Georgia Governor's Honors Program

The Georgia Governor's Honors Program is a summer educational program in the state of Georgia, in the United States. It is a six-week summer instructional program designed to provide the intellectually gifted and artistically talented high school students of Georgia challenging and enriching educational opportunities not usually available during the regular school year. Activities are designed to provide each participant with opportunities to acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes to become independent, lifelong learners. Many GHP alumni have commented on the experience as unforgettable and one of the most amazing things they have ever participated in. There are several notable alumni.

Rising juniors and seniors in Georgia's public and private high schools may be nominated for the free program by their teachers. The program's entire cost is covered by the state of Georgia. It takes place at Valdosta State University.

Nomination
Students are nominated in a specific instructional area in which their abilities, aptitudes, and interest lie. Each school system or private school is assigned a nomination quota based on the average daily attendance of its 10th and 11th grades. However, some nomination categories do not count against the quota to encourage additional nominations. Nominees may go through a non-standardized local selection process in order to avoid exceeding their school systems' quotas.

Transcripts of grades and records, nomination forms, endorsements and other pertinent information are submitted to substantiate the nominations. Local nominees are then sent to statewide screening interviews/auditions.

The written evidence and data gathered in the student interview/audition are used to rank nominees and select finalists. The number of students selected in each instructional area is determined by the ratio of applicants in that area to the total number of applications received.

Instruction
Major instructional areas are communicative arts (English), Spanish, French, Latin, German, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, agricultural science and biotechnology, social studies, visual arts, theatre, music, dance, design, technology, and executive management. Staff in four support areas (Counseling, Fitness, Computers, and Library/Media) also work to assist the student body.

Students may choose a minor from any of the majors or support areas except for Library/Media in the first week of the program. Some minors, called pre-selected minors, require auditions or interviews, and others have a lottery system for entry. Most minors however are chosen through a preference sheet after a series of information sessions.

Each student receives 4 hours of major subject time on Mondays to Saturdays and 2.5 hours of minor subject time on Mondays to Fridays. Other time is free for meals, performances, practice, or seminars (see below).

GHP instructors are among the most qualified high school and college teachers. They are chosen according to their experience and recommendations. The teacher to student ratio is mandated to be at or very close to 1:15.

Residential Life
GHP participants live in three dormitories on Valdosta State's campus: Langdale, Reade, and Georgia. Each dormitory has halls with 16-40 persons that form a base community for participants. Each hall has a Residential Advisor (RA) who has responsibility for their hall. RAs are often college or post-college young adults with strong credentials, and many are past participants in the program.

Langdale and Georgia also have various common spaces that are used along with outside areas to host seminars put on by the Residential Advisers. The seminars range from informative to recreational, with some focusing on cheese or others the sport of Ultimate.

Roommates and room assignments are random, although roommates usually must not have the same major or be from the same school. This is done to foster diverse friendships among the participants.