Admissions to the Honors & Scholars Program

Any full-time TCNJ undergraduate with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher is eligible to apply for admission to TCNJ’s Honors & Scholars Program.

First-year students may not apply in their first semester at TCNJ. Transfer students or students with a full semester of college coursework prior to matriculation may apply in their first semester at TCNJ; such students should send an email to honors@tcnj.edu to inform the program of their intention.

Applications for admission must be submitted in the Fall or Spring semesters; there is no option to apply during Winter or Summer sessions.

Deadlines

Student applications and faculty recommendations (see below) are due at the same date and time.

Application Submission

Students must:

1. Submit the Google form:
   • Complete the student information
   • Upload a previous scholarly or creative work. This work must have been completed for a TCNJ course, unless the applicant is a transfer student applying in their first semester at TCNJ.   In that case, the work must be from a course in the applicant’s previous institution.
   • Explain how that work reflects two of the three Honors & Scholars pillars
   • Explain the types of experiences they seek through the Honors & Scholars Program
2. Request a Letter of Recommendation from a college faculty member.
   • The recommender must be a faculty member at TCNJ, unless the applicant is a transfer student applying during their first semester at TCNJ. In that case, the faculty member can be from the student’s last college or university attended before TCNJ.
   • The faculty member completes their recommendation through a Google Form.  The applicant should send the link to the faculty member once that faculty member has agreed to complete the recommendation.

Application Review

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the Honors & Scholars Program Coordinator, in consultation with 3–4 members of the Honors & Scholars Program faculty. All applications will be scored using the rubric below.

Students denied admission into the Honors & Scholars Program may reapply; however, a student may apply for admission no more than twice.

Scoring Rubric for Student Application

Score definitions:  

• 1 = poor or incomplete 
• 2 = fair (occasionally unclear and/or lacks detail)
• 3 = good (clear, but missing some detail that would strengthen response)
• 4 = excellent (clear, detailed, and compelling)

Grading Criteria:

• First Pillar Discussed – Applicant clearly explains how the scholarly or creative work submitted is reflective of this pillar. Graded 1-4.
• Second Pillar Discussed – Applicant clearly explains how the scholarly or creative work submitted is reflective of this pillar. Graded 1-4.
• Applicant clearly explains the experiences sought as a student in the Honors & Scholars program, and how those experiences will enhance growth with respect to seeking challenges, depth, and interdisciplinarity, and engaging in self-critique and reflection. Graded 1-4.
  

To be admitted, students must score a 3 or greater on all three criteria, with at least one 4.