RCC College Honors Program
Learning in an Enriched Academic Environment
Students come to the Honors Program from all walks of life — united by their decision to challenge themselves and realize greater opportunities. Each year more than 100 students join our Honors community, receiving an enriched academic environment, smaller classes, directed mentorship and learning through research and interaction with fellow scholars. Whatever your chosen field of study, the Honors Program can help you achieve your goals.
Honors students have an advantage:
- Small Seminar Format Classes
- Dedicated Counseling & Academic Advisors
- Honors Study Center (located in Quad 207)
- Conference Participation
- Field Trips/Events
- Scholarships/Essay Contests
- Leadership Opportunities
- Honors Certification Completion
- Honors Program Sash/Stool
Location: Quadrangle, Arther G. Paul (Quad, Room 207)
Upcoming Honors Events
Submit your online Honors Application, along with unofficial transcripts. Learn more!
Honors courses are only offered during fall/spring term, and may vary each term. Course schedule here.
Learn more about the Honors transfer benefits and about the Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC).
Read student success stories from your fellow RCC Honors students!
Eligibility and Program Requirements
Eligibility
- Current GPA of 3.0 or higher, or
- Obtain a recommendation from a counselor, instructor, or faculty member.
Completion Requirements
RCC Honors Program students must complete 5 honors courses with a "C" or better and graduate with at least 3.0 GPA. Honors students enroll, on average, in 1 or 2 honors courses every major term (fall/spring).
How to Apply
Applications are accepted year-round.
- Complete RCC Honors Program Application.
- Send UNOFFICIAL transcripts to Michael.Love@rcc.edu. Submit high school transcripts, if you've never taken a college course. Submit college transcripts, if you've attended another college.
- Send the Recommendation Form to Michael.Love@rcc.edu, (only if GPA is below 3.0).
- Register for Honors Courses!
Attention High School Students: If you enrolled in the following RCC programs, you may already have a college GPA. Therefore, your RCC college GPA is will be used for consideration to the Honors Program., not your high school GPA. Programs include but are not limited to: Dual Enrollment/CCAP, RECHS, Concurrent Enrollment.
Honors Course Offerings
Honors courses are only offered during fall and spring terms. Honors courses vary each term. On average, Honors students enroll in 1 or 2 honors courses every term. Honors course offerings are typically general education courses, for example, English 1AH/1BH, Communication 1H/9H, History 2H, Sociology 1H, Politics 2H, Psychology 1H, Astrology 1AH, Mathematics 12H, to name a few. There are no honors courses during summer and winter terms. An Honors Contract may be eligible to fulfill an honors course requirement.
Honors Contract
The Honors Program is known for its small seminar classes and focus on primary texts. However, we understand that taking five standalone Honors courses may not fit every student’s educational plan. Additionally, due to staff and facility limitations, not all subjects are available in the Honors format.
To accommodate different needs, the Honors Program offers an Honors contract. This allows motivated students to collaborate with participating professors to convert a non-Honors course into an Honors course by completing additional assignments as outlined in the contract. This flexibility helps students meet the requirements for completing the Honors Program. There is a maximum of two honors contracts available for students. This serves as two out of the five honors class requirements. Honors contracts are available after an honors students has completed at least one honor class.
If you are a faculty member or student interested in pursuing an Honors contract, please email Faculty Coordinator, Laura.Greathouse@rcc.edu.
An Honors contract is a way for motivated students to work with participating professors to offer an otherwise non-Honors course, completing additional assignments (as stipulated by the contract) to count towards completion of the Honors program.
The Honors contract course will not receive an 'H' on student transcripts; however, it will be considered as part of a student’s Honors coursework and will be fully recognized by all of our transfer partners as contributing to Honors completion.
Eligible courses must be for-credit, letter-graded, and carry transferable units. Courses for which there is a standalone Honors class (i.e., Psy 1, English 1A, Math 12, etc.) are ineligible for Honors contracts. Entry-level or general educations courses, for which there is no Honors option (Astronomy 1A, Ethnic Studies 1, Accounting 1, etc.), would be good candidates. Advanced or specialty courses within a discipline are also good candidates (English 20 – African American Literature, History 25 – History of Mexico, Psychology 2 – Biological Psych, Physics 4C – Heat, Light, and Waves).
The details of the contract are to be arranged between the faculty member and the student in advance. Honors contract assignments/projects explore topics that are more advanced
than traditional classes. While not an exhaustive list, contracts could include the following examples of assignments:
- Research Paper
- Quantitative/Qualitative Research Project
- Conference-Style Presentation
- Creative Writing or Fine Arts work
- Research Journal
- Short Film/Video
- Computer Program
- Podcast
- And more
Honors contracts must be approved during the fall and spring, by the Honors Advisory Council, which meets every first Tuesday of the month during the academic year. This is typically by 3rd Friday of the term, 5 pm. There are no contracts during summer and winter terms.
Honors contracts approval deadlines:
Spring Contracts – March
Fall Contracts – September
*Case-by-case exceptions might be made for emergency approval after these deadlines.
A maximum of two Honors Contracts are allowed to fulfill from the five required courses.
Start at Riverside City College, Get Priority Admission to Top Schools
Honors Program Transfer Opportunities
As you complete the RCC Honors Program, you have some decisions to make — like transferring to one of the universities which has an Honors partnership with the Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC). You need to work closely and consult frequently with our Honors coordinators and counselor to make the move that’s best for you. We also collaborate with the Transfer Center, visit their website here for important deadlines and upcoming events.
Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC)
The Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC) is a consortium of over 50 community
college honors programs aimed at serving California's diverse student population.
HTCC enhances academic engagement and research opportunities for talented students
by facilitating collaboration among honors directors and counselors. They host an
annual Honors Research Conference for student presentations, negotiate transfer partnerships
with colleges and universities, and conduct a virtual Honors Transfer Fair to connect
students with transfer opportunities. Additionally, HTCC awards scholarships and research
prizes to community college honors students.
Universities with HTCC Program Agreements
When you apply for transfer, you will need to fill out the following survey here for us to certify that you’ve completed the RCC Honors Program. If applying to UCI, do this by the end of finals week in December. For all other schools, the deadline is January 31st after fall grades have posted. View the HTCC transfer partners list here.
Transfer Success Stories
Transfer Testimony
"The best part of the honors program is to be able to take classes with the same people, make friends with the same goals, and have priority enrollment that allowed me to get the classes I needed to transfer in two years. I always felt like I was noticed not only by the teachers, but I was motivated to work harder, making me stronger. I'm transferring to UCR, and my major is biology. I got into UCSD and got waitlisted for UCI and UCLA. Honors certainly prepared me for transferring; activities like STOMP, workshops and field trips made me realize what I truly wanted." Rutu Patel (Biology, UC Riverside)
Program Testimony
"When I first decided to attend community college I was not exactly thrilled, but when I found out about the honors program, my attitude towards community college and everything it has to offer completely changed. It is through the honors program that I was able to meet an amazing set of professors, who all played an important role as a student and as a person. The honors program gave me the opportunity to challenge myself and now as I get ready to move onto the next chapter in my academic career, I feel confident and ready for whatever comes." - Veronica (Political Science, UC Berkeley)
Contact Us
RCC Honors Program Team
Ruby Acevedo – Educational Advisor
Ruby.Acevedo@rcc.edu
Laura Greathouse – Faculty Coordinator
Laura.Greathouse@rcc.edu
Michael Love- Counselor
Michael.Love@rcc.edu