GE Honors Program
The General Education Honors program provides an enriched educational experience for academically motivated Matadors. Incoming freshmen, transfers and current CSUN students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher are encouraged to join.
Mission Statement
The General Education Honors Program at California State University Northridge curates an enriched educational opportunity for high-achieving, academically motivated students thereby providing an elite liberal arts college education with all of the rich resources unique to a large comprehensive university. The core of the program emphasizes students’ critical reasoning and creative thinking skills in addressing the most pressing issues of our time, with a focus on social justice and equity. We accomplish this through a distinctly interdisciplinary lens, forums for intellectual discourse, research opportunities with faculty, and guidance for professional development. The Honors Program prepares students to be informed, engaged local and global citizens and leaders toward a more just future.
Why Join GE Honors?
You’ll continue to grow as a scholar and a person as you learn alongside intellectually curious peers in smaller classes taught by some of the university’s most esteemed faculty. You’ll build a community of new friends and mentors as you expand your social and professional networks. And you’ll benefit for years to come when applying to graduate school or seeking employment, as participation in an honors program demonstrates not just your academic ability, but your motivation and commitment to high-caliber work.
As a GE Honors student, you’ll enjoy:
· Priority registration to support a shorter time to degree completion.
· Unique courses only available to GE Honors students.
· Exclusive invitations to the GE Honors interdisciplinary lecture series.
· Funded research opportunities to work one-on-one with CSUN faculty.
· Professional development coaching and personalized advisement.
· Academically-supportive campus housing in the Honors Living Learning Community.
Rising Scholars Award
Plus, first-time freshmen with a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher, who demonstrate an unmet financial need, are eligible for the Rising Scholars Award, a $5,000 scholarship awarded for up to two years to 10 GE Honors students. Rising Scholars are recognized across campus as especially promising students and are often highly competitive candidates when applying for additional scholarships in their junior and senior years.
Here's what students are saying about the GE Honors Program:
"The GE Honors program has been integral to my college experience and career goals because of the community it provided me immediately entering college. This has been very important to me as a first-generation student because it gave me a sense of belonging. The mentorship and connections I have made through this program have helped shape who I am as a CSUN student and who I want to be moving forward in my academic journey." -Nallely De La Rosa, '23, Child and Adolescent Development
"This research opportunity granted me the chance to research the mental health of teachers in rural Nepal to better understand the struggles they underwent during the pandemic. This was truly an amazing opportunity as it allowed me to learn the basics of researching as well as get in contact with more professors. Lastly, I'm really grateful for how much I learned both because of the research I did and the technical side of understanding how to properly research." -Mahwish Zahid, Cell and Molecular Biology
"Due to the GEH Research Fellowship program, I had the privilege of connecting with Dr. Tonyan to collaborate on researching a covert care force of family, friends, and neighbors providing child care in the USA. We presented a poster which is the first step in our efforts to better understand who are the people providing home-based child care. This poster examines the combination of both beliefs because we hypothesized that we could more accurately represent beliefs with groups than with a total score calculated as a sum. This opportunity allowed me to present the poster at the GEH Certificates and Cord Ceremony as well as attend the Western Regional Honors Council Conference, which was the first conference I had ever been to. It also enabled me to connect with an incredible mentor who has encouraged the growth of my interest for research. I was able to meet and establish connections with a lot of other honors students from all over the west coast as a consequence of my attendance at the conference. I learned a lot from their talks, and I also developed a ton of knowledge and self-assurance. At the same time, I've been able to accumulate a lot more experience due to this opportunity, which has improved my critical thinking abilities and stoked my interest and desire to learn more." -Melita Mehzabin, Cell and Molecular Biology
"The General Education Honors (GEH) Program allows students to immerse themselves in a growth-mindset environment. For instance, I engaged in multiple lectures, conferences, social events, and career resources since my freshman year through GEH. Subsequently, I have made amazing friends in GEH from various disciplines with whom I share great memories in college. As a result, I have been exposed to different opportunities outside of my major that has transformed my college experience academically, professionally, and personally to the fullest. Thus, GEH is a great prospect and asset for students who seek to augment their college time." -Pamela Trujillo, Business Administrative Management
Academic Programs
Students in the GE Honors program enroll in special sections of the university’s required general education courses. These classes are taught by outstanding CSUN faculty and often have a lower student-to-faculty ratio. Plus, they’re engaging, challenging and fun! For each GEH course you complete, you’ll receive a special designation on your transcript.