The Honors Program
The Honors Program at Elmira College embodies the conviction that the traditions of inquiry and knowledge historically identified with the liberal arts and sciences make up the core of a college education and the foundation of a productive and meaningful life. This is so regardless of one’s major or chosen career. The program is built around an exploration of the “practical liberal arts” in which intellectual exploration within the fields represented by the liberal arts and sciences is meant to empower one’s self and one’s career. In essence, the Honors Program at Elmira College aims to develop participants’ sense of wonder about the world in which they live and to heighten their sense of awareness about themselves and their place in the global and local landscape.
Students who display extraordinary academic abilities, a high degree of motivation and wide-ranging intellectual and cultural curiosity are invited to join a community of faculty, staff and peers in an integrated program of specially designed courses and co-curricular learning experiences. The program guides students as they engage actively with a variety of disciplines, undertake in-depth exploration of questions specific to at least one liberal arts discipline, explore the practical value and application of the study of the liberal arts through service learning projects and experiential learning, encounter a range of cultural productions from the literary, fine and performing arts, and recognize the interdependence of the various branches of knowledge through interdisciplinary coursework.
For more specific information on the program, admissions criteria and process, please contact Dr. Mark Pitner, Associate Professor of Asian History, McGraw Hall, room 202, mpitner@elmira.edu.
Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School
Named after American fashion icon and Elmira native, Tommy Hilfiger, and developed in partnership with him and his siblings Andy and Betsy Hilfiger, the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School is an exciting new academic program that is part of a bachelor’s degree in business administration. The Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School combines business education with real-world fashion industry experience.
A strategically designed curriculum and hands-on, out-of-the-classroom experiences, create a place where students learn about, not only the daily operations of the fashion industry, but also the history, the people, and the deep connections it has to other industries.
Students will complete a Business Administration major with a Fashion Marketing and/or Fashion Merchandising concentration. Beginning in Fall 2022, the curriculum will be offered as an accelerated three-year bachelor of science degree program. Students will learn general business skills in the first academic year before getting an introduction to the fashion industry and then diving into specific coursework and an internship experience in the field.
Elmira College’s Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School will prepare students for business and leadership roles in the fashion industry. There is a strong emphasis on experiential learning including fashion industry internships, team projects, field trips, guest speakers and consulting projects.
Spring Term
One of the distinctive characteristics of Elmira College is the Spring Term, a six-week term from the middle of April to the end of May when faculty and full-time undergraduate students have the opportunity to participate in off campus overseas and domestic courses that provide distinctive educational opportunities. Representative of Spring Term courses appear in the Courses of Instruction . The complete Spring Term schedule is available in early March.
Spring Term courses have been defined and described by the faculty members of Elmira College as follows:
- Spring Term courses tend to encourage innovation both in approaches to teaching and to selecting the kinds of subject matter to be examined;
- Spring Term courses tend to take an interdisciplinary approach through team teaching or through the presentation by instructors of their expertise within the broadest possible context;
- Spring Term courses tend to make possible foreign study, field experience (both internship and Community Engagement), and independent study;
- Although many Spring Term courses tend to aim at the generalized aspect of student education, those specialized courses which best lend themselves to a six-week term may qualify as Spring Term courses; and
- Although Spring Term courses will seldom include those courses listed in the Undergraduate Catalog as required for a particular major or minor, they may qualify as “required electives” within a student’s major or minor, or as General Education courses.
Off-campus opportunities require good academic, financial, social, and disciplinary standing. Students with disciplinary records or those on academic probation may not be allowed to travel on off-campus College programs.
Elmira College offers a wide range of exciting off-campus opportunities. During Spring Term, Elmira College students have traveled with faculty to Spain, England, Ireland, Peru, India, Japan, Poland, Greece, Turkey, Australia, the American West, and the Bahamas. For more information on these opportunities, please contact the Provost Office, McGraw Hall, room 105, (607) 735-1804.
Pre-Law Advising and Preparation
Elmira College offers its pre-law students a wide variety of opportunities, including a minor in Legal Studies, a mock trial team, a pre-law student association (Phi Delta Phi), and expert pre-law advising. The purpose of these efforts is to holistically prepare pre-law students for success in law school and the law school application process. In preparing for a career in the law, Elmira College’s pre-law students will develop and hone the critical, analytical, and writing skills necessary for unparalleled success in law school. Academic preparation for law school should proceed through consultation with the College’s pre-law advisor, Autumn Walden, J.D., M.A., Assistant Professor in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies.
Pre-Medical Preparation
Elmira College offers courses preparing students for admission to a professional school of medicine, osteopathy, veterinary or dentistry chiropractic, pharmacy, physician assistant, physical therapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, or optometry. Students generally elect majors in Biology, Biochemistry, or Chemistry, although majors in other fields are possible. In order to meet specific science requirements for professional schools, students are advised to consult with the pre-medical advisor, Dr. Lynn Gillie, Kolker Hall, room 203B, (607) 735-1859, lgillie@elmira.edu, at the beginning of their freshman year.
Directed and Independent Study
Directed Study provides students access to material structured by a faculty member-that is, an Elmira College approved course that is not currently offered. Independent Study enables students to explore topics for which Elmira College does not offer courses but in which faculty expertise exists to provide adequate guidance.
If the instructor is not a full-time college employee with faculty rank, the full-time student must obtain the approval of the appropriate Division Chair and the Provost. The College’s policy is not to employ an adjunct faculty member in such a capacity if the full-time faculty has competence in the field requested. A fee is charged to Part-time Students.
Register for a Directed Study or Independent Study, students should:
- Consult the instructors (who are to be the supervisors) to discuss the general outline of the proposals. The Office of the Registrar will provide the appropriate forms for the students to complete;
- Complete the forms providing the information requested;
- The students will:
- Obtain their advisors’ signatures;
- Obtain their instructors’ signatures, signifying concurrence in the projects;
- Students will submit completed forms to the Office of the Registrar; and
- Instructors will assign the grades at the completion of the projects.
Academic Fellows
Outstanding junior or senior students may serve as Academic Fellows with a faculty member in lower level courses in areas in which they are qualified by reason of previous coursework. Participants must be in their junior or senior year and must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.000 or higher. Students may obtain a maximum of 6.0 credit hours in the program. The student’s role should not be confused with that of a graduate “teaching assistant” as at a university; thus the title “teaching assistant” is not used. Likewise, the student’s role as Academic Fellow, by which academic credit could be earned, should not be confused with a work-study assignment, for which financial compensation is earned. At no time will the Academic Fellow teach the course in the absence of the instructor.
To register for the program, a formal, written agreement setting forth the duties and responsibilities of the student, as well as the evaluative procedure to be used by the faculty member, should be developed between the student and the faculty member. A copy of this agreement should be taken to the appropriate Division Chair for approval prior to registration. Academic Fellows will be graded on a pass-fail basis only and will not count against the number of S-D-F credits a student is allowed to accumulate.
Graduate Courses for Undergraduate Credit
An undergraduate student may take a graduate course for undergraduate credit on a space-available basis provided the student is matriculated, has earned at least 90 credit hours, and has a cumulative grade point average of 3.000 or higher, and must bear the signature of the instructor and the advisor on the required form. The form, the Part-time Undergraduate and Graduate Student contract, is available in the Office of the Registrar and on MyEC. The student must register using the graduate course field code and title, and the undergraduate course number 4580. The student is expected to complete the same work that is required of graduate students. Undergraduate tuition and a contract fee is charged.
Programs for High School Students
Secondary school students may be admitted as part-time students at Elmira College. Students must have completed the second or sophomore year of high school; have the recommendation in writing of their high school principal or guidance counselor, and scholastic records which give evidence of ability and potential; and have the approval of the and the course instructor at the time of registration. The approval process must be completed each term for which the student is registering with the Office of Admissions. If the student later is accepted for undergraduate study at Elmira College, the credit earned will be counted toward the degree.
Programs for Senior Citizens
Persons aged sixty or over who wish to take undergraduate or graduate courses for credit receive a ten percent discount on tuition.
Persons aged sixty or over who audit courses, thereby receiving no credit for the courses, pay no tuition. This tuition benefit provision is on a space-available basis. Senior citizens are responsible for paying any course or technology fees. Arrangements to audit classes must be made through the Office of the Registrar.
United States Air Force ROTC Program
Elmira College students are eligible to participate in the Air Force ROTC Program at Cornell University. The Air Force ROTC Program prepares you for officer positions in the United States Air Force. The program is designed to teach you about the mission and organization of the Air Force, leadership, and management. Qualified students can earn full or partial scholarships. Students interested in pursuing this program can contact the Department of Aerospace Studies at Cornell University at (607) 255-4004, or visit www.afrotc.cornell.edu or admissions.cornell.edu/cornell-reserve-officer-training-corps-rotc.
United States Army ROTC Program
Army ROTC is one of the few national programs offering leadership training in skills that are critical to success in a variety of careers while assisting cadets in becoming better citizens and students. Water survival, rappelling, land navigation, rifle marksmanship, rock climbing, military history and customs, introduction to leadership and our cadet tutoring/mentoring program are just a few of the opportunities you will experience by taking our elective course in military science. For those more inclined to serve our nation, options exist. Full-tuition scholarships, summer training and internships, and the nationally acclaimed Leadership Development and Assessment Course are just a few.
The Army ROTC Program is offered to Elmira College students through Cornell University’s Military Science Department. Completion of an approved program leads to a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. Additional information may be obtained by contacting the Department of Military Science at Cornell University at (607) 255-4000. You can also visit armyrotc.cornell.edu or admissions.cornell.edu/cornell-reserve-officer-training-corps-rotc.
Thiel College Early Assurance Program
The Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology at Thiel College has established an early assurance admission program for qualified Elmira College Communication Sciences and Disorders junior-level students. Students who have maintained at least a 3.0 overall grade point average and not received more than two grades of C in required Communication Sciences and Disorders coursework (including biology, chemistry or physics, and statistics) are eligible for conditional admission to the MS SLP program at Thiel College. Applicants to the MS SLP program at Thiel College who are in good academic standing at Elmira College will receive preferential early admission and qualify for tuition remission of 45% - 55% for the duration of the MS SLP program at Thiel College in exchange for a commitment of 300 hours of graduate assistantship work over the same time period. For more details on this program, contact Dr. James Baer, Tompkins Hall, (607) 735-1847, jbaer@elmira.edu.
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