Description
Who May Apply
For the Academic Years 2008-09 and 2009-2010, the Cleveland State University Honors Program will admit 40 to 50 students with first-year status and 20 to 25 students with junior standing each year.
Scholarship Opportunities: Renewable scholarships covering full tuition, books and academic fees will be offered to first-year and junior-entry Honors Program students.
First-year students
For first-year students admitted for Fall 2008, the criteria for admission include:
- 30 ACT composite score or above OR
- Comparable SAT total score (1300 or 1950) OR
- Top 10 percent of high-school class ranking
- Admission to Cleveland State University
- Submission of a written essay
Students are expected to complete a college preparatory curriculum in high school. High schools vary in the advanced courses they offer. Honors applicants are expected to complete the most rigorous curriculum available at their high school. Applicants who participate in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program are expected to have completed the standard high-school college preparatory curriculum in addition to their college work.
Preferred applicants will have four years of high school English; four years of high school mathematics including pre-calculus and in some cases calculus; at least three years of natural science, usually biology, physics and chemistry; at least three years of social science courses; three or more years of a foreign language; and additional classes in the visual or performing arts. There will be students admitted who have not met all of these criteria; however, it should be noted that a student without high school physics, for example, is generally not prepared for a college-level course in the subject. Preference in admission to the Honors Program will be given to students whose high school transcripts indicate they are prepared for a wide variety of possible college majors.
The application for the Honors Program may be downloaded from the Honors Web site at www.csuohio.edu/honors/.
Juniors
Students applying to the Honors Program for admission as juniors must satisfy the following minimum criteria:
- 3.5 GPA or higher on college courses OR
- 27 ACT composite score or above OR
- 1830 SAT total score (1220 on the old SAT) or above
- Admission to Cleveland State University
- Junior-level standing by fall of entry into program (60 semester credit hours completed)
- Submission of a written essay
Preferred applicants will be on track to graduate in two years (for those whose major is in a four-year program). College transcripts will reflect a rigorous course of study both in the student's preferred major and in his or her choices for general education and elective courses. Students should have made good progress toward completion of general-education course requirements and lower-division prerequisites for courses in their major.
Application Deadlines
The Honors Program Admissions Committee will give priority consideration to applicants based on academic excellence.
Applicants entering as first-year students are encouraged to apply by January 15. The Honors Program Admissions Committee has reserved a limited number of spaces for exceptionally well-qualified students applying after January 15.
Applicants entering as juniors are encouraged to apply by February 28. Applicants who apply later will be considered based on academic excellence and space availability.
Funding for Honors Scholarships comes from a variety of sources. To allow us to fund as many students as possible, we require that all students file a FAFSA.
A very small number of international students are admitted to the program each year. Successful applicants are exceptionally well-qualified.
Lower-Division Program: All honors students who begin as entering first-year students will be required to take at least 20 credit hours of lower-division honors courses over the course of their undergraduate career at CSU (i.e., 4 four-credit courses and 4 one-credit honors colloquia series courses), selected from a broad spectrum of disciplines. When honors students reach upper-division status, they will register for courses in accord with an individual Honors Academic Plan Contract approved by their academic adviser and the Honors Program Director. Honors courses are designed to be interdisciplinary and participatory. As an example, an honors history class first offered fall, 2004 - the History of Cleveland, the Last Fifty Years - explores the city’s past 50 years with the leaders and participants who experienced the events first-hand. These individuals will join the class to discuss their roles, giving students in the class the opportunity to become active participants in the discussions rather than just being listeners. Students find out what options city leaders had and why they chose certain paths and rejected others. In addition, the course uses the city’s myriad available resources to inform understanding of the key crises and opportunities the city faced and how it dealt with them.
Upper-Division Program: The honors experience for upper-division honors students is tailored to the requirements of each student’s chosen major(s) and specific goals. Junior and senior honors students’ courses are selected through consultation with faculty members in their major(s). Upper-division honors students have the opportunity to do additional honors work under faculty supervision in established courses; enroll in graduate courses; participate in a faculty member’s research project or laboratory; complete an independent research project or a service learning project; and/or engage in an internship, co-op experience, or job. In some departments, students will also be encouraged to attend professional meetings. Each semester there will be regular honors colloquia that will cover topics spanning the academic disciplines.
Consult our Web site for the most current information: www.csuohio.edu/honors/.
Contact Information:
Dr. Barbara Margolius, Director
Cleveland State University Honors Program, MC 219
2121 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115-9897
Telephone: 216-687-5559
Departmental Programs
Students with high grade-point averages and a desire for academic challenge should be aware that several departments offer honors programs for their students. These include: Art; Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences; Economics; History; Modern Languages; Physics; and Psychology. Details can be found in the program descriptions for these departments.
High School Programs
- Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEOP)
- Viking Bridge to College Program
- Go to High School Students information
Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEOP)
The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEOP) is a state-funded program which offers qualified high-school students the opportunity to gain valuable college life experience and earn credit while supplementing their high-school college preparatory curriculum during the fall and spring semesters. Cleveland State University believes that motivated and dedicated high-school students who participate in this program will profit immensely from the opportunity to interact with college students, faculty, and staff, and experience firsthand the benefits and advantages of a metropolitan university. PSEOP is intended to complement rather than replace the high-school college preparatory curriculum.
Admission to the PSEO program is based on the student's high-school grade performance and PSAT, SAT, PLAN, or ACT examination scores. Students who are admitted to PSEOP are eligible to enroll in courses for both high-school and college credit. Once enrolled at Cleveland State, PSEOP students are held to the same standards as regular undergraduate students and must maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 to continue in the program.
Admission Criteria
(for high school seniors, juniors and sophomores)
- 3.4 high school cumulative GPA
- Minimum PSAT scores of 52 or SAT scores of 520 on each section or minimum PLAN or ACT scores of 22 on each section
Students planning to participate in their freshman year are admitted only under special circumstances. Freshman applicants must meet the admission criteria stated above; in addition, they must submit two letters of recommendation and a written essay.
Application Deadlines
High school students interested in participating in PSEOP for the full academic year (fall and spring semesters) must notify their high school counselors by March 30 and apply to CSU by May 1. Students submitting applications by April 1 will receive their decision by early May. Students who wish to participate during the Spring semester must apply to CSU by November 1.
Orientation and Course Selection
Students admitted into PSEOP are required to attend an orientation session to become acclimated to Cleveland State and to learn more about the program requirements and policies. After attending orientation, you will be permitted to schedule your courses at a later date with a University PSEOP adviser.
For more information contact our PSEOP Admissions Liaison (students who have not yet been accepted to CSU’s PSEO Program) at (216) 687-9336 or c.graham59@csuohio.edu, or contact the PSEOP Coordinator (students who have been accepted to the program) at (216) 687-2279 or f.feola@csuohio.edu.
Viking Bridge to College Program
The Viking Bridge to College Program offers qualified high-school students, who do not qualify for Post-Secondary Enrollment Options A or B, the opportunity to take courses during the fall, spring, or summer semesters. Unlike PSEOP Option B, all tuition, fees, and books for students enrolled in Viking Bridge must be paid by the individual student or parent. Admissions requirements for this program are the same as the PSEOP criteria. Individual school districts decide whether or not to accept college credits earned under Viking Bridge.
For more information contact our PSEOP Admissions Liaison (students who have not yet been accepted to CSU’s PSEO Program) at (216) 687-9336 or c.graham59@csuohio.edu, or contact the PSEOP Coordinator (students who have been accepted to the program) at (216) 687-2279 or f.feola@csuohio.edu.