The Honors University Transfer Program provides highly motivated students the opportunity to work closely with instructors and other motivated students in advanced levels of critical thinking, analysis, research, writing, and communication. The goal of the Program is to engage, support, and challenge self-motivated students to pursue a deeper education, enabling them to create opportunities for success in both their personal and professional lives. Honors courses offer enriched educational experiences through our Honors faculty, challenging coursework, typically smaller class sizes, and the opportunity to study with other highly motivated students.
See current semester's list of Honors course offerings:
- Class Schedule PDF under Subject: Honors Program
- Online Searchable Class Schedule
- Select all Subjects by using CTRL-A or Shift-click
- Select Attribute Type: Honors or type into Title: Honors.
- Select Campus: West Valley College

The Honors University Transfer Program provides highly motivated students the opportunity to work closely with instructors and other motivated students in advanced levels of critical thinking, analysis, research, writing, and communication. The goal of the Program is to engage, support, and challenge self-motivated students to pursue a deeper education, enabling them to create opportunities for success in both their personal and professional lives. Honors courses offer enriched educational experiences through our Honors faculty, challenging coursework, typically smaller class sizes, and the opportunity to study with other highly motivated students.
Each honors course you take is designated as Honors on your academic transcript and indicates you took on the additional challenge that these courses represent. If you complete 15 units of Honors courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.25+ then you qualify to receive a special Honors Graduation Medal during Commencement as well as a Permanent Notation on your Transcript noting that you are an Honors Program Graduate. There is no consequence if you enter the program and do not complete the 15 units.
The Honors Program has special partnerships with 4-year universities that provide significant advantages in the application and scholarship process. For example, UCLA TAP applicants are admitted at more than double the rate of the non-Honors transfer applicants.
Transfer Alliance Program

The Transfer Alliance Program is a collaboration between the West Valley Honors University Transfer Program and UCLA. The program is designed to foster academic excellence at the community college level and to promote diversity and retention in the UCLA transfer population.
Students who have completed the Honors Program at West Valley College receive priority consideration for admission to UCLA College. Admitted TAP students are eligible to apply for scholarships reserved for the Transfer Alliance Program. In a typical year, TAP students are admitted to UCLA about 75% of the time, while the non-TAP UCLA admission rate is about 25%.

West Valley College Student Qualifications
- Earn a GPA of 3.25 or higher in at least 9 units of university transferable work at WVC
High School Student Qualifications
- Earn a high school cumulative GPA of 3.5
Maintaining Membership
To maintain active membership in the Program, students must:
- Maintain 3.25 or higher cumulative GPA
- Recommended: Enroll in at least two Honors courses each year
You will have completed the Honors Program after successfully taking 5 Honors courses with a GPA of 3.4 or higher
Faculty

Jose Bautista
Psychology, History
Instructor and Department Chair
(408) 741-2492
jose.bautista@westvalley.edu
Language Arts / Social Sciences 1F

Leigh Burrill
English
English Instructor
(408) 741-4054
leigh.burrill@westvalley.edu
LA/SS 3C

Rachael Fields
English
English Instructor
(408) 741-xxxx
rachael.fields@westvalley.edu
Language Arts Building

Janine Gerzanics
English
English Instructor
(408) 741-4073
janine.gerzanics@westvalley.edu
LA/SS

Nichola Gutierrez
Political Science
Political Science Instructor and Department Chair: Humanities, Political Science, and Sociology
(408) 741-2557
nichola.gutierrez@westvalley.edu
LA/SS 1-D

Janis Kea
Economics
Economics Instructor, Economics Chair
(408) 741-2538
janis.kea@westvalley.edu
LA/SS 2E

Tim Kelly, Ph.D.
History/Political Science
Instructor of History and Political Science
(408) 741-2546
tim.kelly@westvalley.edu
SS/LA 1E

Andrew Kindon
Anthropology/Geography/Philosophy
Department Chair-Anthropology Instructor
(408) 741-2554
andrew.kindon@westvalley.edu
Office: LA/SS 2F

Sam Liu
Economics
Economics Instructor and Honors Program Coordinator
(408) 741-2147
sam.liu@westvalley.edu
SS 1C

Julie Maia
English
English Instructor
(408) 741-2507
julie.maia@westvalley.edu
Language Arts/Social Science

Ann Malmuth-Onn
Dance
Dance Instructor
(408) 741-2524
ann.malmuth-onn@westvalley.edu

Benjamin Mendelsohn
Astronomy
Astronomy Instructor / Planetarium Director
(408) 741-4018
benjamin.mendelsohn@westvalley.edu

Nils Michals
English
English Instructor
(408) 741-2550
nils.michals@westvalley.edu
LA 1K

Cynthia Napoli-Abella Reiss
Visual Art
Chair, Department of Visual Art; Professor, Art History
(408) 741-2533
cynthia.reiss@westvalley.edu
Cilker 103W

Eric (Ronald) Pape
English
English Instructor
(408) 741-4605
eric.pape@westvalley.edu
LA/SS 3A

Jennifer Wagner
English
English Instructor
(408) 741-2615
jennifer.wagner@westvalley.edu

Rebecca Wong
Mathematics
Math Instructor
(408) 741-2631
rebecca.wong@westvalley.edu
Science/Math (SM) 4L

Michelle Zajac
Communication Studies
Communication Studies Instructor
(408) 741-2485
michelle.zajac@westvalley.edu
Language Arts (LA) Building Room 4L
Contact Us
Honors Program Coordinator

Sam Liu
Economics
Economics Instructor and Honors Program Coordinator
(408) 741-2147
sam.liu@westvalley.edu
SS 1C

Michael West
Counseling
Articulation Officer and Honors Counselor
(408) 741-4037
michael.west@westvalley.edu
Library Room 18