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Castle Scholars Honors Program

The Castle Scholars Honors Program at Manhattanville College seeks to challenge high-achieving students and encourages them to explore new areas of interest beyond the usual intellectual parameters during their entire undergraduate career. This highly selective program limits admission to the top ten percent of each incoming class. Castle Scholars Honors Students benefit from rigorous, intellectually stimulating, interdisciplinary seminars, all of which are taught by our full-time faculty. Castle Scholars can also apply for special funding to complete independent Honors research and creative projects, allowing them to design, implement, and achieve the ambitious goals they set for themselves.

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The Castle Scholars Honors Program offers students of exceptional ability a broader and more intensive program of study than the usual college curriculum. It provides motivated students in any major field with challenging, cross-disciplinary courses that encourage their academic and personal growth. Participation in the Castle Scholars Honors Program encourages intellectual exchange among students and faculty and fosters independent initiative in academic and creative realms. Castle Scholars are well prepared for success in graduate and professional schools as well as in the professional world.

Honors Seminars

Honors seminars are the core of our program. Manhattanville’s most engaging faculty offer innovative and often interdisciplinary seminars that are limited to 15 students, a format that ensures in-depth discussion and exploration of the subject matter. In addition, many of our seminars incorporate experiential learning through trips into New York City and other sites in the tri-state region. These classes provide high-achieving students with the opportunity to explore areas within and outside of their intended major, and all of them fulfill at least one of Manhattanville College’s General Education Requirements.

Project Funding

We also provide funding for selected Castle Scholars to complete ambitious research and creative projects. Recently funded projects include:

Authenticity in literature – David Nielsen, English
Testing Leptospira biflexa susceptibility to salt and osmotic stress – Polin Petkova, Biology
Effects of green tea on preventing Pseudomonas aeruginosa – Mariah Bigaud, Biology
Anti-biofilm activity of pomegranate extract against the bacteria Staphylococcus epidermidis – Charlene Caoili, Biology
DEET effectively repels the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, in a novel ex vivo bioassay – Philip Meade, Biology
Native and European interaction during the Pequot War – Denise Martinchek, History
Democratic Transitions in Myannmar – Alexis Moore, History, International Studies, and Asian Studies
Break the First Impression? – Shuzi Meng, Psychology

Program Requirements

Students starting the program in Fall 2022 or later must complete the following requirements:

An Honors First Year Seminar (students who join the program after their first year will substitute an additional 3000-level CSCH seminar for this requirement)
Three 3000-level CSCH seminars (a student may substitute a design thinking course for one of these 3000-level seminars).

Students starting the program before Fall 2022 must meet the following requirements:

An Honors First Year Seminar (students who join the program after their first year will substitute an additional 3000-level CSCH seminar for this requirement)
Two 3000-level CSCH seminars.

In addition, all Castle Scholars must:

Earn a grade of B or better in Honors courses in order to receive Honors credit
Maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.6 or higher
Remain in good standing in their non-academic activities
Be positive role models for academic integrity
Meet certain “milestones” in the form of a certain number of honors credits completed at the end of each academic year, as below:
- By the end of the freshman year, complete 3 CSCH credits. Most students will be able to meet this milestone by completing the honors First Year Seminar.
- By the end of the sophomore year, complete 6 CSCH credits cumulative.
- By the end of the junior year, complete 9 CSCH credits cumulative,
- By the end of the senior year, complete all the required CSCH credits.

Revised August 30, 2022. The above information provided serves as a guide, which will be updated periodically.

Current information about degree program requirements can be found in the official College Catalogs.

Eligibility

Manhattanville College’s Castle Scholars Honors Program is the college-wide honors program. Admission into the program is competitive and selective, as the program accepts less than 10% of each incoming class.

An incoming first-year student who has a high school GPA of a 3.9 or greater will be automatically invited to join the program and will receive an Honors Award of an additional $2,000. This scholarship is renewable for a total of eight semesters as long as you remain in the program and fulfill the program requirements.

Transfer students with up to 60 credits may also be eligible if they have been enrolled in Honors courses at other institutions and should consult with the Castle Scholars Honors Program Director, Nimish Adhia, regarding approval of transfer courses towards completion of the Castle Scholars Honors Program.

If you qualify for Castle Scholars Honors Program you will be informed in your college acceptance letter and in your scholarship letter. If you qualify, please complete your Castle Scholars Honors Program confirmation here.

Benefits

Castle Scholars in good standing are accorded the following privileges:

Priority registration privileges (early registration to ensure optimal course selection)
Permission to register for up to 21 credits per semester without financial penalty
Opportunities to apply for special funding for research projects
Participation in on-campus Castle Scholars social events, including regular dinners with the president of Manhattanville College
Contribution to the intellectual and social life of the college through the organization of college-wide events, such as Human Rights Awareness Day and the Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Fair
Participation in Castle Scholars field trips to New York City and beyond
Mentoring by the Castle Scholars Director and Faculty Committee members
Access to the Honors Commons student lounge and study area in the library
Recognition at college-wide awards ceremonies
Recognition of successful completion of the program on college transcripts and on all printed graduation materials