Admission to Honors

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The Towson University Honors College provides students the opportunity to think big ideas, pursue deep inquiry, and discover how innovation leads to achievement through a challenging curriculum which meets the unique academic needs and interests of Honors students. Honors students explore their interests and cultivate their talents through a distinct blend of academic and co-curricular activities supported by a community of motivated students and faculty. Honors students have the opportunity to live and learn in a residential environment while pursuing internship, leadership, research, and service opportunities, and they strive to make the world a better place.

Benefits of the Honors College

Innovative Curriculum and Small Classes

Students are encouraged to complete Honors work that includes co-curricular activities such as leadership workshops, service-learning experiences, and civic engagement. Honors students participate in a flexible curriculum.

• Classroom experiences: Discussion-based seminars give students an opportunity to work closely with the Honors College faculty in small classroom settings.
• Experiential learning: Students work with faculty within specific academic departments on research projects, thesis writing, service-learning, independent study, and internships.

Engaged Community

An engaged community of scholars is a defining characteristic of the Honors experience. We emphasize leadership development, social and civic engagement activities, and programs that build meaningful relationships in and out of the classroom.

To foster that sense of community at the residential level on campus, all incoming Honors College students who choose to live on campus are placed in Frederick Douglass House. One of Towson University's residence halls in West Village, Douglass House is the Honors College Living Learning Community, created in partnership with the Department of Housing & Residence Life. The benefits of Honors housing are many and include the possibility of classes taught within Douglass House, access to a book exchange, and specific move-in dates at the start of fall term.

Specialized Advising

Honors College faculty work closely with students to design and to complete their Honors curriculum. Freshmen work with designated First-Year Experience advisers with Honors expertise in colleges and departments who help students make curriculum decisions that address their interests and needs, and beginning sophomore year students work with Honors advisers housed within the Honors College in addition to their major advisors. Honors advisers can also provide advice on career preparation, personal and leadership development, and undergraduate research opportunities.

Priority Registration

Continuing students in the Honors College receive priority course registration, thus avoiding many scheduling conflicts. Honors priority registration occurs before the ordinary registration period for continuing students, so even Honors freshmen register for courses before most TU seniors who are not in the Honors College.

Funding Opportunities

Most incoming fall freshmen and transfer students will receive an Honors College Scholarship in the amount of $1,250. The Honors College Scholarship is usually offered in addition to any other scholarships a student may have been awarded by Towson University, and it is an annual award which may only be applied towards educational expenses for full-time fall and spring term undergraduate enrollment at TU. Scholarships may be received for a maximum of eight consecutive terms if entering as a freshman, or up to seven consecutive terms if entering as a transfer student, based on number of completed college credits at the time of entry.

In addition, Honors students are eligible for other Honors-only financial support such as the Honorables of Color Scholarship for students who support marginalized communities and the Honors College Study Abroad Award to pursue study abroad experiences.

Test Optional

Honors and TU are Permanently Test Optional 

TU and the Honors College are test-optional, meaning the submission of standardized test scores is not required. Please review the University Admission FAQs for details on the application process.

Applicants who apply without SAT or ACT exam scores will not be at a competitive disadvantage to students who submit test scores. We welcome and encourage all applicants!

Application Process

All applicants to the Honors College must submit the following:

• An essay, 500–750 words in length, responding to one of five Honors-specific prompts
• List of extracurricular activities

All applicants to TU submit the following material, which are also used in Honors decisions:

• High school transcripts (freshmen applicants only) and/or college transcripts (transfer applicants, freshmen applicants when applicable)

Applicants to the Honors College have the option to submit the following for consideration:

• SAT or ACT exam scores (freshmen applicants only)
• One letter of recommendation from a major subject teacher [see below for further instructions]

Application Prompts

The Honors College application's prompts for the essay and letter of recommendation for spring and fall 2024 admission are listed below.

Essay Prompts

Please attach an essay, 500–750 words in length, that answers all parts of one of the prompts listed below:

1. The philosopher Alfred Lessing has argued that, when a painting is discovered to be a forgery, such knowledge “is a fact about the painting which stands entirely apart from it as an object for aesthetic contemplation. The knowledge of this fact can neither add anything to nor subtract anything from the aesthetic experience…” Although Lessing’s quotation specifically cites painting as the art form, the argument is transferrable to any work of fine art in any medium. Imagine a panel of experts deemed your favorite work of art a forgery. In an essay that identifies that work of art, discuss your reactions to this revelation and to Lessing’s statement. What factors contributed to you choosing this work of art as your favorite? Do those same factors play a significant role in your reactions? How so?
2. The sixteenth-century English philosopher Francis Bacon is credited with originating the phrase “knowledge is power.” The accumulation of knowledge by an individual has, historically, conferred upon that person the credential of expertise. In recent years, that historical process and its biases have come under scrutiny, since they have helped to concentrate knowledge, and therefore power, into the hands of a minority. As an aspiring college student and therefore implicitly someone seeking to accumulate knowledge, what do you feel the role of expertise has been in your life and what do you think it will be as a college graduate? Envision your contributions to society as a result of accumulating the knowledge you seek and speculate on how they will be accepted, evaluated, and perhaps rewarded.
3. Public outcry against individual actions, beliefs, or their negative consequences has taken many forms across history. In contemporary society, this phenomenon has found powerful expression in cancel culture, sometimes now referred to as call-out culture. Craft an essay describing your position on cancel/call-out culture. How does cancel culture differ from simple, public opposition? Provide instances of each from public discourse as examples. Are there any unforeseen consequences that these examples create that merit consideration? Is it legitimate for people across the entire political spectrum to assert their values or beliefs through the processes associated with cancel culture? Why?
4. Within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, power objects abound. Prominent among them is Mjölnir, the enchanted hammer wielded primarily by Thor. Its magical failsafe prevents anyone who is not “worthy” from picking it up and being endowed with the power of Thor. Mjölnir is neither infinitely powerful nor indestructible and has seen relatively few characters capable of wielding it and its associated powers (flight, lightning, and blunt destruction). If Mjölnir existed as a real source of power in the world, which person (either contemporary or historical, excluding members of your family), in your opinion, could actually use it? Why do you believe the person you’ve selected meets its use requirements? Are there any situations wherein this person would ‘think twice’ or refuse to use Mjölnir and its associated powers? What are they and why would the user make that choice? How might these decisions impact the historical legacy of the person identified?
5. Sometimes food gains a seasoning of cultural meanings. People crave hot dogs at a ballpark who might otherwise disdain them. In the 1970s, one company tried to identify their brand with patriotic Americanism using the jingle “Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet.” Marcel Proust wrote his seven-volume novel Remembrance of Things Past (the English title) to probe a whole cultural experience and the idea of involuntary memory, for which the emblematic example early in the first volume was a powerful reaction to the taste of a madeleine (a small cake) that called forth a rush of memories from his childhood. Is there a food in your personal experience or in the larger communities of which you are a part that carries important cultural meaning for you or for your networks? Why? What is involved in such a connection? What meaning could you attribute to it that reaches beyond an individual experience? Be bold and speculative in thinking about what that food connection might embody.

Letter of Recommendation Prompt (optional)

Students may have an optional letter of recommendation from a teacher in a major subject area included in their Honors consideration. For some students, letters of recommendation can help us better understand what drives you, explain circumstances that have had a distinct effect on your studies, or otherwise provide a fuller picture of the applicant. Should you choose to request a letter, your recommender is encouraged to consider the following questions:

1. Does the student show curiosity in reaching beyond what is immediately required or expected?
2. Does the student contribute constructively in groups? Can you provide an example?
3. Would you look forward to having this student in class again? Why or why not?
4. If you could suggest an improvement in this student's approach to their own education, what would it be?

Your letter may be uploaded through the TU application, sent to TU via Naviance, or your recommender may send it directly to admissions@towson.edu.