Incoming first-year and transfer students are invited to join Honors through the admissions process and current students can apply to join after their first semester and up until the end of their sophomore/second year.
If admitted, students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.3 and take at least one Honors course per academic year to remain in the Program.
Incoming First-Year Students
For incoming first-year students, there are two pathways to receive an invitation to apply to the Honors Program:
- A high school GPA of 3.75 or above and one of the following: SAT of 1240, ACT of 26, TOEFL of 100, or IELTS of 7.0 or above.
- A high school GPA of 4.0 or above without a test score.
If a student is invited to apply to Honors, they must submit an application essay, declare their intent to enroll, and submit their tuition deposit by May 1 of their admission year. Admission to the Honors Program after this date is at the sole discretion of the Honors Program Director and subject to program capacity. Note: There are a limited number of openings in the Honors Program and students that submit their intent by May 1 are given priority entry.
Incoming Transfer Students
Transfer students who have completed 28 or more semester hours of transferable academic credit with a GPA of 3.5 or above will be invited to apply to Honors and may be admitted pending program approval.
Transfer students who have completed an HTCC Honors Transfer Program with an overall transfer GPA of 3.5 will be invited to apply to Honors and will also have the 30 required University of La Verne Honors semester hours reduced to 14 (see the Requirements and Curriculum page for more), pending an advising meeting with the Honors Director.
Current ULV Students
Currently enrolled students may apply after their first semester (16 units) and/or by the end of the spring semester of their sophomore year (64 units). An application essay and a GPA of 3.5 or above is required to submit an application. Your essay should respond to the following prompt: La Verne’s Honors Program emphasizes interdisciplinary learning and community engagement. In 250 words or less, discuss your experiences with these themes and how you will contribute to them as a student in the program. All applications will be considered on an individual, rolling basis, and final acceptance will be determined by the Honors Director and Assistant Director.
Staying in Honors
In order to remain in the Honors Program, students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.3 and complete at least 4 units of Honors courses per academic year.
Students who fail to do so will be first placed on probation for a semester, then may be dropped from the Program if they do not improve their GPA and/or begin taking Honors courses more regularly. The Honors Director will communicate with all students regularly (each semester) regarding their status.
Graduating from Honors
Students must have completed all Honors Program requirements and be graduating with a 3.3 GPA or higher in order to be designated as an Honors Program graduate on their diploma, transcript, and in the commencement program. Students must notify the Honors Director that they intend to graduate in the semester of their completion. (Note that this process is separate from University Honors, such as summa cum laude, magna cum laude, or cum laude).