Overview

  Priority Registration

Many students stress about not getting their preferred classes, professors, and timeslots when it's time to enroll in classes. One of the most helpful benefits of being in the Honors Program is early enrollment - which means you'll have a much better chance of creating your preferred schedule. Honors students register with the group that is one section before their non-honors peers. The chart below details when honors students enroll in classes - indicated by the "Early Students" column:

Group 1: Grad Students + (Early 5th & 4/4th Year Students)
Group 2 (AM): 5th and 4th year students + (Early 4/5 Year Students)
Group 2 (PM): 4/5 Year Students + (Early 3rd Year Students)
Group 3: 3rd Year Students + (Early 2nd Year Students)
Group 4: 2nd Year Students + (Early 1st Year Students)
Group 5: 1st Year Students

It is important to note that being in Honors is not the only way to attain early enrollment status, but the majority of students with early enrollment status have it because of their Honors status.

  Free Course Overloads

Honors students are known to challenge themselves - sometimes that means taking an extra class that you have an interest in outside of your major, or adding a minor, second major, or second immersion. You may want to graduate a semester early, or enroll in one of RIT's combined Bachelor's / Master's programs. To support your pursuit of these expanded curricular and academic goals Honors students can take up to 24 credits a semester (compared to the standard 18 for non-honors students) without paying an additional charge per credit. 

  Grant Opportunities

Honors Grants:
As an Honors student you have access to a $500 Honors grant throughout your time at RIT that can be used to fund a one-time expense, or multiple smaller expenses. Honors grants can be used for academic or professional development related travel, RIT affiliated study abroad, professional certificates, or to purchase materials or equipment for faculty-mentored research or honors-related coursework.

Alternative Break Trips:
The Honors Program provides $500 (above and beyond your $500 honors grant) for students who participate in RIT's annual Alternative Break trips coordinated by the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement. These hands-on, service-based trips give students a chance to travel domestically (and occasionally internationally) to immerse themselves in the work of nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity, American Hiking Society, and Common Ground Relief. With trip costs usually between $600-$1000 the additional financial support from Honors can help make an Alternative Break experience a reality. 

Faculty Led Study Abroad Trips:
Interested in learning about Activism and the Social Movements of Brazil? Or what it means to Build Shared Narratives in Northern Ireland? These are two faculty-led Honors courses that run as spring semester classes with travel taking place after the semester ends. Honors provides $1,500 (above and beyond your $500 honors grant) for students who register for the course and travel for trip, which can definitely help cut down on the overall cost of one of these experiences while you are at RIT. 

  Research and Professional Development

Contributing to research under the guidance of a faculty mentor is one of the many ways you can push beyond the requirements of your degree program as an Honors student. We encourage and support this activity by making faculty-mentored research a pathway for earning Honors Points - the way we track your academic progress in the program. Additionally, some colleges like the College of Science offer summer research grants for Honors students, and other colleges help guide students through the process of finding and applying to be a part of a research team. These opportunities give you hands-on experience in a lab or other research setting and can boost your chances of landing the ideal co-op or stepping into a professional role after you graduate. 

  Honors Advising

As an Honors student you are expected to push beyond the standard experience at RIT, with additional academic requirements that must be met each academic year to maintain your Honors status. To support the pursuit and achievement of these goals, there are several levels of Honors advising that is available to students as you build your unique portfolio of Honors experiences.

First, your Academic Advisor knows that you are in the program - they are well versed in the requirements, policies, and timelines you need to success. Second, each college has an Honors Advocate, a secondary academic advisor that is knowledgeable and experienced in all things Honors within your area of study. Advocates provide detailed and time-tested guidance for all of our students and they work closely with the program office to communicate updates, needs, and changes within their areas. And third, the Honors office staff are a resource for focused Honors advising and guidance for all students in the program. Make an appointment with the Assistant Director or simply stop in to ask questions and get input - we are here to support you! 

  Guaranteed Honors Housing

All Honors Students are guaranteed housing in Gibson Hall throughout their time at RIT. It is a common misconception that this is only for first-year students, but honors students are always guaranteed a spot in Gibson regardless of their year level as long as they inform Honors and fill out the proper Housing forms by the specified deadlines. It is important to note that not all students in Gibson are honors students, and being an honors student does not mean you are required to live in Honors housing. Being a part of the Honors community in Gibson means you can get to know one another outside of the classroom and meet up to study or just hang out in your residence hall with other Honors students. Gibson also happens to have the lowest occurrence of late-night fire alarms - so you'll sleep well in Honors Housing!

  Saunders Graduate Scholarship Program

Honors students are known to maximize their potential and position themselves for success in the workforce. They stack opportunities and engage in diverse experiences that enrich their personal and professional growth. The Saunders School of Business at RIT provides any Honors student who successfully completes the program and graduates with their undergraduate degree from RIT a 60% scholarship to all of the Master's programs in the School of Business. Programs offered out of Saunders that are included are: 

MBA
Accounting and Analytics
Business Analytics and AI
Finance
Global Supply Chain Management
Hospitality Business Management
Technology Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship

  Alumni Connections

The Honors Program has a diverse alumni network made up of graduates from all ten colleges at RIT. The RIT Honors Alumni Advisory Board is a group of professionals that meets monthly to develop connections and strengthen networks among the current students and graduates from the program. With professional development events, networking panels, and in person programming, this group seeks to share their experiences and inform the next generation of Honors graduates as they move on to graduate school or the workforce. You can learn more about the RIT Honors Alumni program here. 

  Honors Council

Honors Council is a student run leadership group of Honors that works as a team to provide opportunities, events, and information that will help guide you through the program and enrich your experience while pursuing your program requirements. Three committees are made up of College and Community Delegates that are elected to support their distinct constituencies. Each committee is responsible for creating and facilitating at least two events each semester that relate to their focus area:

The Academic Excellence Committee (AEC) is focused on the curricular side of the program, helps to coordinate the annual Honors Symposium, and looks for ways to develop or expand academic opportunities.

The Community and Wellness Committee (CWC) is committed to fostering a community and connection across all students in the program. They hold fun and engaging events like Honors Haunted Halloween and also help to plan our annual Honors Gala that happens each spring.

The Service and Leadership Committee (SLC) provides an array of volunteer and service events for students, on and off campus, that help students meet their complementary learning requirements and engage with the campus and Rochester communites. 

  Honors Events

The Honors Program hosts many events every year to present students with opportunities to do public service, engage with others intellectually, present their accomplishments, meet new people, and build a tightknit community amongst the program. Every Fall the program hosts its annual Honors Research and Creativity Symposium where students present on their faculty-mentored research, their Honors Options, or other Honors-related experiences to their peers, faculty, staff, and University administrators. There is a Honors Gala that takes place each spring hosted by Honors Council where you can kick back and relax and enjoy each others' company and celebrate all of your hard work and effort over the academic year. And there are also frequent free, fun on and off-campus events hosted for the benefit of the students such as: Monthly Office Chats, Bi-Weekly Honors Hours (with Pizza!), Honors Hockey Night, Rock Climbing, Ice Skating, Goat Yoga, and so much more. You can learn more about the program's various upcoming events here.

Xander Rohring
New Media Marketing major

 Connections

People want to meet RIT Honors students, and the Honors Program works to facilitate those meetings. The Honors Advocates in each college plan professional development trips and networking events, we connect students with nationally known speakers, and many of our alumni have stayed connected to the Honors Program. They provide mentoring, and are eager to "give back" by talking with students who are moving through co-op or entering the permanent workforce.
 

  Saunders Graduate Program Scholarship

RIT Honors students applying to Saunders College of Business graduate programs can now qualify for a 60% scholarship and apply for a GMAT/GRE waiver. This applies to all applicants who successfully complete the requirements of the RIT Honors Program upon certification and are accepted into Saunders College. If you are interested in learning more about the scholarship and GMAT/GRE waiver incentives for RIT Honors students, set up an appointment with Matt Cornwell, Assistant Director of Student Services and Outreach, or attend a Graduate Information Session.