Trinity College of Florida Honors Program

Honors Students are immersed in a challenging and carefully-crafted curriculum of coursework that explores the fulfillment of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in biblical revelation, and in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

These discussion-oriented courses provide essential foundations in the Christian tradition, introducing students to the way the Christian worldview supports and shapes influential ideas in historical theology, ethics, apologetics, and the literary imagination.

Honors Program courses help students to formulate a Christian worldview in connection with the classical ideas of truth, goodness, and beauty:

• The True (Bible and Theology)
  • Readings in Christian Thought/Theology 1 (Classical Period)
  • Reading in Christian Thought/Theology 2 (Modern Day Period)
• The Good (Apologetics and Ethics)
  • C. S. Lewis – Apostle to the Skeptic
  • Contemporary Issues in Ethics and Theology
• The Beautiful (Creation and Literature)
  • Darwinism, Intelligent Design, and the Rhetoric of Science
  • Western Civilization – Great Books

Capstone Thesis

As the Program’s culminating research project, Honors students complete a Capstone Thesis, further exploring a selected program theme or topic under the supervision of a faculty mentor. 

Students present their research before both a faculty panel and their fellow students for discussion and engagement.

Since formation does not take place in isolation, a thriving community of students and faculty is essential to the Honors Program’s mission.

These relationships are forged and strengthened in a variety of ways:

• Table Talks – regular gatherings for food, coffee, fellowship, and the lively discussion of classic texts and key ideas with the Honors Program Director
• Guest Lectures – special events for hearing invited speakers, who present on important topics and model sound scholarship
• Senior Banquets – formal times for recognizing student achievements and allowing presentation of completed capstone projects 
• Honors Trips – domestic and international travel to important sites of Christian heritage and cultural enrichment such as Italy, Greece, Israel, the United Kingdom, and Germany, which can be taken for course credit

In addition to scholarship and community, growth in Christian virtue is a key emphasis of the Honors Program. In fact, this emphasis is deeply interwoven into all aspects of the Program experience.

On the academic side, students develop appreciation for new perspectives and grow in the discipline necessary to arrive at genuine understanding during their seminar discussions. And in their research and writing, they learn to love God with all their minds as they communicate faithfully, represent positions fairly, and exercise the intellectual virtues of honesty, charity, and humility under the guidance of faculty mentors.

On the relational side, students build friendships with fellow Honors Program members and faculty that are centered around Christ and his truth, and they participate in volunteer and service opportunities that provide formative contexts for putting their values into real-world practice.

First and foremost, the Honors Program is about shaping students into certain kinds of people: those who pursue excellence in all aspects of their lives.

In the process, however, students gain a wide array of beneficial experiences and new perspectives that equip them well to lead and succeed wherever God calls. These benefits include:

• A Christian worldview, providing a biblical approach to life’s ultimate questions 
• A well-rounded exposure to the great ideas that have shaped our culture
• Christ-centered relationships with faculty and fellow students 
• Advanced communication and critical thinking skills, sharpened through constructive discussion, rigorous research and writing, and regular faculty guidance and feedback
• Official recognition and documentation of advanced academic standing, helpful in starting careers and/or pursuing graduate studies 
• Enriching domestic and international student trips (that also earn course credit)
• Rewarding volunteer and community service opportunities promoting personal growth

We encourage all incoming and current students at Trinity College of Florida with a GPA of 3.5 or higher to consider applying to the Honors Program.

The Honors Program Director contacts qualified applicants to discuss the Program and schedule a time for a personal interview.

For additional inquiries, please feel free to contact the Program Director, Dr. Zachary T. Hedges (zachary.hedges@trinitycollege.edu).