The Merced College Honors Program is your gateway to an enriching educational experience, designed to inspire and empower every student to reach their fullest potential. Our program not only aims to better prepare students for the academic rigors of a four-year college or university but also welcomes and encourages enrollment in honors classes and seminars by all incoming and continuing students who meet the minimum qualifications. For those who don’t meet these qualifications, we offer an inclusive challenge process for enrollment.

Our dedicated instructors in the Honors Program are passionate about academic excellence, recognizing that genuine education is intertwined with creative expression and personal growth. We wholeheartedly commit to fostering an educational environment that nurtures both expression and personal growth, ensuring that every student can thrive and succeed.

Courses for Spring 2025

  • ENGL/PHIL-13H Online
    • Professor Jacqueline Alvarez
  • HIST-17B MWF 12:00-12:50
    • Professor Michael Lorenz
  • HNRS-40D Honors Seminar: Sex and Love T 2:00-3:50
    • Professor Max Hallman
  • PHIL-01H TTH 11:00-12:15
    • Professor Max Hallman

Why Join Honors?

  • Benefits

    Smaller class sizes, priority consideration for transfer to select schools, access to a specialized counselor, and more. 

  • Specialized Courses

    We off unique interdisciplinary seminars that are accepted as elective credit by both CSU’s and UC’s. These courses offer field trips unique to the honors program.

  • Scholarships

    The McConnel Honors Scholarship is a $1,000 for students enrolled in the Honors program.

What does it take and how do I enroll?

Any new student with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5, or any continuing student with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25, may enroll in any open Honors Program class for which they have met the necessary pre-requisites.  Students who do not meet the above qualifications may be allowed to enroll in an honors class by successfully completing the challenge process.  To begin the challenge process, please contact Dr. Max Hallman, Honors Program Coordinator, at (209) 384-6327 or at [email protected].

Honors classes have a restriction on enrollment and cannot be added through the online enrollment process.  Permission to add must be obtained in one of the following ways:

  1. Getting the signature of a counselor, the instructor of the class, or the Honors Program Coordinator on a Schedule Request Form.  The signed form must then be submitted to the Registration Desk in the Lesher Building.
  2. E-mailing the Honors Program Coordinator and providing your student ID number (if known), as well as  the name of the class or classes in which you wish to enroll.  If seats are available, the Honors Program Coordinator will send an e-mail to the Admissions Office granting permission to enroll.  The Admissions Office will then contact you about how to complete the process.

The Sixties Experience

Honors 40A

This seminar will focus on the in-depth discussion and analysis of the philosophy, politics, and music of the 1960’s.

historical image from haight ashbury in the 1960s

Native American Philosophy

Honors 40B

This seminar will focus on the in-depth discussion and analysis of Native American philosophy, politics, and music.

Native American woman in the Yosemite valley

Philosophy and Rock Music

Honors 40C

This seminar will discuss and analyze traditional philosophical topics through the use of classic rock music.

Steppin wolf concert

Contact

Merced College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in employment, in any education program, or in the provision of benefits and services to its students.