Honors Program
SCA Honors Program
The Honors Program at Sage College of Albany is a liberal arts-based program that engages students in highly challenging courses in which they exercise personal creativity and initiative. Students enroll in the program as Honors Scholars and complete at least 12 credit hours in honors courses. Specific requirements vary depending on whether a student is pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree (see below). Honors Scholars meet regularly as a group to plan trips, social events, and leadership and service activities, and enjoy intellectual fellowship.
Entering students who wish to enroll as Honors Scholars must meet the following requirements:
- A high school average of 85 or better in a college preparatory program;
- Combined SAT I scores of 1100 or better, with no single score less than 500, or an ACT score of 25 or better, with no sub-score below 21;
- Additional consideration is given to demonstrated creativity, leadership, and service.
Transfer students and students already enrolled at Sage College of Albany who have demonstrated high academic and creative abilities are eligible to become Honors Scholars or Honors Affiliates if they have an overall cumulative GPA of 3.0, recommendation from a Sage faculty member, and permission of the Honors Program Director. Honors Affiliates are students who enroll in one or more honors courses, but not as Honors Scholars.
Associate Degree Candidates
Of these 12 credit hours, 3 must be taken in Humanities Seminar III (HUM 113 - Honors) and 3 in Honors Capstone Seminar: Technology and Humanities (HUM 210). The remaining 6 credit hours are taken in natural science and social science honors courses. Open only to Honors Scholars and Honors Affiliates, the honors courses include interdisciplinary, team-taught, and contract courses. The Capstone Seminar encourages students to work on a term project with a personal faculty mentor and to seek out contacts and resources in the larger community.
Bachelor’s Degree Candidates
At least nine of these 12 credits must be in honors courses or contracts numbered 300 or higher. It is recommended, but not required, that the 12 credits of honors work be completed in a Liberal Arts and Science distribution (i.e., 3 credits each in humanities, science/math, and social sciences, and 3 credits in a general elective). Students must also complete a one-credit, thematic Honors Thesis Workshop concurrently with the Senior Seminar in their degree program. The Honors Thesis Workshop provides a forum for sharing the problems and results of student research and other types of Senior Seminar projects. It also engages students in multidisciplinary discussions and activities in a format similar to that of HUM 210 Honors Capstone Seminar: Humanities and Technology.
In order to graduate with the designation Honors Scholar (Baccalaureate) students must achieve a final, overall cumulative GPA of 3.25 and a cumulative point average of 3.0 in all honors courses and honors contracts and must complete the curriculum requirements for this distinction.
All inquiries about the Sage College of Albany Honors Program should be directed to:
Dr. Esther Tornai Thyssen
Coordinator, SCA Honors Program
Opalka Gallery, Albany Campus (518) 292-8604
Graduation
The Sage Colleges confers degrees three times each year: in August, December and May. However, a Commencement ceremony is held only in May. Students become candidates for grduation upon the filing of a completed “Graduation Application” with the filing fee and submitted to the Office of Student Services. The filing deadlines are:
February 1 for May degree conferral
June 1 for August degree conferral
October 1 for December degree conferral
For conferral of a degree in May, August or December, students must have met all degree requirements by the end of the semester or summer session preceding degree conferral date. Students enrolled in internships, externships, clinicals, student teaching, practica, or courses at another institution which are scheduled to end within one month after conferral date must supply the Office of Student Services with documentation of satisfactory progress (a letter from the instructor on the college’s letterhead indicating an average of C- or better) to be eligible for degree conferral and receipt of a final transcript.
