Honors Transfer Program

Overview

The Las Positas Honors Program provides highly-motivated students with the opportunity to work closely with outstanding faculty and other honors students in doing a wide variety of research projects and other activities to create a rich, intellectual experience. The Honors Program is also designed to prepare students for transfer to four-year colleges and universities and to build the intellectual and social skills needed for their success after transfer. The program provides opportunities for taking more stimulating and more advanced Honors Courses, as well as taking any regular courses at an Honors level through activities and experiences designed specifically to encourage independent and creative learning. 

Program Calendar

Our program runs in the fall and spring semesters. The program is not usually active during the summer term, but there are some exceptions. The program will be closed for Summer 2025.

WARNING: due to the increasing popularity of the program and the limited capacity, we do not guarantee a spot immediately after application, you might be added to a waitlist until more spots open up.

How Does the Program Work

Honors Course Scope and Examples

Honors work should represent a minimum of 25 hours of additional high-level work beyond what is already required in a regular course. The work should consist of in-depth research, demonstration of critical thinking, exposure to additional professional literature on the subject (at least 10 valid sources on top of required readings in class), evidence of high level writing skills in the publication style of the subject field (APA, MLA, etc...), and scholarship of greater breadth or depth than the normal coursework. The specific content and shape of the Honors Courses vary widely depending on the instructor and the course discipline. The Honors work is intended to help prepare the student for work at a four-year institution and beyond.

 Topics are individual and very flexible, but here are some examples:

• an empirical research paper based on experiments, fieldwork or an extensive gathering and analysis of statistical data 
• a traditional review of literature paper or a literary analysis
• a case study or series of case studies 
• a specialized series of lab experiments
• an art project with analysis
• a musical composition with analysis
• a literary composition 
• an original software or hardware creation with documentation
• a series of higher level assignments over the course (more complex math problems for a math course as an example)

Program Benefits

Benefits and opportunities you will have as an Honors student include:

• The opportunity to do exciting and challenging coursework geared toward those who wish to achieve beyond what is normally required for lower-division classes.
• The benefits of working one-on-one with faculty as you engage in your honors work.
• The opportunity to participate in student research symposiums, including the prestigious BHC honors research symposium held at either Stanford University or UC Berkeley each Spring.
• A chance to collaborate with other honors students.
• An "Honors" transcript designation for each Honors course completed - the course will show as "Honors" course on your transcript.
• Access to honors transfer agreements with a number of the most competitive universities (such as UCLA, Yale, Pomona - check the links in the left navigation panel for the full list) for those who graduate as honors scholars (see requirements in STEP 4 above).
• An Honors Scholar Medal with a Certificate, and a special recognition at graduation for students who complete the program as Honors Scholars (see requirements in STEP 4 above).

Please check out this Short Power Point Presentation about the Program.

Follow the links to the left for more information.

Student Interviews

In this video honors students discuss their experience in the Las Positas College Honors Transfer Program.