of each academic year, the transcripts of James Scholar Designees are examined to determine if the college's criteria have been fulfilled. Successful completion of the two requirements results in the placement of "Edmund J. James Scholar for Academic Year 200X-1X" on the transcript and nomination for the next year.

James Scholars and nominees are held responsible for adherence to the rules for Academic Integrity at UIUC (Code of Policies and Regulations Applying to All Students, Article 1, Part 4). Students who are found to have been penalized within the scope of Article 1, Part 4 will automatically forfeit their LAS James Scholar membership and privileges.

Participation in Honors Courses

James Scholar Designees are required to enroll in two required honors courses and one additional course for honors during their freshman year. In the fall, they are required to enroll in LAS 120 "Intro to World Citizenship." In the spring, they are required to enroll in LAS 122 "Leadership And Society." In addition to LAS 120 and 122, James Scholar Designees are required to enroll in one additional 3-hour course for honors during their freshman year.

All James Scholars (regardless of admission or self-nomination date) must enroll in one 3-hour course for honors each semester. There are two ways of doing so:

  • Enrolling in an honors course during registration—honors courses are designated in the class schedule.
  • Completing an Honors Credit Learning Agreement, a special agreement between a student and instructor that permits James Scholars to transform a "regular " course into an honors course and to receive transcript notation for the effort. The student is required to complete additional, course-related assignments or projects as per this agreement. The assignments or projects agreed upon between student and instructor must be academic in nature and serve as enrichment to the regular syllabus. This work may be in addition to or in lieu of regular course work.

Graduating with Honors

Completing 25 hours of honors credit as a James Scholar is one pathway to graduating with college honors, provided that the student's grade point average is within the top 12 percent of graduating seniors.

Qualified students are invited to participate in the Honors Convocation in the spring.

Participation in Other Honors Programs

The college and departmental honors programs are complementary, and departmental honors courses can be used to maintain certification as a James Scholar. Participation in departmental honors programs occurs during upper class years. James Scholars may concurrently participate in and be recognized by other LAS and University honors programs or groups including Cohn Scholars, Rogers Scholars, and Chancellor's Scholars.