Membership Eligibility
To be eligible for admission into the Honors College, students must have done the following:
- Earned an ACT score of 27 or higher (or SAT of 1220 or higher)
- Graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class OR graduated high school with a 3.9 cumulative grade point average
- Applied and been admitted to Missouri State University
To maintain membership a student must have a 3.25 cumulative grade point average, and should also carry a full-time load of at least 12 semester hours per semester. The Director will review eligibility at the end of each semester. Members in the Honors College should normally carry no more than two honors classes in any one semester. They must take one honors class in each of the first four regular semesters. Students who complete the general honors requirements maintain membership in the program by having at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average at Missouri State, regardless of whether or not, they pursue departmental distinction.
Other students (including transfer students) may apply to the Honors College for admission preferably no later than the first semester of their sophomore year. The application will include an essay describing the student's academic and vocational goals and how the student perceives the Honors College as facilitating the attainment of those goals. An interview may be required. Such students will be advised by the Director on an individual basis as to requirements and make-up courses in order to qualify for program membership and graduation in the Honors College.
Late entering students who qualify to graduate in the Honors College will be required to follow a program whose rigor is equivalent to that required of students who enter as freshmen.
Students transferring from institutions in which they enrolled in an honors program may contact the Director for individual advice on entering the Honors College at Missouri State.
First semester freshmen who do not achieve the required grade point average of 3.25 will be given one more semester to achieve that level, provided it is mathematically possible. Students who remove themselves from the program due to low g.p.a. may apply for readmission when they have raised their grades to the required level. Students who remove themselves from the program a second time due to low g.p.a. are not eligible for readmission.