Honors Scholarships
The Foundation for Santa Barbara City College provides a generous array of scholarships donated by individuals and businesses. These scholarships are broadly available to qualified incoming freshmen applying to the Honors Program and to all continuing students participating in the Honors Program. Recipients of Honors scholarships are required to remain in the Honors Program, in good standing, for the duration of their course of study at SBCC. For further information about scholarships available to Honors students and requirements, contact the Honors Program Director and/or the Financial Aid Office.
Outstanding Honors Program Student
The Honors Program Committee selects one student each year from within the Honors Program to receive the "Outstanding Honors Student" award. Selection is based primarily on the student's academic excellence and may also consider service to the Honors Guild, to the college or to the larger community. No application is required. The recipient will be honored at the Awards Banquet held by the college in the spring of each year.
What to take if you join The Honors Program
Start with Honors 100.
In response to student demand, a few years ago we inaugurated Honors 100, a class that all entering SBCC Honors Program students must take. The class provides an overview of the program, allows students to meet each other, and introduces students to the yearly topic that runs throughout all Honors Program courses.
Earning the certificate of completion for The Honors Program at SBCC is very doable. In general, we encourage students to take two Honors Program courses a semester. How many courses you need to complete the certificate depends on your major.
If your major is in Humanities, Social Sciences, Arts or Business, you will take six (6) Honors Program courses.
If your major is in Math or Science, you will take four (4) Honors program courses.
Almost all of our courses count towards GE, IGETSC, and the Honors Program Certificate.
Some of our courses, such as in English and Communications are “dedicated” Honors Program courses, meaning that the entire course is filled with Honors students. These courses close at 25 students.
Other courses add a section to a “regular” course. The section is taught by the professor and contains only Honors students—it is your chance to learn your material in more depth and have more discussions about the field.
Each year we sketch out our offerings for the next few years, so that you can plan your courses, but we do offer the caution that these courses are subject to change.
What Else Does the Program Offer?
Can My Voice Be Heard?
In addition to the academics listed above, the other side of our program is student support and student community.
Student support comes from our mentor pods and our dedicated Honors Program counselor.
Mentor pods put first year students with second year students. These give you a smaller group of friends and someone to help guide you through the year. You’ll meet in person, virtually, and sometimes one-on-one. Our goal with the pods is to personalize your education even more and to make sure that you reach your goals and achieve the Honors Program Certificate.
Student community thrives when students participate fully in the program by getting involved with The Honors Guild and/or getting involved with the All SBCC Student Conference, put on each April, and hosted by Honors.
What students want from your education matters to us. Recently we have added classes in Philosophy, Anthropology, Art, among other fields, and we hope to add Economics and Spanish soon. Let us know what you would like to see offered as an Honors course.
What You Get by Joining The Honors Program at SBCC
Completion of The Honors Program at SBCC makes you eligible (subject to GPA) for UC Irvine’s The Guarantee, which is a special program for high-achieving transfer students. Completion also places you in a “first-look” pool for UCLA transfer. This is not a guarantee, but UCLA selects first from this pool, and then moves to other transfer students.
As you will see, below, there are advantages to The Honors Program at SBCC open only to program students, including scholarships.
You will receive an Honors Program Completion Certificate. Our program is certified by the State of California and adheres to their standards.