First-Year Honors Program

Living and Learning Together

The First-Year Honors Program is designed for academically talented students from all programs and majors who want to be a part of a vibrant intellectual and social community supported by enriching extracurricular programming.

We support excellence in academic and extra-curricular endeavors designed to enrich the social, cultural and intellectual lives of our students. Students must apply for First-Year Honors. Admission is based on factors such as GPA and interest in the program. The minimum GPA for consideration is 3.50 (cumulative).

Apply Now!

To be considered for the First-Year Honors Program, you must first submit a separate Fall 2022 admission application to Pacific. You can start your honors application after you apply and receive your login credentials. The deadline for the honors application is Dec. 6, 2021.

Step 1: Submit Your Fall 2022 Application

Step 2: Apply to the First-Year Honors Program

How to Apply

Step 1: Submit Your Applications

To be considered for the First-Year Honors Program, you must:

Submit a separate Fall 2022 admission application to Pacific.
Once you apply and receive your login credentials, start your First-Year Honors application

First-Year Honors application deadline: Dec. 6, 2021

Minimum eligibility for consideration: 3.50 cumulative GPA, first-year students only

Step 2:

In the space indicated on the application, briefly list up to five academic distinctions or honors you have received and the calendar year in which you received them.

Step 3

Briefly list up to five interests and hobbies that you have.

Step 4

List up to five leadership positions, activities, or conferences you’ve attended in their order of importance to you. Use the space indicated on the application to provide a concise description of the activity.

Step 5: Respond to the Essay Question

The application has a mandatory essay question. Upload the essay in the space indicated on the application.

The goal of University of the Pacific’s First-Year Honors Program is to develop a community of scholars of all disciplines whose objective is to enrich their educational experience of first-year students with dedicated residential housing, co-curricular activities, seminars to expand thought, and fostering relationships with Honors Peers. How will your engagement with the First-Year Honors Program foster your academic, personal, and professional growth? (400-500 words)

John Ballantyne Hall

Sense of community

Much of the success of our Honors Program is attributed to the honors residence hall, which gives students the opportunity to live among other high-achieving students.

First-year honors student moves into her room

John Ballantyne Hall

Living and learning together

Also living among the first-year students are the honors peers, who are sophomore or junior honors students. They organize study sessions, are available to answer questions and help build a sense of community. The honors peers' main goal is to make the transition to college life as smooth as possible for first-year students.

Enrichment Activities

Well-rounded experience

We encourage our students to be well-rounded individuals so their academic program is supplemented with enrichment activities, such as sports, performing or visual arts, audio-visual media, community outreach and culinary arts.

Intellectual exploration

Honors Seminars

While University of the Pacific is committed to excellence in teaching, our professors are some of the nation’s foremost scholars and researchers. The honors seminars are designed to showcase this aspect of our faculty. Once a month, our program hosts a distinguished faculty member from Pacific, who presents a lecture on their research or scholarship. The topics of the talks span every field from science and engineering to the humanities, arts and law.

Contact Us:

Dr. Christopher Goff
Interim Director, First-Year Honors
cgoff@pacific.edu

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