Becoming a James Scholar
There are two ways to join the College of AHS James Scholar Honors Program. Students are either admitted to the College as a James Scholar (as an incoming freshmen or as an on-campus transfer ) or eligible AHS students may go through the Self-Nomination process.
ADMITTED JAMES SCHOLARS
Freshmen
Incoming freshmen in the top ~10% of the admitted AHS class are invited to participate in the James Scholar Program as a part of the admission process. Eligibility is determined after a review of multiple academic indicators.
SELF-NOMINATION
AHS students who would like to begin the self-nomination process to become a James Scholar must meet the following requirements:
- Earned a 3.50 cumulative Illinois GPA.
- Completed at least one semester on the UIUC campus, including 12 graded hours.
- Have no history of academic integrity violations.
- Not be a 2nd semester junior or beyond (unless the student has received permission to remain an undergraduate for a fifth year).
Incoming off-campus transfer students with a 3.65 GPA are invited to participate in the Self-Nomination process during their first semester on campus, The first three requirements above are waived for those students.
Provided those requirements are met, students can beginning the Self-Nomination process during the first 4 weeks of the fall or spring semester.
PLEASE NOTE: Students beginning the Self-Nomination process in the spring semester must complete 2 Honors Plans to earn James Scholar designation for the academic year.
The process is as follows:
- Student meets eligibility requirements above.
- Please complete the Self-Nomination Form prior to the 2nd Friday of the semester. No late forms will be accepted.
- After AHS reviews the form, the student will receive an email giving them access to the Canvas site for AHS James Scholars.
- Via the Canvas site, the student will submit an Honors Plan (or two) by the 4th Friday of the semester. Any self-nominating student who does not submit their Honors Plan by the stated deadline will be removed from the self-nominating process.
- Student receives confirmation email with AHS approval.
- Student successfully completes the honors project(s).
- Student meets all of the requirements for James Scholars.
- Student receives confirmation email from the College in January or June.
- Student has the full benefits of being a James Scholar starting the next semester.