This program provides an intellectually stimulating and academically rigorous curriculum for high-achieving students.
About the Collegium
- Themed seminars on a rich and varied array of subjects
- A wide selection of co- and extracurricular activities
- Training in how to respond thoughtfully and clearly to challenges to the Christian faith
- Intensive development of communication skills, both written and oral
- Grounding in the classical Western tradition
- Guidance for in-depth research and synthesis
- Distinguished guest lecturers from the seminary and beyond
Frequently Asked Questions
The Augustine Honors Collegium is a selective academic program (est. 2016) designed to attract and equip academically advanced undergraduates in order to prepare them to serve the church as Christian scholars who can think critically and communicate the gospel effectively in all walks of life. It is rooted in the best of the classical Western tradition, and trains students to draw on ancient resources to engage with modern concerns.
The program features an enhanced curriculum which emphasizes critical thinking and writing skills, research in the liberal arts tradition, and public communication in order to challenge students beyond basic undergraduate requirements. Additionally, the honors program provides unique extra- and co-curricular opportunities designed to help participants engage their world beyond the classroom.
AHC students are grouped by their current year in the program progression (“Honors Year” or “H-Year”) and work alongside one another to master the specific learning tasks and projects assigned to each H-year. Each H-year group focuses on developing a specific set of academic practices which are designed to culminate in the Senior Thesis in the final year:
H1: Formulating precise, penetrating, and significant research questions
H2: Efficiently surveying both primary sources and scholarly literature
H3: Shaping carefully chosen arguments for maximum persuasive effect
H4: Tracing the contours of diverse viewpoints and exploring their intersections; composing the Senior Thesis
The Augustine Honors Collegium is designed for students who want to challenge themselves academically and who desire to spend more time reading, writing, and thinking about the great questions of our time. It is ideal for students who are eager to think more rigorously and communicate more effectively about issues of both timeless significance as well as contemporary urgency.
These are the minimum requirements for the program:
Incoming Freshmen
27 ACT, 1200 SAT, or 85 CLT
3.5 GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
Transfer Students
3.5 GPA (Cumulative undergraduate)
Application materials are available here.
More information can be obtained by contacting the AHC’s Managing Fellow at honors@sbts.edu
The program costs $500.00 per semester; this fee covers the cost of extra- and co-curricular opportunities unique to the Collegium. Some optional aspects of the program (e.g. out-of-town travel) will incur additional fees.
The AHC offers the opportunity to be part of a tight-knit continuing intellectual community within Boyce College. Our student body (usually between 35-45 students) moves through the seminars together, participates in trips and community-building events together, and learns how to master the program requirements together. It is hard to overstate the value of these shared experiences, which provide rich fellowship and intellectual stimulation that go significantly beyond what is possible in an ordinary college experience.
The Augustine Honors Collegium has been designed to complement every major offered at Boyce College with minimal disruption. Most students should be able to complete the entire 4-year honors curriculum and graduate with the degree of their choosing without adding any classes to their degree program. (A couple of majors may require 1 or 2 additional classes).
The six-semester interdisciplinary core seminars typically substitute for the following courses:
- PH 241 Ontology substitutes for a philosophy elective.
- PH 423 Liberty substitutes for PH 321 Religion in the Public Square.
- PH 245 Culture substitutes for HU 121/122 Great Books I or II.
- PH 247 Apologetics substitutes for PH 103 Worldview Analysis.
- PH 249 Ethics substitutes for PH 311 Introduction to Ethics.
- PH 251 Aesthetics substitutes for a philosophy elective.
To graduate as Augustine Scholars with the right to wear the red stole at graduation, AHC students must take 6 themed seminars, complete 5 “Expert Primer” (XP) presentations, and compose and present a Senior Thesis.
The six seminars are guided by the following themes, through which an AHC student will progress completely in their time in the program:
Ontology: Who are we, and why are we here?
Liberty: What is freedom, and why does it matter?
Culture: How does our context shape us, and how do we shape our context?
Apologetics: How do we defend the historic Christian faith thoughtfully and faithfully?
Ethics: How do we live in and engage with a world profoundly distorted by sin?
Aesthetics: What is beauty, and why does it matter?
A selection of recent seminar topics includes: Human Nature (Ontology), The American Revolution (Liberty), Shakespearean Drama (Culture), Conservatism (Aesthetics), Totalitarianism (Ethics), Patterns of American Life in the City, Suburbs, and Country (Aesthetics), Technological Change and Christian Witness (Apologetics), and Platonic Philosophy and Greek Tragedy (Culture).