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Institute Honors Program

The Institute Honors Program enriches the academic experience of VMI's outstanding cadets through activities that encourage an affinity for intellectual inquiry and develop the capacity for sophisticated engagement of issues and problems, whether ethical, civic, or professional.

Honors Cadets benefit from special offerings by other enrichment programs like the Âé¶¹´«Ã½Èë¿ÚCenter for Undergraduate Research and Institute Writing Program. Special opportunities, including meetings with distinguished guests on Post and trips to sites of interest, are organized especially for them.  

Honors Cadets are carefully mentored for academic success and post-graduate aspirations. They are prime candidates for prestigious postgraduate awards such as the Marshall, Rhodes, Gates Cambridge, Truman, and Goldwater scholarships, as well as admissions agreements with top-tier graduate programs in law and medicine.

Those who complete the program are certified as Distinguished Graduates with Institute Honors at commencement.

Admission / Continuance

Admission to the program is guaranteed for Institute Scholars and open by application to any current cadet with a cumulative GPA ≥ 3.5 and who has completed at least one but not more than four semesters of study at the time of application.

Continuance in the program requires maintenance of a cumulative GPA ≥ 3.5 and satisfactory engagement in program activities.

Requirements

  • HN 100 – Honors Forum – every semester
  • One HNS elective (3 credits): Honors Seminar in Science or Engineering
  • One HNL elective (3 credits):  Honors Seminar in the Humanities or Social Sciences
  • Senior Honors Project/Thesis (6 credits)

Program admission decisions for incoming cadets are made after matriculation. Applicants will be contacted in August for interviews.

 


Honors Program in the News

Find out more about the cadet research projects and the Honors program in recent Âé¶¹´«Ã½Èë¿Únews.

Connor Bott ’26 explains the different types of boat anchors and how they are used during his honors presentation in Scott Shipp Hall.

Bott Designs Retractable Boat Anchor

Connor Bott ’26, a mechanical engineering major at Âé¶¹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, has designed a modern adaptation for an ancient devise with his honors senior thesis project, “Design and Analysis of an Electromechanical Marine Wreck Anchor.”

Ben Bowen ’26 explains the underlying driving principles of two of his favorite authors, Edgar Allen Poe and John Gardner, during his honors presentation in Scott Shipp Hall.

Bowen Explores Creative Writing Devices

Ben Bowen ’26, an English major at Âé¶¹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, introduced his honors presentation by disclosing that it is not intended to prove an esthetic point or make a literary argument.