Christendom College is launching its new Honors Program this fall—an enhancement and expansion of the college’s longstanding Advanced Studies Program. Designed for high-achieving, intellectually ambitious students, the Honors Program will provide opportunities for challenging academics, close faculty mentorship, and deep engagement with the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Building upon years of success in the Advanced Studies Program, the Honors Program offers students a structured path to pursue advanced academic work while fostering meaningful intellectual friendships with both professors and fellow students. Students who complete the program will receive official recognition on their transcripts and diplomas and will wear special honors cords at graduation.
“Through the Christendom College Honors Program, we aim to augment what Christendom offers to dedicated Catholic students who truly want to pursue wisdom,” said Dr. Jakub Voboril, Director of the Honors Program. “We hope to form these students into bastions of intellectual culture who enrich the lives of their fellow students and the wider communities to which they belong.
The Honors Program combines two distinctive educational experiences: Oxford-style tutorials and interdisciplinary seminars. During their first year, Honors students complete their first tutorial one semester and participate in a special seminar on liberal education taught by President George A. Harne, Ph.D., and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Kevin Tracy in the other semester. Throughout the remainder of their studies, students complete a series of tutorials and seminars before culminating their experience in a senior capstone seminar during their final semester.
The tutorial model, inspired by the educational traditions of Oxford University, places students in small groups of two or three alongside a faculty tutor. The tutor sets the topics, readings, and essay prompts throughout the semester, with students preparing papers addressing the prompts and presenting them. Each student is expected to prepare two seminar papers over the course of the semester, with this unique format encouraging rigorous intellectual inquiry while cultivating close relationships between students and professors.
In addition to tutorials, students participate in interdisciplinary seminars that bring together faculty from multiple academic disciplines to examine enduring questions.
Beginning with the Class of 2030 this fall, students in the Honors Program will also complete an Honors thesis defense and may choose to undertake a comprehensive examination during their senior year, further strengthening the program’s emphasis on intellectual excellence and scholarly achievement.
The Honors Program is open to students who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and a desire to pursue learning beyond the classroom. Incoming students may apply during the admissions process, while current students may also seek admission after their first semester at Christendom. To remain in good standing, honors students must maintain a 3.5 GPA and actively participate in the intellectual life of the college through events such as the Collegiate Lecture Series and faculty colloquia.
For many participants, the program becomes one of the most rewarding aspects of their Christendom education.
“My experience in the Honors Program was truly a deepening of everything that Christendom’s education offers,” said alumna Meaghan Pierce ’25. “Through readings, essays, and discussion groups, I gained a fuller and more integrated understanding of my Catholic heritage and of enduring truth. Most especially, my experience in the senior capstone seminar was enriching and inspiring, and strengthened my love for the pursuit of wisdom and virtue, which I was able to develop throughout my studies at Christendom.”
College President George A. Harne, Ph.D., believes the program reflects some of the best elements of a Christendom education.
“Born from the truth that the best education is personal, the Honors Program stands as a vital part of the intellectual life at Christendom College,” said Harne. “It is a place where ‘iron sharpens iron’ and a place where professors and students—animated by a love of learning and the desire for God—engage in deep and sustained dialogue ordered to the highest wisdom.”
The launch of the Honors Program represents Christendom’s continued commitment to fostering academic excellence within an authentically Catholic liberal arts education. By providing students with opportunities for advanced study, close mentorship, and thoughtful discussion, the program seeks to cultivate graduates who are prepared for both professional success and a lifelong pursuit of wisdom.
For more information about the Honors Program, visit christendom.edu/honors.