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The Honors Program

An Innovative Way to Learn and Succeed

Why join the Randolph College Honors Program?

Randolph College’s honors program is a dynamic home for students interested in being part of a vibrant learning community that makes the most of the undergraduate experience and challenges students with expanded opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom.

Through a meaningful collection of curricular and co-curricular experiences, students are provided with the foundation and springboard they need to embrace a successful and abundant life after graduation.

Benefits include:

  • Special interdisciplinary curriculum
  • First-year honors student designated housing
  • Enhanced mentorship and support for a personalized academic program
  • Invitations to special events with the president of the College
  • Membership in an inclusive, diverse community of student scholars
  • Ability to participate in unique, fun, social events with other honors scholars
  • Access to guest artists, scholars, and writers
  • Unique research opportunities
  • Distinctive tassel and stole at Commencement
  • And more!

Interested in joining the Honors Program?

Generally, students who qualify for the honors program have a high GPA and significant service or leadership experience.

If you are interested in being considered for the honors program, reach out to your admissions counselor.

We are excited to hear from you!

2023 Induction Ceremony

The first cohort of Randolph College Honors students were inducted by President Sue Ott Rowlands and Provost Timothy B. Smith during a ceremony at Randolph House.

Each student was presented with two keys. The first key  represents the learning opportunities they will unlock at Randolph.

Students were asked to exchange the 2nd key with someone else in the room, symbolizing that the key to a meaningful life, an abundant life, is helping others open doors for themselves.

2023-2024 Honors Program Students

Nevaeh Banks, Abby Brooks, Maeghan Colby-Correa, Addison Compton, Savannah Gale, Emilee Green, Kaileigh Gunter, Peyton Jackson, Maegan Lloyd, Olivia Lorenzo, Gavin Maple, Keghan Marion, Severin McNulty, Madeline Mills, Austyn Moran, Madison Ray, Chesney Shook, Delaney Sipes, Skip Skipper, Cooper Stutts, Jessie Taylor, Tahani Villines, Zoe Watson, and Autumn West.

Academic Experience

The goals of the Randolph Honors Program are to spark curiosity, spark knowledge, and to spark change.

Special Interdisciplinary Curriculum

From your first year through your senior year, you will have opportunities to take courses as part of our honors curriculum.

During your first session of classes, you will take an honors section of Randolph’s first-year seminar, Life More Abundant, with other members of your cohort of honors scholars.

After the first-year seminar, you will take additional courses from across the curriculum that will deepen your learning experience and make meaningful interdisciplinary connections.

Enhanced Faculty Mentorship

You will work closely with faculty advisors and the honors program director to plan a Randolph experience that meets your needs and will help you achieve your goals.

This includes both curricular and co-curricular experiences.

Distinctive Academic Program

The Honors Program encourages students to play an active role in their own learning and growth.

Working closely with faculty mentors, you will shape a Randolph experience that allows you to develop your skills, challenge yourself, explore your interests and achieve your goals.

The interdisciplinary curriculum encourages students to make connections between various fields of study and to approach real-world problems from different perspectives.

You will take classes across the college with other students and in some courses you will design your own unique Honors experience.

 

Spark Curiosity. Spark Knowledge. Spark Change.

In the Honors Colloquium, you will explore new topics and tackle contemporary problems through research and discussion. You will also learn how to reflect on your own learning.

The Honors Practicum encourages you to collaborate with community partners who are working to make positive change.

Co-curricular activities such as internships, community collaboration, travel opportunities, research projects, and involvement in campus organizations offer you further opportunities for challenge and growth.

Enhanced Faculty Mentorship

You will work closely with faculty advisors and the honors program director to plan a Randolph experience that meets your needs and will help you achieve your goals.

This includes both curricular and co-curricular experiences.

Enhanced Faculty Mentorship

Special Interdisciplinary Curriculum

From your first year through your senior year, you will have opportunities to take courses as part of our honors curriculum.

During your first session of classes, you will take an honors section of Randolph’s first-year seminar, Life More Abundant, with other members of your cohort of honors scholars.

After the first-year seminar, you will take additional courses from across the curriculum that will deepen your learning experience and make meaningful interdisciplinary connections.

Enhanced Faculty Mentorship

You will work closely with faculty advisors and the honors program director to plan a Randolph experience that meets your needs and will help you achieve your goals.

This includes both curricular and co-curricular experiences.

Unique Opportunities

In the Honors Colloquium, you will explore new topics and tackle contemporary problems through research and discussion. You will also learn how to reflect on your own learning.

The Honors Practicum encourages you to collaborate with community partners who are working to make positive change.

Co-curricular activities such as internships, community collaboration, travel opportunities, research projects, and involvement in campus organizations offer you further opportunities for challenge and growth.

Distinctive Academic Program

The Honors Program encourages students to play an active role in their own learning and growth.

Working closely with faculty members, you will shape a Randolph experience that allows you to develop your skills, challenge yourself, explore your interests and achieve your goals.

The interdisciplinary curriculum encourages students to make connections between various fields of study and to approach real-world problems from different perspectives.

You will take classes across the college with other students and in some courses you will design your own unique Honors experience.

Distinctive Academic Program

In the Honors Colloquium, you will explore new topics and tackle contemporary problems through research and discussion. You will also learn how to reflect on your own learning.

The Honors Practicum encourages you to collaborate with community partners who are working to make positive change.

Co-curricular activities such as internships, community collaboration, travel opportunities, research projects, and involvement in campus organizations offer you further opportunities for challenge and growth.

#F9F8F8

A Community of Scholars

Students in the Honors Program are part of an inclusive, diverse community of student scholars. Honors Scholars are invited to special events with the president of the College, participate in fun social events, and have access to visiting guest artists, scholars, and writers. 

Honors Housing

You will have the option to live in Honors Designated Housing, a diverse, intentional community of exceptional students from all majors and backgrounds who seek an academically challenging and intellectually rich experience.

Living, studying, and socializing with like-minded peers, you will connect with a network of supportive colleagues and future friends as you become part of an intellectual community that extends beyond classroom walls.

Students hang out in a residence hall room.

Recognition

Top Ranked Professors

Randolph College’s faculty are consistently recognized as among the best in the nation. The Princeton Review ranked the College in the Top 20 for most accessible professors in the 2023 edition of its flagship college guide, The Best 388 Colleges.

Randolph has been ranked in the top 20 for most accessible professors for six consecutive years.

Honors Director

Jennifer Gauthier

I am eager to welcome you into our Honors Program.

I look forward to working with you to design a distinctive Randolph experience that helps you define your goals and make plans for your future.

What I value most about Randolph College is our close student-faculty collaboration — in the classroom and in other programs that make us unique.

Whether it is mentoring a student as they explore a burning question in the Summer Research Program, or helping them design an individualized experience funded by a RISE grant, or taking them to a conference to share their research, or traveling to see new places, I thrive on the excitement sparked by intellectual curiosity and exchange.

We learn from each other, both inside and outside of the classroom, and I encourage my students to take what they have learned and go out into the world to help make it a better place for all.

Please contact me with any questions about the Honors Program:
jgauthier@storesoo.com

Jennifer Gauthier
Charles A. Dana Professor of Media and Culture,  Honors Program Director

Jennifer Gauthier

Charles A. Dana Professor of Media and Culture, Director of the Honors Program

Read More... Jennifer Gauthier

Only at Randolph

Randolph students can take advantage of unique programs which give them a more enriching education than can be found anywhere else.

TAKE2

Two courses per half-mester means you get to focus in and dig deep into your coursework while still having time for the rest of the college experience. Two classes. Seven weeks. Repeat.

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Money for Your Research

The Randolph Innovative Student Experience (RISE) program provides every student a $2,000 grant to fund research, creative work, experiential learning or other scholarly pursuits.

Learn More
The Randolph Plan

Randolph students work with faculty mentors to explore a broad range of disciplines as they chart their academic path.

Learn More
The Liberal Arts Advantage

Randolph graduates learn to think critically, solve problems and work well with others. They are prepared to succeed in all aspects of life.

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Department News

William Olichney ’24 uses RISE grant for immersive language program in Mandarin

Memories from his summer in Taiwan come quickly to William Olichney ’24.

Read More

Randolph professor, students traveling to Nepal for ASIANetwork-funded research

The three-week trip to Nepal is funded by an ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellowship. 

Read More

Tibetan filmmaker Ngawang Choephel to screen film at Randolph

"Ganden: A Joyful Land," which documents the lives and memories of the last Tibetan Buddhist monks to study at the famous Ganden Monastery in Tibet, will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, in Nichols Theatre. 

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History major gets firsthand look at historic preservation through Nantucket internship

William Olichney ’24 spent six weeks at Preservation Institute Nantucket, an internship funded for a Randolph student each year by A.J. and Lynn Land ’60, this summer.

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No longer invisible: Randolph student shines a spotlight on Asian-American filmmakers

This summer, Mengna Zhao ’23 is teaming up with media and culture professor Jennifer Gauthier to examine the work of Asian and Asian-American filmmakers as part of Randolph’s Summer Research Program.

Read More

William Olichney ’24 uses RISE grant for immersive language program in Mandarin

Memories from his summer in Taiwan come quickly to William Olichney ’24.

Read More

Randolph professor, students traveling to Nepal for ASIANetwork-funded research

The three-week trip to Nepal is funded by an ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellowship. 

Read More

Tibetan filmmaker Ngawang Choephel to screen film at Randolph

"Ganden: A Joyful Land," which documents the lives and memories of the last Tibetan Buddhist monks to study at the famous Ganden Monastery in Tibet, will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, in Nichols Theatre. 

Read More

History major gets firsthand look at historic preservation through Nantucket internship

William Olichney ’24 spent six weeks at Preservation Institute Nantucket, an internship funded for a Randolph student each year by A.J. and Lynn Land ’60, this summer.

Read More

No longer invisible: Randolph student shines a spotlight on Asian-American filmmakers

This summer, Mengna Zhao ’23 is teaming up with media and culture professor Jennifer Gauthier to examine the work of Asian and Asian-American filmmakers as part of Randolph’s Summer Research Program.

Read More
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Department Chair

Jennifer Gauthier

Charles A. Dana Professor of Media and Culture, Director of the Honors Program

Credentials:B.A., Vassar College
M.A., Wesleyan University
Ph.D., George Mason University
Associated Departments:Media and Culture, The Honors Program, Film and Video
Office:Leggett 613
Phone:4349478501
Email:jgauthier@storesoo.com

News Headlines

Edward Said wrote, “The job facing the cultural intellectual is therefore not to accept the politics of identity as given, but to show how all representations are constructed, for what purpose, by whom, and with what components.”

I firmly believe that this is part of my job as both a cultural intellectual and a teacher. In my communication and film studies classes at Randolph, I encourage students not to take anything for granted, but to ask questions about the historical, political, economic, and social contexts of the cultural objects we examine. My ideal classroom is one where students are eager to share their ideas and learn from each other. I often learn just as much from them as they do from me.

Film is my passion, although I was an art history major as an undergraduate at Vassar College. Studying medieval manuscripts turned out to be the perfect way to develop a critical eye and close attention to detail. I strive to pass these skills on to my students and to ignite in them a passion for knowledge, intellectual inquiry and lifelong learning.

My own research on Canadian film, cultural policy and national identity has fueled my interest in the delicate relationship between art and economy.

Spending a year in Ottawa as a Fulbright Scholar helped me to better understand the subtle, but important differences in our two nations. I consider myself an unofficial ambassador for Canada and its amazing, but under-appreciated films. Currently I am working on projects that examine the national cinemas of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with special emphasis on indigenous cinemas. I am most interested in how state-sponsored film industries balance their cultural and economic goals.

In my other life, my husband Eric and I have a son Jack (born in 2007) who keeps us busy. In our free time we enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking and canoeing, often with our golden retriever, Max. We also like to travel; some of our most recent trips have been to New Zealand, Hawaii, the Canadian Rockies, and Key West, Florida.

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