Academic Recognition
Dean’s List
Immediately following the close of each semester, the Vice President for Academic Affairs announces the names of students who achieved scholarship quotients of 3.5 or above for the preceding grading period. To be eligible the student must complete a minimum of 15 graded semester hours.
Class Awards and Department Awards
Each year the University community convenes to recognize students who merit academic recognition. In the fall, the academic year begins with the Opening Convocation, during which the previous year’s freshman, sophomore and junior class awards are presented. In the spring, the Academic Awards Dinner is held to recognize seniors inducted into honor societies, as well as those receiving departmental awards. The St. Anthony of Padua Alpha Phi Delta Award is presented to the graduate with the highest QPA. The Fr. Dan Egan Award is presented to the top student graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree and the John M. Welsh Award is presented to the top Bachelor of Arts degree recipient. These last two awards are determined by faculty input and the Academic Honors Board faculty.
Honorary Societies
Alpha Chi
This is a national collegiate honor society, one of the three in America open to both men and women. Students become eligible for membership by achieving a minimum 3.80 cumulative quality point average after a minimum of five semesters of full-time study or 62 semester hours at Franciscan University of Steubenville and by being in the top ten percent of the senior class. High scholarship is the primary requisite for membership, but good character and reputation are considerations. Membership is for life, but alumni may maintain active status by paying an annual fee. Franciscan University pays for the first year of membership.
Baconian Society
The Baconian Society was founded at Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1950 by the first president of the University, the late Very Rev. Daniel W. Egan. Named in honor of the Franciscan philosopher Roger Bacon, the society is the campus equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa and is the highest academic award offered the BA graduate. To be eligible for membership, a student must have a high cumulative average in a BA program, have completed the last 90 credits at the University, and participated in campus life.
Other honorary societies at Franciscan University include Kappa Delta Pi, an international educational honor society; Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology; and Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society, and Phi Alpha, the national social work honor society.