2. Do I have to pay any membership fees, attend meetings, or register for any specific courses as a member of Oakton’s Honors Program? Is it the same thing as the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society (PTK)? Is it the same thing as the Honors Student Organization?

No obligations or fees are connected with membership in Oakton’s Honors Program; membership grants you eligibility to take Honors courses and receive Honors advising. PTK is an international student honors society that invites students to become members based on their GPA. The Honors Student Organization is an Oakton student club led by Honors students.

3. Who is eligible to join the Honors Program?

The Honors Program is designed to serve students who plan to seek a B.A. or B.S. degree at a transfer undergraduate institution. For automatic admission into the Honors Program at Oakton, you need at least one of the following:

• For college students: a 3.5 GPA at any college 

• For recent high school graduates: a high school GPA of 3.5 or better (added Fall 2021), an ACT score of 25 or better, or a SAT of 1200 or better, or a GED of 300 or better

• A current Oakton student may be eligible for Honors at Oakton by maintaining a GPA of 3.5 or above for at least 12 hours of college coursework.  Students with 3.25 or slightly lower GPA are encouraged to request an interview to determine eligibility. 

Students with associate’s or bachelor's degrees may also be admitted. These measures do not adequately represent the academic history for every student (for instance, international or non-traditional students), so please do not hesitate to submit incomplete applications or request an appointment. You can apply to the Honors Program, or visit https://www.oakton.edu/academics/special-programs/honors for more information. 

4. Why join the Honors Program? What are the benefits?

You will benefit from the Honors Program by taking advantage of the coursework, leadership opportunities, and advising support offered within the program. We welcome all levels of participation, whether you enroll in a single course or earn the Honors Scholar Designation on your degree.

Faculty teaching Honors classes are especially dedicated to seeing students succeed and do amazing things in the classroom and beyond. You can view some of the kinds of Honors work that Oakton students have done in Honors classes at www.oaktonhonors.com/projects. Oakton Honors students get individualized advising about Honors classes, and scholarship and transfer opportunities, and the Honors Program hosts speakers, events, and workshops throughout the year. Taking Honors classes can improve your ability to transfer to the college or university of your choice, and all of the Honors classes you take will appear as "Honors" on your transcript. The Honors Scholar Designation is one of the highest academic Honors that the college grants to students upon graduation.

Most Honors classes fulfill GenEd requirements that you need to take, regardless of your academic plans. Honors classes are offered in every discipline (e.g., Fine Arts, Math, Humanities, English, Biology, and many more), and there is no minimum (or maximum) number of Honors classes that you need to take.

5. Are Honors classes harder? Will they hurt my G.P.A.?

Many students get better grades in Honors classes than they ever have. Why? Honors classes are smaller than ‘regular’ classes, and taught by faculty who are especially dedicated to seeing Honors students succeed in the classroom, and beyond. You will be in each Honors class with fellow Honors students who take their classwork as seriously as you do, which helps many students and classes stay focused, and also build community.

Honors academic work is not necessarily ‘harder’ or more work, but it is academic work of a different kind. Honors courses take students beyond the textbook and focus on experiential learning (e.g., student research, creative projects, site visits), co-curricular learning (e.g., guest speakers, arts events, conferences), and collaborative learning. More than mastering the course materials, your professors are there to help you become a more confident and engaged student.

6. How does Oakton’s Honors Program support students’ success?

Our students have interviewed internationally known artists, published research in scientific journals, such as Nature, and traveled with faculty to the #No Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock. In the last five years, three Oakton students have won the highly prestigious Jack Kent Cooke award, which provides full-tuition scholarships (undergraduate and graduate) to the university of the student’s choice. Please visit our Honors Student Showcase for recent examples of students’ research and accomplishments in the program. 

7. How many Honors classes do I have to take?

There are no minimum course requirements to participate in the Honors Program. However, to graduate with the Honors Scholar Designation on your degree, you must complete 18 credit hours of Honors courses, including a Learning Community or designated Core Seminar. See point 10 below for details.

8. How do I know which Honors courses to take for my degree?

Each semester, we offer 12-15 Honors sections of regular Oakton courses. To serve our diverse student body, we change our specific course offerings every semester, but students can expect that Humanities and Arts, Social Sciences, and STEM fields will be represented every semester. Nearly all of our courses will fulfill your general education requirements and be transferable in Illinois and nationally. Visit www.oaktonhonors.com/navigate, so that we guide you through the process.  

9. What are Learning Communities, and are they required?

Learning Communities combine two courses from different disciplines. For example, the Learning Community “Introduction to Global Studies”/“Ethics” examines environmental ethics within the context of the history of humans’ impact on the environment. If you wish to graduate as with the Honors Scholar Designation, you must take a Learning Community or specially designated Core Seminar.