Daniel Haggerty, Ph.D., Director
Available by invitation to incoming freshmen, the Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Honors Program provides an alternate way of fulfilling General Education requirements. Students not selected initially may apply for admission as second semester freshmen or as sophomores. Courses for SJLA program participants, who are drawn from all different majors, attempt to foster the following skills that University graduates have found particularly useful in law, medicine, business and graduate school:
- An understanding of key achievements in the literature, history, philosophy, theology and science of the Western classical and Christian heritage;
- An ability to apply logical, systematic, and critical reflection to any given intellectual problem;
- An understanding of and sensitivity toward the contemporary problems of our day;
- An outstanding ability to communicate clearly and persuasively one’s ideas through both the spoken and written word (what Jesuits have historically referred to as eloquentia perfecta).
Students are expected to become involved in extracurricular and service activities on campus if they wish to remain in SJLA. Many participants also study abroad, earn a double major in philosophy, and join the Honors Program if they apply and are accepted during their sophomore year. Above all, participants are expected to seek out and interact with their professors and other students in this community of learning, which is under the direction of Daniel Haggerty, Ph.D.
SJLA students are eligible to apply for the Christopher Jason Perfilio Memorial Scholarships, awarded each year since 1995.
Electives
SJLA students should use their seven or eight elective courses to study history, mathematics, computer literacy, the natural and social sciences, and languages. While the SJLA Honors Program does not require the study of foreign language it does encourage it as the study of languages makes a distinctive contribution to a liberal arts education.