FGCU Soaring With The Honors College

by Clay Motley, Director of the Honors College at FGCU

One of the most exciting recent developments at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is the creation of its newest college, the Honors College. The Honors College enroll s1,200 high-achieving students from every academic major.

While students must have strong academic credentials to be admitted to the Honors College, its purpose goes well beyond maintaining a high GPA. The Honors College is about opportunity—its curriculum, courses, and programming are designed to connect ambitious students to life-changing opportunities related to research, study abroad, service, and leadership. Any FGCU student could participate in these impactful activities, but Honors College students have the structure and support to ensure that they do so from the start of their FGCU careers.

Today’s Honors College grew out of the successful Honors Program that had an enrollment of about 500 students when I joined FGCU as its Director in Fall 2015. Since then, we have significantly increased the enrollment, curricula, number of Honors courses, and opportunities for Honors students.

Today, approximately 8.5% of FGCU undergraduates are enrolled in the Honors College. Despite its rapid growth, the Honors College creates a strong sense of community amongst students and faculty.

All new Honors students are paired with an experienced Honors student through the Honors Mentor program, and first year students can choose to live and take Honors courses together in the Honors College’s Live Learn Community, and experienced students can live in the dedicated Honors residence hall.

We provide social and intellectual programming for Honors students, such as a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, trivia night, and guest lectures from alumni and eminent scholars.

One of the most important developments for the Honors College was the creation of the Office of Competitive Fellowships (OCF) in 2019. It mentors students applying for prestigious external fellowships and scholarships, such as the Fulbright, Truman, and Marshall Scholarships. In only its first year of operation, the OCF, led by Dr. Terumi Rafferty-Osaki, assisted 25 students in receiving distinguished scholarships and fellowships, including the first two FGCU students to ever receive the Goldwater Scholarship, the top scholarship for undergraduate science researchers.

FGCU students are successfully competing with the most prestigious national universities for these opportunities.

An Honors College education is as much about what you do outside of the classroom as what you learn in the classroom. For example, during our recurring study abroad program to Peru, Honors students start their own research projects in the Amazon jungle; Honors students provide impactful service with community partners in Immokalee, Florida during our annual Immokalee Immersion Weekend; Honors students are currently researching breast cancer in a biology lab; and as of Fall 2020, Honors students are mentoring South Fort Myers High School students on college preparedness and the application process.

The Honors College helps recruit extraordinarily high-achieving students to FGCU and gives them the tools, resources, and encouragement to make the most of the opportunities afforded to them.

I am extraordinarily fortunate to work with such talented and ambitious students every single day.

There are several ways that you can get involved with the Honors College. The Office of Competitive Fellowships welcomes community members to serve on mock interview committees for students applying for prestigious fellowships and scholarships.

Please email us at honors@fgcu.edu if you would like to dedicate your talents to this enterprise. The Honors College will also be participating in FGCU’s upcoming “Give Where You Live” campaign to increase Honors students’ ability to conduct research, participate at academic conferences, and study abroad.