Honors at Atlantic Cape
The Honors Program is designed for students who excel academically and who want to work more intensely in a small class environment with honors faculty who are accomplished experts in their field. Honors courses do not require more work; the purpose of an Honors course is to offer high achieving students the opportunity to participate in engaging and creative learning environments that extend beyond those of the regular classroom. The Honors curriculum will consist of special sections of general education courses. No additional cost is associated with Honors courses. The Honors Program is a part of the Student Success initiative. Honors prepares students to transfer to competitive four-year colleges and universities. The benefits of the Honors Program are:
- Honors designation on transcript
- Small class size
- Honors faculty who are experts in their field
- Recognition by transfer to four-year institutions
- Advising by honors faculty
- Opportunity to enroll in Atlantic Cape's national honor societies, including Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Kappa Delta
- Resume builders for scholarships, transfer and career
- Honors lounge
For More Information Contact:
Professor Stephanie Natale-Boianelli, Honors Coordinator
Are Honors courses right for me?
What are the requirements to enroll in an honors course?
1. 3.5 cumulative GPA
2. OR Faculty recommendation
3. OR Advisor recommendation
Are Honors courses right for me?
In an Atlantic Cape Honors Course, you can expect
- A specialized approach to the course content, which could be a course theme, an emphasis on primary texts, more creative assignments, etc.;
- A challenging but reasonable workload since Atlantic Cape honors courses use the same goals, objectives, and evaluation criteria as all non-honors sections of the course;
- A classroom community of engaged and motivated students;
- A small class size that promotes opportunity for participation and individual feedback;
- An accessible professor who is both an expert in the course material and knowledgeable about Atlantic Cape;
- And a mentoring relationship with this professor, who will be a guide and resource to you during and after the semester.
Atlantic Cape Honors Students are expected to
- Be invested and engaged in the classroom community, having a natural curiosity and love of learning;
- Be an active participant in the classroom and course, including discussion and group work;
- Make the time commitment needed to master the course goals and objectives and craft excellent work;
- And be self-directed, proactive learners with strong time management skills.
Honors Program News and Events
Check out some of the work done by honors students in the Honors Gallery!
Atlantic Cape Students Named to 2023 All-State Academic Team
Congratulations to Alexis Cabrera and Harper Showalter who have been named to the 2023 New Jersey All-State Academic Team. This recognition by the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) honors the outstanding achievements and service of two Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) honor society members from each county college. During the 2022-3 academic year, Alexis served as the Vice-President of Fellowship and Harper served as the Public Relations Officer of Atlantic Cape’s Alpha Delta Mu chapter of PTK. They were honored by the Atlantic Cape Board of Trustees on April 25th and by the NJCCC during the New Jersey Community College Scholars Celebration on April 27th at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton.
Honors Principles of Sociology: A Look Inside the Classroom
Professor Julie Heiland’s Honors Principles of Sociology students shared their honors work, including their personal field trips and research papers, through class presentations. The highlight of these were their Family Folklife Interviews. Catherine Yang shared her family’s Korean Roman Catholic background through traditional dress and very old family pictures while Emma Robinson shared an old address book in which her grandfather wrote down the family’s language traditions. Anthony Roman shared his Guatemalan family’s tradition of being woken up on birthdays by a mariachi band, and Diandra Torres brought in flan cake from her mother’s recipe to share her Puerto Rican background. 
Grace Foster shared her family’s Greek traditions and the history of her originally German last name. Nadine Hollis-Turner brought in a South African Milk Tart and shared the story of her family’s forced segregation during apartheid while Ian Provenzano shared his discovery of his half-siblings through a 23 & Me test. These examples give you just a taste of all the ways these honors students broadened one another’s worldviews. (Read more about this honors work at the News & Events page of Honors @ Atlantic Cape.)
Phi Theta Kappa Induction Ceremony 
Atlantic Cape Community College’s Alpha Delta Mu chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) International Honor Society officially swore in its 2022-23 inductee class during its 44th Annual Induction Ceremony on Tuesday, November 15 in Walter E. Edge Hall Theatre on the Mays Landing campus. See the full story here.
Chapter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlphaDeltaMuChapter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ptkalphadeltamu/
PTK College Projects
Each year, active club members of Alpha Delta Mu, Atlantic Cape's chapter of PTK, build a College Project. PTK College Projects respond to the needs of the campus community, particularly its students, and build resources that support that community. Check out recent projects here:
2021-2022 Project: Resources for students applying for Atlantic Cape Scholarships including this essay writing workshop video: https://youtu.be/lBmKVshFaL8.
2022-2023 Project:
Part I was a series of peer-to-peer videos with advice to students taking online courses at Atlantic Cape. Check out the playlist here: Alpha Delta Mu's Guide to Shine Online: Helpful Tips to Rock Your Courses.
Part II--coming soon!
Other honor society chapters at Atlantic Cape
Sigma Kappa Delta National English Honors Society for Two-Year College Students
Website: https://www.english2.org/
Atlantic Cape Chapter Advisor: Vickie Melograno.
Honors Course Design
Often when high school honors students first consider a college or university Honors education, they may feel some reluctance to take on what they believe will be extra work or little more than an accelerated version of an already-fast-paced college education.
But college Honors is not designed to be about more work or harder work. It is truly student-centered education. It is meant to provide students with an education that helps them develop their own ideas rather than simply having them feed back information. It is about discussing issues and encouraging innovation in an atmosphere of open exchange, where students' views are respected. Honors programs emphasize diverse perspectives, interdisciplinary course work, small classes, and greater interaction between students and professors. Honors education is about learning to think clearly, to write well, to argue thoughtfully. It is about developing the student's fullest intellectual potential.
Finally, students should bear in mind that the majority of their courses in college will not be Honors courses. They will be courses in their major or free electives.
Honors Course Simplified
To keep this simple the definition to faculty is the one described by the Honors Coordinator at Mercer. Honors is a traditional course plus an "H-Factor."
Usually that means that Honors students read more primary texts and are evaluated by writing and projects rather than scantron tests. The class is also not conducted by lecture.
Mission Statement
Honors at Atlantic Cape provides an enriched academic experience to a select group of highly motivated students. Through a curriculum of Honors General Education courses that emphasize global awareness, cultural experiences, and local engagement, Atlantic Cape Honors students are challenged to connect their studies to the world beyond the campus. By fostering collaborative learning and intellectual inquiry, Honors at Atlantic Cape prepares students for transfer to competitive four-year colleges and universities, as well as for citizenship in our 21st century world.
National Collegiate Honors Council
Website: https://www.nchchonors.org/