Our Mission

The mission of the Honors College at Valdosta State University is to provide for the stimulation of academically motivated students so that they achieve their full academic potential, while at the same time providing recognition for such students' endeavors. The Honors College encourages meaningful connections between disciplines, innovative and unusual approaches to subject matter, and reliance upon experiential learning and global awareness that are fully integrated into the course content and lead to opportunities for strong undergraduate research and creative endeavors. The Honors College also provides extra-curricular opportunities for students to broaden themselves through lectures, service opportunities, and other forms of activity that relate to their education. Finally, the mission of the Honors College is to attract the best students to Valdosta State, and to assist in retaining those students through all four years of their undergraduate experience. In this way Honors College students will make a visible and positive impact on the entire university community, thereby enriching the diversity of the Valdosta State University community as a whole.

Objectives

Students in the Honors College should demonstrate competency in the following objectives by the time they finish the Honors College:

  1. Students will learn the arts of inquiry and conversation, culminating in structured academic research/creative endeavors, academic writing, oral presentation and creative production;

  2. Students will practice the organizational skills of collaboration, planning and assessment, and the personal skills of self-discipline and task management culminating in the capacity to guide or direct group-based work;

  3. Students will understand the importance of civic involvement and giving back to the larger community, culminating in occasions of service that draw upon scholarship, creativity, and leadership capacities;

  4. Students will incorporate an understanding of diverse global and cultural perspectives in their scholarly/creative inquiry, culminating in an international exchange of ideas and activities.    

  5. Students will incorporate an understanding of diverse disciplinary perspectives in their scholarly/creative inquiry, culminating in a collaborative, interdisciplinary project.