Honors College: Honors Keystone Application

This is the application for admission to Honors Keystone in the Honors College at Southern Miss. If you are a current Honors College student, you do not need to fill out this application. You must complete the GO System’s General Application and the Honors Keystone Application to be considered for the program. The deadline to complete these applications is July 1st. (The application deadline has been extended to July 4 at 11:59 p.m. due to the holiday weekend.) References must be submitted by Wednesday, July 6 at 11:59 p.m. For more information, contact honors@usm.edu.

The Honors College offers an enriched and challenging educational experience for high-achieving, highly engaged students. As a junior and senior in the Keystone curriculum, you have the exciting opportunity to chart your own course through the design and completion of an original research project—the senior Honors Thesis. Working with Honors faculty and with a faculty adviser in your chosen discipline, you will move through a 5-hour course sequence, distributed across four semesters, that guides you through the thesis experience. Each step in the Keystone curriculum provides you with knowledge, skills, and aptitudes that prepare you for successful completion of the thesis project and the achievement of Latin Distinction.

To be eligible for admission, students must have a minimum GPA of 3.4 on at least 45 completed college credit hours and must have completed at least three full-time semesters of college. Students applying for this fall should have an anticipated graduation date of May or Fall 2024. The program is available for both Hattiesburg and Gulf Park students, and current Southern Miss students and prospective transfer students who meet the minimum criteria are encouraged to apply. All students admitted to Honors Keystone must take HON 300 (“Developing the Honors Thesis I”; 1 credit hour), in the fall semester.

Award
$1,000 annually for two years
Scopes
Special Awarding Deadline
Deadline
07/01/2023
Supplemental Questions
  1. Preferred First Name
  2. Cell Phone Number
  3. Preferred Email Address
  4. If you are a transfer student, will you have completed Honors graduation requirements from any of the following: Meridian CC Honors College, MGCCC Honors Program, PRCC Honors Institute, Itawamba CC Honors Program, or Jones College Honors Institute?
  5. IF YES: Please upload in the space below a note on letterhead from your Honors program director that certifies your status as an Honors program graduate.
  6. The Honors College requires a letter of recommendation regarding your preparation for the Honors curriculum. Please enter the contact information for a professor with whom you have taken a recent class. We will contact your professor with a link to the recommendation form. *The recommendation must be submitted by your professor by the July 1 deadline.*
    • Recommendation Letter from Professor for Honors Keystone
  7. Southern Miss Keystone Honors Scholars devote four semesters to developing an honors thesis project—a comprehensively researched scholarly or creative work. Write a brief essay in which you explain why you are interested in pursuing undergraduate research and discuss your preparation for the Honors experience. This statement of purpose should include detailed examples of scholarly or creative areas that interest you and/or previous experiences with research or writing that have been meaningful to your development as a curious learner and critical thinker. (400 word minimum)
  8. Writing Sample
    • Please submit an academic writing sample taken from a recent class. Your writing sample should showcase your academic writing and reasoning skills and be free of all typographical and grammatical error.
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