Lower Division Honors Program
The Lower Division Honors Program provides freshmen and sophomore students in all academic majors with value-added educational experiences. Academic components of the program strengthen exploration and communication skills through interdisciplinary assignments. All freshmen who are admitted to the lower division program are awarded merit-based academic scholarships. These are most often awarded as SUNY-ESF Presidential Scholarships in the amount of $1,500 to $5,000 per year.
Admission
Admission to the program is extremely selective and primary consideration is given to a student’s academic record with a minimum expectation of combined reading and mathematics SAT score of 1250 or higher, or an ACT equivalent composite score of 28 or higher, a high school grade point average of 92% or higher, and high school class rank in the top 20% (where rankings are available). The College admits no more than 27 first-year students to the program each year.
Program Requirements
Students in the lower division honors program complete the following components during the first (freshman) year:
- An honors section of Student-to-Student Mentoring. This program links new first-year students to returning ESF students and helps the new students adapt to the ESF community through informal interactions and sharing of best tips for academic and personal success.
- Honors Seminar in Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF 109, 1 credit)
- Writing, Humanities and the Environment - Honors (CLL 290, 3 credits)
Academic Standing
Honors students will be deemed “in good standing in honors” when they demonstrate steady progress in fulfilling Honors requirements and a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher. Each semester, the Honors Program Director will assess students’ progress and students who are not in good standing in Honors will be informed in writing. Students must be in good standing in Honors to be eligible for early registration and access to honors sections of courses.
