Membership Eligibility
Future Missouri State students
To be eligible for admission into the Honors College, students must have done the following:
- Applied and been admitted to Missouri State University
- Earned an ACT score of 27 or higher (or SAT of 1220 or higher) AND
- Rank in upper 10% of high school graduating class OR cumulative 3.9 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale
(All students receiving the Board of Governors Scholarship and all International Baccalaureate graduates are automatically eligible and will receive an invite to the Honors College)
To maintain membership a student must do the following:
- Keep at least a 3.25 cumulative Missouri State GPA (almost all freshman scholarships require a higher cumulative GPA for their renewal)
- Carry a full-time load of at least 12 semester hours per semester
- Continue to satisfy Honors course requirements
(The Director will review eligibility at the end of each semester)
Invitation process for future students
Beginning in October and continuing through March, letters of invitation are sent to qualified students. Included with the invitation is a form that prospective students are asked to return if they are interested in the Honors College. Students who apply later in the spring or summer should contact the Honors college office in order to be considered for admission.
Students who have accepted membership in the Honors College are asked to commit to a two-day summer SOAR session in early June.
Current Missouri State students
Current students (including transfer students) may apply to the Honors College for admission preferably no later than the first semester of their sophomore year.
Application process for current students
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.
Readmission
First semester freshmen who do not achieve the required GPA 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 GPA 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 GPA are not eligible for readmission.