Freshmen who demonstrated academic excellent throughout high school are invited to participate as James Scholar designees. Admission for self-nominated students requires a 3.5 cumulative grade-point average. Students are not eligible for self-nomination following junior year.Students must continue to maintain their 3.5 grade-point averages, except for the first semester in residence when they must earn at least a 3.25 average. Nominees must complete a minimum of 14 credit hours per semester.
Students who fail to meet the academic requirements will lose their James Scholar status. They may reapply following one academic semester.
James Scholars have an opportunity to conduct individual research with a faculty adviser. Honorees' faculty advisers prepare them for research during the development and implementation of their projects. The opportunity to conduct research in a specific area of interest prepares students for professional development and opportunities for scholarships and grants. Members attend the annual honors symposium, where they view poster displays of undergraduate research project results. Research findings can be published in Bentleyan Abstracts, the honors program's online research journal. Juniors and seniors prepare for graduate school through the planning and completion of the research project.
There are several ways students may fulfill the honors experience requirement each semester. The Honors Credit Learning Agreement, one option, is when an individual instructor in a course in which the student is already enrolled provides a course-related project in addition to standard work. The project of extraordinary nature should equate to 15 hours of coursework.
The second option is when students enroll in designated James Scholar honors courses or sections. A service learning engagement, the third option, combines academic content with service learning. Examples of such courses are "Learning in Community" and "Museums in Action." The Illinois Leadership Center offers an alternative certificate program.