College of the Liberal Arts

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Overview

The College of the Liberal Arts and the Schreyer Honors College (SHC) have formed an innovative, landmark partnership that will invigorate undergraduate education in Liberal Arts for hundreds of students. This partnership—the Paterno Fellows Program—is a unique melding of the Liberal Arts identity and the Schreyer reputation for academic achievement. The program challenges students to perform to their full potential and offers them the support they need to do so.

By selecting themselves into this program (it is available to all Liberal Arts first-year students beginning with the class of 2012), Paterno Fellows agree to distinguish themselves in areas traditionally associated with the liberal arts: ethics, service, and leadership; excellence in communication; and international and intercultural awareness. So that they make best use of elective and general education credits, Fellows will be expected to finish a second major or a 24-credit minor.

The Paterno Fellows experience offers “an education for leadership” in the best tradition of the liberal arts. It molds well-rounded students who are ready for the world and prepares students for citizenship, for lifetime learning, and for the pleasures associated with the educated person. Fellows will typically be admitted to the Schreyer Honors College after the freshman or sophomore year, their accomplishment will be acknowledged at graduation and on the diploma, and their achievements will be valuable features of their post-graduate résumés and application materials. In short, Fellows will aspire to the kind of high achievement, values, and integrity associated with the Paterno family name and the Schreyer Honors College.

Benefits of the Fellows Program

• The most significant benefit to Paterno Fellows is the challenge it puts before students to undertake a rigorous and stimulating academic experience.

Transformative academic development in the liberal arts tradition is the hallmark benefit of the program: Fellows will graduate with in-depth academic credentials in at least two fields; develop ethical principles and leadership ability; and gain the ability to think critically, do independent research, communicate effectively, and demonstrate global and intercultural sophistication. While all Liberal Arts students gain such an education at Penn State, Fellows achieve an education of special ambition, depth, and distinction.

• Paterno Fellows are admitted to the Schreyer Honors College after they prove themselves in their first and second year. When they graduate, they will be acknowledged as Honors and Fellows graduates.

All Liberal Arts students not admitted to the SHC upon admission are eligible to perform their way into the SHC by virtue of their accomplishments inside and outside the classroom. Those who meet the challenge are admitted to the prestigious Schreyer Honors College after the freshman or sophomore year, depending on when they qualify. (Some students may be able to be admitted in the junior year if they are on schedule to meet Fellows expectations.)

• Financial support for enrichment activities

Paterno Fellows will receive $1,500–$2,500 from the College of the Liberal Arts toward meeting their research, study abroad, and internship aspirations; and build a portfolio of experiences that will influence employers, professional schools, and graduate schools. These are the types of experiences that prepare students for leadership and that students and alumni describe as the most defining and unforgettable moments in their college careers.  Students who are ready to apply for these funds should fill out the Liberal Arts Enrichment Funds application.

• Special advising

Under the guidance of a small advisory board, Liberal Arts will provide academic advising to Paterno Fellows; ensure that students are meeting expectations in a timely way; administer applications for enrichment funds; and work with departments, Centers, and other university agencies to locate and create academic and co-curricular opportunities for students. When it is appropriate, Fellows can participate in the College mentor program, which provides one-on-one alumni guidance.

• Participation in a special academic community

Fellows will have opportunities to participate in special seminars and presentations by visiting lecturers, arts activities, off-campus expeditions, even social events that promote group identity and a sense of esprit de corps.

The Specific Responsibilities of Fellows

• Maintain at least a 3.4 GPA: This expected GPA, in keeping with guidelines for the Schreyer Honors College, reflects the consistent academic excellence to which Fellows must aspire.
  
  
• Complete a specified number of Liberal Arts honors courses (or certified honors equivalents) each year, within the major(s) or minor(s) or through general education: Fellows should complete at least eighteen honors credits (three honors courses per year) in the freshman and sophomore years and at least fourteen credits in the final two years. (Note that students entering Liberal Arts in the spring semester of freshman year must complete the eighteen credits in just three semesters, not four.) In general agreement with Schreyer Honors College guidelines, Fellows may satisfy their honors credit requirements in five ways: honors courses, honors option courses, honors independent study or research, advanced courses (defined as 400-level courses taken in the first and second years) or graduate-level courses, and international study or research.
  

• Satisfy any requirements for entrance into the Paterno Fellows program stipulated in the intended major and complete the application forms for entrance to the Schreyer Honors College.

• Satisfy any requirements for entrance into the Paterno Fellows program stipulated in the intended major and complete the application forms for entrance to the Schreyer Honors College.
  
  Many departments, and the majors they oversee, will automatically endorse entrance into the Schreyer Honors College as long as students satisfy the GPA* and honors credit requirements stated above. These departments are African and African American Studies, Anthropology, Asian Studies, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Philosophy, Sociology, and Women’s Studies. 
  
  

  There are some departments with additional requirements beyond these stated above; click on each department below to view their requirements: 

• Communication Arts and Sciences
• Comparative Literature
• Crime, Law, and Justice
• Economics
• English
• French and Francophone Studies
• German and Russian
• History
• Labor Studies and Employment Relations
• Political Science/International Politics
• Psychology
• Religious Studies
• Spanish and Italian

• Complete a second major, in addition to the primary Liberal Arts major; OR complete a minor with at least 24 credits: Fellows are expected to make the best use of elective and general education credits so that their achievements include substantial expertise in a second academic area. (Note: some minors already require 24 or more credits—such as the Business and the Liberal Arts Minor. Others require 18 credits—but Fellows would complete an additional 6 credits. Also note that the second major or the minor need not be in the College of the Liberal Arts—though the primary major must be in Liberal Arts. But a concurrent major or minor in International Studies does not satisfy this requirement.)

• Complete a study abroad experience (brief study abroad experiences embedded in a Penn State course do not qualify) OR a credit-bearing internship (for at least 3 credits). Suitable non-credit internships can be substituted with permission.

• Complete an ethics course, as well as a suitable and substantial leadership or service commitment: Fellows are expected to develop strong ethical principles and to give back to their community, whether this is in the Penn State/State College community or the hometown community or elsewhere. Click here for a list of suitable courses.
  
  A list of expectations for the service requirement is currently under consideration and will be posted shortly. [Note that students with academic integrity violations typically will be disqualified from the Fellows Program.]

• Achieve the Liberal Arts Communication Excellence Certificate OR complete two additional courses beyond the 12th-credit-level proficiency in one foreign language OR achieve 12th credit proficiency in two foreign languages.
  This requirement may also be satisfied by an approved study abroad experience in a non-English speaking country. Those students majoring or minoring in a foreign language would automatically meet this requirement; students whose graduation might be delayed by this requirement may petition for a partial waiver.

• Complete a capstone self-sponsored research or creative project (this does not necessarily need to be in the major): Fellows, like other Honors students, should demonstrate the ability to make use of the special research and critical thinking methods associated with the humanities and social sciences.

*Fellows aspirants who have completed 30 or more credits will be welcomed into the Schreyer Honors College if they have a GPA of 3.5 or above, meet any department requirements, and are ready to declare a major. Those with a GPA below 3.5 after the first year will be welcomed when they complete 60 credits with a GPA of 3.4 and meet department requirements.