Honors Program

Associate of Arts

Associate of Science

MTS Program Coordinator: Katherine Lynch, klynch8@sunyrockland.edu

Assistant Coordinator: Hannah Lowney, hlowney@sunyrockland.edu

Department Office: Academic II, Room 2147, Phone: 845-574-4796

The MTS Honors Program:

The Sam Draper Mentor/Talented Student Honors Program (MTS) is a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences honors program for highly motivated students. Students in the honors program have transferred to Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, Yale, Cornell, Amherst, Brown, Columbia, Duke, University of Pennsylvania, Vassar, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Chicago, UCLA, and other outstanding colleges.

Honors courses are offered in departments throughout the college. Classes are kept small, about 20-24 students, and interactive, with lively discussions and group projects.

Degrees Offered:

According to the student’s expressed interest and academic talents, each entering student is paired with a carefully selected faculty mentor. They meet regularly to assess the student’s goals and progress, plan the student’s courses and curricular activities and just talk.

The requirements of the MTS Honors Program include:

  • A minimum of eight honors courses
  • English 150: Theories and Practice of Research
  • An internship or study abroad program
  • Two laboratory science courses
  • Two semesters in a foreign language for liberal arts students whose academic emphasis is not science
  • Extracurricular activities (on-campus or off-campus) relating to the student’s academic program
  • A two-hour seminar on strategies for transferring to four-year colleges

An AA or AS degree with Honors is awarded to MTS participants who complete all requirements and maintain at least a 3.5 academic average with no semester below a 3.2. The degree with honors is noted both on the student’s transcript and on the diploma.

The MTS Honors program requires a separate application (in addition to the application for admission to RCC). To apply please visit the MTS website.