Frequently Asked Questions

Honors courses:

• have smaller class sizes than regular courses, limited to at most 21 students
• involve greater interaction with other students and the professor
• help develop a deeper understanding of the course material, and better verbal and written communication skills
• often integrate co-curricular activities like outside speakers and field trips, or project-based learning
• will appear on your transcript with a special Honors designation
• allow you to be part of the intellectual community of other bright and talented students at MCC

There are a number of ways to qualify to take Honors courses.

• Incoming students should have an 87 or better high school GPA and/or be in the top 15% of their graduating class.
• Continuing students should have completed at least 12 credit hours at MCC with a cumulative average of 3.5 or higher.
• Other options for eligibility include receiving a faculty recommendation for Honors or by directly petitioning the Honors Coordinator (honorstudies@monroecc.edu)

All registration for Honors courses takes place through the Honors Institute office. Either complete a course application for the upcoming semester (available at various campus locations) or stop by the Honors Institute (5-212) to pick up and complete an application. If you have any questions, please contact the Honors Institute at (585) 292-3351 or honorstudies@monroecc.edu.

There are two types of honors courses, Honors Sections and Honors Seminars. Honors Sections include the same material covered in regular sections of a course, but in greater depth, often with opportunities for students to pursue individual interests. Honors Seminars, limited to only 17 students, are special courses developed exclusively for the Honors Institute. These courses often explore contemporary issues or topics not discussed in regular MCC course offerings.

Think of the Honors Institute as an academic department, like Biology or Business. Just like you can take a Biology course without majoring in Biology, you can take Honors courses without being a member of the Honors Institute. Although you can’t "major" in Honors, you can "minor" in Honors by enrolling in the Honors Institute and working toward the Honors Studies Certificate, a SUNY-registered certificate you can earn in addition to your regular MCC associates degree. Also, just like a department, the Honors Institute hosts guest lectures, organizes student activities, sponsors a student club (The Honors Council), and assigns personal advisors.

• I really loved the small size of this class. I feel almost spoiled. After taking honors classes, I do not want to return to non-honors courses.
• The small class size allowed me to develop better speaking/verbal sharing skills as well as fully understand the ideas of others because of the depth of discussion. The content of the course was much more engaging and therefore allowed me to become more actively involved in my assignments because I was much more interested in the material because of its complexity.
• I really like the size of the honors classes, because it gives a chance for better interaction. Our discussions are longer and more thought provoking and I think I learned much more in the honors sociology class than I would have in the regular class.
• I wish ALL of my classes were this incredible.
• I loved the fact that we were discussing the ideas together and that was how we learned, not so much taking boring notes off of a power point. Also, I liked the freedom we had to almost make our own classes and design what we wanted to learn about. People don't always realize that students want to learn and they know what they need to learn so why not just ask them? Also, I liked the professor and the students. It seemed like the students all wanted to be there and to learn, instead of other classes i have that is full of people who just want to get the grade and be done with it.
• I enjoyed not being spoon fed the material. I liked how free and open the class discussion was, with each question being thoroughly investigated. The atmosphere was more comfortable and less frustrating because I was in a class with peers ready to work and WANTING to be there as opposed to HAVING to be there.
• This class is what I dreamed college would be like.