Information for Transfer Students

If you are thinking of transferring to La Sierra University's Honors Program, here are the classes that you should, if possible, have before transferring. (If you don't have all of these classes, that's okay, but these classes will ensure that you don't start behind your classmates.) In addition to these courses we suggest, there are additional requirements for all transferring Honors students.

Note that there are some financial advantages to transferring from Honors Programs at other Seventh-day Adventist affiliated institutions, or from members schools of the Honors Transfer Council of California. Also, a maximum of 8 units from a student's major may be used to fulfill Honors requirements, not including Honors Scholarship Project units.

Please select the type of transfer student that you expect to be:

• A Sophomore, transferring from another college or university
• A Sophomore, transferring from La Sierra University's "University Studies" (general education) program
• A Junior, transferring from another college or university
• A Junior, transferring from La Sierra University's "University Studies" (general education) program

Sophomores transferring from other colleges or universities

Sophomores transferring to the Honors Program should, ideally, have completed the following courses:

• A laboratory-based physical or life science course
• Modern or ancient language through Intermediate I level (e.g., four quarters or three semesters of a modern language). Note that many students may be able to test for competency in a modern foreign language.
• College Algebra
• One year of first-year level English or composition, or one semester or quarter of Honors English or composition.
• If you are planning on transferring several months in the future, you may want to consult the Honors Director about options for fulfilling the Global Cultures in Context requirement (consisting of a class dealing with global cultures or societies, along with an international experience and accompanying essays and analysis). Note that you should talk to the Honors Director before participating in an international experience if you would like it to fulfill this requirement.

Click here to go to requirements that apply to all transfer Honors students.

Sophomores transferring from La Sierra University's "University Studies" general education program

Sophomores transferring to the Honors Program should, ideally, have completed the following courses:

• A laboratory-based course from Theme IV-A or IV-B
• Lifetime Fitness (PEAC 120)
• Modern or ancient language through Intermediate I level (e.g., four quarters or three semesters of a modern language). Note that many students may be able to test for competency in a modern foreign language.
• College Algebra
• ENGL 111, 112, 113 or ENGL 124

If you are planning on transferring several months in the future, you may want to consult the Honors Director about options for fulfilling the Global Cultures in Context requirement (consisting of a class dealing with global cultures or societies, along with an international experience and accompanying essays and analysis). Note that you should talk to the Honors Director before participating in an international experience (e.g., Adventist Colleges Abroad, Honors Semester, Student Missions) if you would like it to fulfill this requirement.

Click here to go to requirements that apply to all transfer Honors students.

Juniors transferring from other colleges or universities

Juniors transferring to the Honors Program should, ideally, have completed the following courses:

• A laboratory-based physical or life science course
• A course dealing with identity, citizenship, globalization, and/or cultures and their contexts (consult the Honors Director if you have questions about a particular class; many, but not all, social science courses may fulfill this requirement)
• A course in art appreciation or history
• A course in religion (not a practics course, i.e., not a course focusing on practical ministerial training but a course focusing on theology, phenomenology, or Biblical studies)
• Modern or ancient language through Intermediate I level (e.g., four quarters or three semesters of a modern language). Note that many students may be able to test for competency in a modern foreign language.
• One year of first-year level English or composition, or one semester or quarter of Honors English or composition.
• College Algebra
• Calculus I or Introduction to Statistics.

If you are planning on transferring several months in the future, you may want to consult the Honors Director about options for fulfilling the Global Cultures in Context field experience requirement (consisting of an international experience and accompanying essays and analysis). Note that you should talk to the Honors Director before participating in an international experience if you would like it to fulfill this requirement.

Click here to go to requirements that apply to all transfer Honors students.

Juniors transferring from La Sierra University's "University Studies" general education program

Juniors transferring to the Honors Program should, ideally, have completed the following courses:

• A laboratory-based course from Theme IV-A or IV-B
• A course from Theme I or II-B
• A Theme III-A or III-D course
• Lifetime Fitness (PEAC 120)
• Modern or ancient language through Intermediate I level (e.g., four quarters or three semesters of a modern language). Note that many students may be able to test for competency in a modern foreign language.
• College Algebra (MATH 121)
• Calculus I (MATH 131) or Statistics I (MATH 251)
• ENGL 111, 112, 113 or ENGL 124

If you are planning on transferring several months in the future, you may want to consult the Honors Director about options for fulfilling the Global Cultures in Context field experience requirement (consisting of an international experience and accompanying essays and analysis). Note that you should talk to the Honors Director before participating in an international experience (e.g., Adventist Colleges Abroad, Honors Semester, Student Missions) if you would like it to fulfill this requirement.

Requirements that apply to all transfer Honors students are in the next section.

Requirements that apply to all Transfer Honors students

In addition to the specific course requirements listed above, the following are required of all students who transfer into the Honors Program:

"Catching-Up" on the Reading: All of the Honors Courses have readings; for each class, a few readings are identified as "key readings" that students return to later in their program. When a student is accepted to the Program as a Sophomore or higher transfer student, she or he is given a list of readings to complete by the end of her or his first quarter in the Program. That way, when a student makes reference to something learned in an earlier Honors class, the transfer students will be able to better follow the arguments. This type of arrangement has been used at many top colleges and universities.

Assembling a Portfolio: All students in the Program develop a portfolio of their best work throughout the Program. Several courses focus on revision and analysis of these portfolios. When a student joins the Program, she or he meets with the Honors Rhetoric Coordinator to plan the portfolio, that is due 30 days after the student's second quarter in the Program. While transfer students may need to write some papers for their initial portfolio, the amount of writing will be much less if she or he has papers from other classes. So: Save all of your papers from all of your college classes. It will save time later.

Introduction to the Honors Program | Scholarship Information | Admissions Requirements | Curriculum Requirements