FMU Honors rewards excellent students with enhanced educational opportunities that foster inquiry, stimulate learning and promote community involvement. Our program offers a unique curriculum, special social and co-curricular activities, community living and study abroad opportunities. We also reflect FMU’s commitment to personalized instruction, low faculty-to-student ratios and an enriching undergraduate experience.

Admission to FMU Honors is made by application that can be submitted below.

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HONORS BROCHURE
ELIGIBILITY
BENEFITS

Eligibility Requirements

First year (freshman) candidates may submit information they think best describes them, including any combination of their ACT or SAT scores, high school grade point average and class rank, or may speak to their participation in Honors, IB or AP courses, extracurricular activities, athletics or volunteerism.

First year students must achieve a 3.0 GPA their first semester and a 3.25 thereafter to remain in the program.   Current and transfer students should have a GPA of 3.25 to apply to and to remain in the program.   All students must be members of FMU Honors before being allowed to register for Honors courses.

Benefits of Honors

  • Courses
    • Limited class size
    • Special topics honors only courses
      • Feeding the Word: Food and Policy, Digital Video Cultures, American Ghost Stories, History of Rock n’ Roll, Nature Photography, AI and the Search for Causality
  • Community
    • Social gatherings and access to intellectual panel discussions and presentations
    • Service opportunities
    • Honors Student Advisory Council (HSAC)
  • Travel Opportunities
    • Fall: Trips to domestic cities in the US
    • Spring: Ambassador trips to exchange partners or various international locations
    • Exchange and Travel Study opportunities
    • Washington DC semester program

Coursework

FMU Honors students may (and should) begin their Honors coursework their first semester, beginning with 1-hour Honors Symposia; 100- and 200-level general education courses like English 101H, Math 134H, Sociology 201H, Speech Communication 101H, etc.; and 200-level Honors Special Topics courses in various disciplines, all of which apply toward general education requirements.

Honors Handbook

Graduating With University Honors

To graduate With University Honors, students must complete 21 semester hours of Honors courses with a minimum gpa of 3.25. Three of those hours must be earned in the Honors 397/Honors Colloquium, and three must be earned by successfully completing an Honors 491/Honors Independent Study (or an equivalent course, usually numbered 497, in their particular discipline). Students graduating With University Honors will receive at commencement a medallion and a degree indicating that singular achievement.

Contact

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  • Dr. Kennedy Christopher M.
    Dr. Christopher M. Kennedy Director of Honors, Professor of History CKennedy@FMarion.edu Phone843-661-1557 Departments
    HistoryHonors
    OfficeHC 104
    Additional information

    Biography

    Dr. Kennedy joined the Francis Marion University faculty in 2006. He became Chair of the History Department in 2012, and Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, and Director of Graduate Programs in 2016. Dr. Kennedy became the Vice President for Student Life July 2019, then the Director of Honors 2024.

    Dr. Kennedy was awarded the Faculty award for Excellence in Teaching 2016.

    Dr. Kennedy was the advisor for Alpha Theta Zeta, the FMU chapter of the history honors society, Phi Alpha Theta 2007-2018. During that time, Alpha Theta Zeta was awarded Best Chapter in the Country 10 years in a row.

    Dr. Kennedy has presented papers both nationally and internationally, including, New England Historical Association, Portugal, Hungry and at Saint Patrick's College, the Marino Institute in Ireland.  Additionally, he has published a number of book reviews including for the journal Providence: Studies in Western Civilization as well as a book, Genesis of the Rising 1912-1916: A Transformation of Nationalist Opinion (Peter Lang, 2009). His main research interests are in early modern, modern Irish history and the history of the British Empire.

    When not teaching, Dr. Kennedy enjoys traveling, camping, fishing, hiking, running, kayaking, and spending time with his family.

    Education
    PhD., University College Cork, National University of Ireland
    M.A, Providence College
    B.A, Northern Michigan University

    Courses Taught: 
    European History to the French Revolution
    European History since the French Revolution
    Medieval Europe
    Modern Ireland
    The British Empire
    Modern British Isles
    Europe 1814-1914
    Senior Thesis

     

    Photo of Christopher Kennedy