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This page explains the requirements for graduating from the Scholars Program as well as for remaining in good standing while progressing toward graduation.

Scholars students with questions about these requirements are encouraged to contact the Scholars Assistant.

Good Standing
To remain in good standing within the Program, a Scholars student must maintain a cumulative GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3.2 or higher. If a Scholars student earns a cumulative GPA lower than 3.2 in a given semester, he or she is automatically placed on Scholars Probation. Students on Scholars Probation have one semester to raise their cumulative GPA to the required level. If a student’s cumulative GPA remains lower than 3.2 for two consecutive semesters, she or he may be dismissed from the Program. In special cases, the Director may grant a Scholars student an additional semester to raise his or her GPA.

Graduation from the Scholars Program
“Benedictine Scholar” is an honorary designation conferred upon undergraduate students at graduation. Those so honored have, at a minimum, met each of the six special requirements discussed below.

1. Curriculum

Graduation as a Scholar requires grades of C of better for every Scholars course in which a student enrolls.

Students who enter the Program as first-semester freshman ordinarily enroll in one course per semester for eight semesters. Those who join the Program later ordinarily enroll in the Scholars course that corresponds to their semester of entry in the Program; they are not required to take “earlier” Scholars courses, so long as they have earned college credit for equivalent courses.

The full sequence of courses is as follows:

Freshman Year
HNRS 190 First-Year Colloquium I
HNRS 191 First-Year Colloquium II

Sophomore Year
HNRS 195 Organizational & Group Dynamics
HNRS 220 The Mediterranean World

Junior Year
HNRS 220 The Mediterranean World
HNRS 230 The Baptism of Europe

Senior Year
HNRS 294 Art, Creativity, & Culture
HNRS 393 Global Interdependence

2. Community Service

By graduation, Scholars students are required to have completed 40 hours of Community Service: i.e., of public, unremunerated charitable activity that promotes the common good. In recent years, Scholars students have donated their time to serving the poor, the homeless, the sick, and imprisoned throughout Chicagoland. For students in the Class of 2007 and 2008, the requirement is completed on an honor system; students are not required to furnish evidence of their having met it. Students in subsequent classes may be asked to document the service they’ve performed.

3. Language Proficiency

Scholars students are required to demonstrate the ability to speak, read, and write a foreign language at a level equivalent to six semesters of college study.

This requirement can be met in one of two ways. The first way is by earning a sufficient grade on a foreign language proficiency examination. Benedictine University currently offers proficiency examinations in Arabic, French, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, and German. It recognizes the results of examinations from certain accredited institutions, such as the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The requisite level of proficiency is “Intermediate-Low” on the scale defined by the ACTFL (Association for College Teachers of Foreign Languages).

4. Mathematical Proficiency

By graduation, a Scholars student must have earned a passing grade at a level equivalent to or higher than one of the following courses:

MATH 111 College Trigonometry
MATH 115 Business Calculus
MATH C170 Introduction to Calculus I
MATH C210 Calculus with Analytics I

5. Ethics course

By graduation, a Scholars student must have earned a passing grade in one of the following three courses:

PHIL C240 General Ethics
PHIL 245 Biomedical Ethics
PHIL C250 Business Ethics

Please note: PHIL 245 is not a C-course. As such, it does not suffice to meet the University’s core requirement in Philosophy. Accordingly, Scholars who earn a passing grade in PHIL 245 must also earn a passing grade in a Philosophy course that is a C-course in order to satisfy the University’s core requirement in Philosophy.

6. Interdisciplinary Research Project (IRP)

The IRP culminates in a 20-30-page research paper. It is crafted in stages and in consultation with two faculty mentors over five semesters. Graduation from the Program and the maintenance of Good Standing requires successful completion of each of these stages.

Click here for additional information about the IRP.