FCLC Honors Programs, Societies, and Awards
Students at Fordham College at Lincoln Center who excel within our rigorous curriculum are recognized for their performance throughout their academic career. These awards and recognitions include The Dean’s List, graduation honors, and various graduation awards.
Qualifying students may receive the following academic honors at Fordham College at Lincoln Center:
Dean's List
- Dean's List will be awarded and posted to students' transcripts annually, each spring.
- The Dean's List is announced at the beginning of each fall semester.
- Awards are presented at a light and informal reception. There is no dress code.
- Students must be full-time and must have completed 24 credits or more.
- Students must have a 3.600 or better grade point average during the fall and spring semesters.
- Summer courses are not included.
- Students can be named to the Dean's List a maximum of four times over their academic career.
Graduation Honors
Graduates are awarded the following honors if they attain the requisite cumulative grade point average:
- cum laude - 3.600 average
- magna cum laude - 3.700 average
- summa cum laude - 3.800 average
Prestigious Fellowship Awards
Students interested in applying for prestigious fellowships for graduate study, international study, and service are encouraged to contact an advisor in the Office of Fellowship Advising.
Dr. Jordan Alexander Stein
Director, FCLC Honors Program
Professor of English and Comparative Literature
Affiliated Faculty in African and African American Studies
[email protected]
Plan Your Visit
If you’ve been offered a spot in the Honors Program, we’d love to have you visit.
Once you receive a letter from our program, you can reach out to us to set up a visit to our campus. You’ll be connected with the Program Director and current Honors students. You’ll get to see the culture and community firsthand. Once you do, we’re sure you’ll see why we feel the Honors Program at Fordham College at Lincoln Center is an academic experience like no other.
If you’ve been offered a spot in the honors program, we’d love to have you visit.
Once you receive a letter from our program, you can reach out to us to set up a visit to our campus. You’ll be connected with current honors students. In the past, prospective students have boarded with current honors students.
We’ll also make sure you connect with faculty members. You’ll get to see the culture and community firsthand. Once you do, we’re sure you’ll see why we feel the honors program at Fordham College at Lincoln Center is an academic experience like no other.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I apply?
All students who meet the requirements for admission are automatically considered for the Honors Program. The process involves a multi-step review, undertaken by faculty members who teach in the Program, as well as Fordham admissions officers. This team’s decision to offer a student admission to the Honors Program is based on a number of holistic factors in addition to academic achievement, including extracurriculars, the level of challenge students choose in high school, and the likelihood that students will benefit from and be able to contribute to a small, intensive cohort experience. The Honors Program works with Admissions to ensure as much as possible that all students are given access to academic and social experiences where they are most likely to succeed.
Is it possible to transfer into the program after the first year?
Invitations to the Honors Program are currently limited to first-year students. However, multiple other programs, seminars, and opportunities for cohort experiences are available for all students after the first year, based on student interest and experience during that first year. All students in the College have the opportunity to earn honors at graduation for academic, athletic, and performance achievements. Several majors also induct their most successful students into national honors societies. A partial list can be found here.
How many Honors students are in each cohort?
FCLC Honors matriculates about 19 students per year, which allows all members of each cohort to take their required core classes together.
Do students have designated Honors housing?
No, FCLC Honors is an academic program rather than a residential one. Honors students take their required classes as part of a small cohort, but outside of these classes Honors students are fully integrated into the rest of the student body, living and dining with all other FCLC students.
All Honors students, whether they live on campus or off, have 24-hour access to dedicated on-campus study space in the Honors seminar room (Lowenstein 906).
What are the differences between the Honors core and the college core?
FCLC Honors students have fewer required core classes (11, excluding foreign language) than students pursuing the college core (15, excluding foreign language). Honors students take their required classes together and in a prescribed order–outlined here. Honors core classes are usually taught by members of our permanent faculty, helping to ensure that mentors will be available to students in years to come for advising or letters of recommendation.
Additionally, and regardless of a student’s major, the Honors Program culminates in a required capstone or thesis project during the senior year. These projects enable students to make an original contribution to the disciplines they’ve studied, encourage students to reflect on the meaning of their education, and provide students with training in the kinds of independent, problem-solving work required by many twenty-first-century jobs.
Is the Honors program compatible with the 3/2 engineering program?
It is possible to complete the Honors Program requirements in three years and also meet the requirements for application to 3/2, though in some cases summer courses may be necessary to meet all of the transfer requirements for Columbia University. Depending on the student’s chosen major, some required courses may only be offered at RH. Interested students work closely with the FCLC Honors Program Director and the Director of the 3/2 Program to ensure a smooth process. More information about the 3/2 Program can be found here.
Is the Honors program compatible with the 3/3 law program?
Yes. It is possible to complete the Honors Program requirements in three years, and interested students should identify themselves to the FCLC Honors Program Director no later than the spring of their sophomore year. Interested students should also work with the Office of Pre-Law Advising.
Can I be an Honors student and also pursue a pre-med track?
Yes. Several students do this every year, often matriculating to top medical schools. Honors students take the required core Natural Sciences sequence (HPLC 1603 and 1604) in lieu of the introductory biology sequence (NSCI 1403 and 1404), and in this way meet the prerequisites for advanced biology courses. Interested Honors students benefit from the full extent of Fordham’s pre-med and pre-health advising.
Is the Honors program compatible with the Ailey/Fordham BFA program?
At this time, students who are directly admitted to the BFA program are not offered admission to Honors, due to the incompatible number of requirements for both programs during the first year.
Can I be an Honors student and also be enrolled in the Gabelli school?
FCLC Honors is for students enrolled in Fordham College, Lincoln Center, housed within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Gabelli School of Business is not part of Fordham College or the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Gabelli is administered as a separate college and enrolls its own Honors Program, independent of FCLC. All enrolled FCLC students, inclusive of Honors students, may take up to six classes in the Gabelli School for credit.
What is life like after the Honors Program?
It can be anything you want! Our students go on to work in technology, medicine, law, education, engineering, publishing, television, public service, consulting, finance, and private equity, among other careers. Honors students applying for postgraduate degree programs benefit from strong academic preparation and close faculty mentoring.
Honors students are also invited to work closely with Fordham’s Office of Fellowship Advising, competing for postgraduate opportunities including the Rhodes, Marshall, and Gates Fellowships. In 2024-25, Fordham was recognized by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as a Top Producing Institution for Fulbright Scholarships.
No matter what your career path, the FCLC Honors Program is designed to give students a strong foundation, with a concentrated set of required classes and a small cohort experience in the first years. With that foundation in place, students are able to make the most of the independence and flexibility of the Program’s later years. Many students use that flexibility to take advantage of the incredible range of internships available in New York City, or to pursue study abroad at one of Fordham’s many partners across six continents. Honors students can choose to individualize their plans of study with interdisciplinary double majors (including, in recent years: Neuroscience and French, Political Science and Economics, Chemistry and Art, Psychology and English). The intellectual breadth of such programs makes our graduates highly competitive to employers looking for the range of diverse, interdisciplinary skills required by many twenty-first-century jobs.