Apply to the Honors College

Applications for the Honors College may be submitted at any time and elements can be submitted as available; they do not all need to be submitted at one time. Applications will not be reviewed until all materials have been received. Applicants must complete both the MSU application and the Honors College application to be considered for admission to the Honors College.

To apply you will need the following

1. The completed application form below.

2. A COPY of a high school and/or college transcript. We do not have access to transcripts sent to the main admissions office; an unofficial copy or screenshot must be supplied directly to our office.

3. ACT/SAT Scores (optional). Test scores are not required for the Honors College application, but you may submit them if you prefer.

4. Academic A brief statement (up to 250 words) discussing your academic career plans, including any planned major(s) and future career/professional aspirations.

5. Essay. A typed essay (up to 500 words) on one of the following prompts:

   1. bell hooks wrote about the “sheer joy” of school as a place where “through ideas [she could] reinvent” herself. Discuss how you have specifically lived out this idea in your own schooling up to this point or how you hope to engage in that joyful project in the MSU Honors College based on the classes and programming offered in the college.
   2. Write an essay that reflects on a meaningful conversation you had with someone you personally know (name them and identify their relationship to you) that altered your belief system or how you see the world or what you hope for your future.
   3. Select a creative work, (e.g., a novel, film, poem, musical piece, painting, or other work of art) which has influenced the way you view the world and yourself. Discuss the work and its impact on you.
6. Reference Letter. A signed letter of reference on letterhead addressed to the Honors College from a former or current teacher who knows you and your work. Letters of reference may be mailed to the Honors College in a sealed envelope with recommender's signature along the back seal or emailed directly from the recommender in PDF format to honors@montana.edu.
7. For American Indian/Alaskan Native students, a copy of Tribal Identification documents, if applicable.

*NOTE: While it is acceptable to use AI for purposes of brainstorming or essay planning, all the actual language in your essay should contain your own words. Because we are most interested in you and your ideas, we do not allow text generated by ChatGPT or other AI models to make up any part of your essay.

How to submit your application materials

You may upload documents here or email them to honors@montana.edu as clearly labeled pdf's. Your application will not be considered complete until all documents have been received by the Honors College.

Please make sure ALL your documents are labeled clearly with your FIRST AND LAST NAME.

Contact Information

Online Application for the Honors College

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