Honors Program

Horace Mann Bond Honors Program

A community of scholars

Rooted in a tradition of Black scholarly and creative excellence, the  Horace Mann Bond Honors Program (HMBHP) offers academically talented students, a dynamic, well-structured, and challenging honors experience in the context of a Liberal Arts education. Within Lincoln University’s mission to learn, liberate, and lead, Honors students select from a rich menu of classes, campus, and pre-professional opportunities in order to build a meaningful, well-designed portfolio that showcases their scholarly and professional expertise. Ultimately, this professional development program seeks to create well-rounded students who are able to effectively navigate academic and professional environments.

Eligibility Requirements

The application process into the Horace Mann Bond Honors program opens every spring semester. This is a competitive, application-based process and applicants must have a minimum 3.3 GPA to be considered.

In order to be considered, applications must include: unofficial transcript, three essays, and two letters of recommendation. Applicants who are accepted will be notified and invited to participate in the annual honors induction ceremony in the Spring of each year. In order to maintain good standing in the program, applicants must meet with the Honors Advisor at least 2x per academic year, attend at least one Honors event per semester, meet the academic and co-curricular requirements each year and maintain a 3.3 GPA.  Additionally, Honors students must abide by all university policies as well as all local, state, and national laws in order to maintain their Honor’s program membership. All applicants are reviewed, selected, and admitted to the HMB program by  the selection process conducted by the HMB director and HMB Honors Ad-Hoc Committee.

Curricular Requirements

These requirements will be tracked each academic year that a student is involved in the program. Staying current regarding the requirements and in compliance with your agreed up academic and co-curricular goals established at the start of each academic year is a requirement to staying in good honors program standing and maintaining an overall GPA of at least 3.3.

Required. All HMB Honors students meet at least twice annually to set personalized HMB goals and complete a signed academic/co-curricular HMB Honors plan for the academic year in order to meet each of these requirements.

• 3.3+ GPA maintained every semester (if you fall below the GPA, you will have one semester to regain the GPA minimum).
• 9+ Credits of Honors Courses/3+ credits per academic year 
• 9+ Credits of Honors Capstone Experiences (3+/year). All projects/experiences must be pre-approved by the HMB director and supervising faculty member.  
  • Research Methodology with Honors Project (college specific)
  • Capstone Seminar with Honors Project  
  • Honors Independent Study  
  • Honors Student-Faculty Research/Independent Research/Conference Presentation  
  • Honors Internship or Field Placement in a nationally recognized organization and presentation. 

Co-Curricular Requirements

Select from Co-Curricular and Leadership Experiences (Minimum Two per Academic Year). To count as Honors, all co-curricular projects or opportunities must be approved  by the HMB Director and supervising faculty or staff.

•  Study Abroad with Honors Presentation  
• Honors Presentation at the Undergraduate Students’ Research Conference
• Internship or Field Placement earned through a competitive process at an external agency. 
• Leadership in a professional membership organization related to one’s academic discipline. 
• Creation of a campus-wide or community project to fulfill an identified need.