The honors program at National Park College is a fantastic program. The staff is dedicated to making sure that each student receives the education that is right for him or her.
The program gives students the opportunity to step into and experience their desired career paths ahead of the competition.
In addition to providing opportunities for career experience, the program also made it possible for me to travel to Italy.
-Skyler Fowler - History Major
Honors Program Transfer Opportunity to SAU
Eligible honors students transferring to Southern Arkansas University (SAU) are now able to transfer and enter the Honors College at SAU. The student must provide proof verifying they completed the SAU approved Honors Introduction Course while at NPC. If admitted to the SAU Honors College, NPC students will receive honors credit at SAU based on the following:
- SAU will grant one hour of honors credit for each zero credit NPC Honors Seminar, Internship, and Capstone course. These hours will count toward the required 24 hours of honors credit for an SAU honors diploma, but they will not count towards the 120-hour requirement for a bachelor's degree.
- SAU will grant three hours of SAU honors credit for each NPC Honors contract course. These courses will count towards the 120-hour requirement for a bachelor's degree.
- No NPC student will transfer in excess of twelve hours of honors credit to SAU.
Undergraduate Research Assistantship
Honors students help faculty mentors perform research projects. Faculty mentors design research projects that reflect their unique interests and supervise all student work. This program provides honors students with valuable experiences that may include but are not necessarily limited to partnering with faculty mentors on experiments, data analysis, publications and presentations.
Limited Class Size
For all Honors-only courses, such as the Seminar series, classes are capped at 15 students for maximum effectiveness. We cannot guarantee capped class sizes for general education courses outside honors curriculum. However, some Honors designated general education class sections may be offered depending on the need.
Study Abroad
We are currently investigating partnerships with both two-year and four-year programs for Study Abroad opportunities. These will likely begin with 2 week summer excursions for credit. Additional travel packages will be developed at a later date.
Service Learning
In partnership with the local community, all honors students will complete at least 20 hours of volunteer work each fall and spring term, and complete at least 80 total hours prior to graduation. The Honors Program will offer a wide-variety of options for students, and will do our best to tailor each placement with student interest. This is an important component of developing habits of community engagement, better collaborative skills, and broadening the social consciousness of our students.
Capstone Project
Every honors student will complete a Capstone Project during their last semester at NPC. This project will be under the guidance of a faculty member, and ideally reflect the culmination of each student’s academic and social experience in the Honors Program. The project, described below, will be presented publicly to all interested parties at the end-of-the-year honors banquet.
Honors-Only Lounge/Study Room
Honors students will be provided with a lounge area to socialize, study and access computers.
Priority Registration and Honors Advising
All honors students should be advised by the Honors director or a designated faculty advisor. This allows advisors to track student progress, monitor scholarship eligibility requirements, volunteer placement, and provide the best curriculum advice to our students. Honors-students will be allowed priority registration in order to ensure regular classes approved to utilize the contract system for honors credit will be available for enrollment.