Kuyper Honors Program
The Kuyper Honors Program is more than an honors program. Designed to provide highly motivated and academically gifted students with scholarly challenges throughout and beyond the regular curriculum, this program includes three components-interdisciplinary work, theoretical understanding, and seminar participation and leadership-all built on a Christian foundation.
Program Goals
The program seeks not only to prepare leaders for the Christian and world communities but also to advance the academic atmosphere at Dordt. Throughout their undergraduate experience, participating students work closely with their Kuyper Honors Program advisors and faculty mentors to reach their goals.
In the Kuyper Honors Program, students will:
- Understand integral Christian scholarship
- Develop a Kuyperian sense of scholarly work as calling to a particular kind of Kingdom service
- Articulate a sense of broader calling in this world rooted in a Biblical historical imagination
- Demonstrate an ability to question and challenge the deforming spirits of the age from an individual and collective perspective
- Develop proficiency in interdisciplinary, theoretical, and collaborative scholarly work
- Engage in active public scholarship and community service
- Demonstrate the traits of a life-long Christian learner
- Demonstrate proficiency in the development, communication, and consideration of ideas necessary for Christian scholarship
Course Requirements
The Kuyper Honors Program is designed to fit with every major at Dordt. To graduate from the program, students will take the following courses, some of which satisfy general education and major requirements.
- KHP 110: Rhetoric & Christian Scholarship (4 credits)
- Explore your calling and develop essential skills needed to communicate insight. - KHP 150: Biblical Foundations, Theology, and Imagination (3 credits)
- Unpack the Biblical metanarrative and find ways to root your identity in it. - KHP 200: Christian Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanity (3 credits)
- Cultivate wisdom and discern the spirits of our age. - KHP 350: Engaging Culture as Christian Scholars (3 credits)
- Deepen your commitment to your calling and prepare yourself for the next stage of life.
- Scholarship Contracts (3 credits)
- Engage in public scholarship driven by your own scholarly interests. - Scholarly Service Contracts (3 credits)
- Use your scholarly gifts to serve others. - Shared Learning Contracts (3 credits)
- Develop habits of life-long learning.
Admission
Admission into Kuyper Honors Program depends on an entrance essay and demonstrated academic ability. The entrance essay must demonstrate the student's character and potential for academic excellence in the pursuit of serviceable insight in the area of Christian scholarship.
To remain in the Kuyper Honors Program students must maintain a 3.25 GPA and remain active participants in Kuyper Honors Program. Students in Kuyper Honors Program will receive an annual $2,500 Kuyper Scholarship.
For priority consideration, the completed application must be postmarked on or before December 1. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis after that point. Please visit the link to apply below to complete the application for the Kuyper Honors Program.
Admission to the Kuyper Honors Program will only be considered once a completed Dordt University application is on file with the admissions office. For more information, contact one of the co-directors below.
- An ACT composite score of 28 or higher (or the SAT equivalent)
- A high school GPA of at least 3.5
- An entrance essay
- History majors are eligible for an additional scholarship sponsored by Rockne and Joan McCarthy. Indicate on the Kuyper Honors Program application form that history is your intended major.
*Students who do not meet one of these criteria, but who can demonstrate substantial merit or capacity for success in this program are still encouraged to submit an application.
- At least one semester of full-time college experience, and ordinarily no more than four semesters.
- A minimum college-level GPA of 3.25
- An entrance essay
*Students who do not meet one of these criteria, but who can demonstrate substantial merit or capacity for success in this program are still encouraged to submit an application.
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