A program of intellectual formation that challenges students to
improve their critical thinking and communication skills through a curriculum that is reading and writing intensive.
The Scholars Program is a program of intellectual formation designed for Benedictine University’s best and brightest undergraduate students. It provides these students with special opportunities and resources while requiring them to meet special challenges.
Scholars in good standing receive a substantial tuition award each semester. These funds are a gift from Benedictine University and its benefactors—an investment in the education of highly promising students.
The Program complements almost every degree program within the University’s undergraduate colleges. Students complete the requirements of the Scholars Program while completing the requirements of their majors (e.g., Biology, Health Science, Finance, Marketing, Elementary Education, Political Science, Psychology, History, Literature, etc.).
At the heart of the Program are the Scholars Seminars. There are eight such seminars, one for each semester in a four-year academic program. A typical Scholars student takes one such seminar each semester, as part of a load of 4-5 other courses. Participation in these seminars is limited to Scholars students. Discussion-based and reading- and writing-intensive, they are taught by experienced faculty and dedicated to the study of great books.
One may think of the Scholars Program as a course of study that parallels and yet differs from the course of study required of other Benedictine undergraduates. Scholars seminars meet the same “Basic Skills” and “Cultural Heritage” requirements that non-Scholars courses do, albeit in a different way.
