A new Honors-to-Honors agreement creates a seamless transfer pathway for high-achieving Bucks County Community College students into Temple’s expanding Honors Program.

For high-achieving community college students, having a clear way to get from a two-year institution to a four-year university can be life-changing. A new Honors-to-Honors agreement between Temple University and Bucks County Community College aims to simplify that journey for the next generation of high-achieving students. 

University leaders from Temple and Bucks County Community College gathered on June 25 at Bucks’ Newtown Campus to sign the agreement, creating a seamless pathway for students in the Honors@Bucks program to continue their academic pursuits in Temple’s Honors Program after earning an associate degree. 

“Bucks County Community College and Temple are kindred institutions,” Temple President John Fry said. “We stand for access, affordability and community engagement. What we’re celebrating today is just one step along the way to something much more significant.” 

The agreement comes at a pivotal moment for Temple’s Honors community. Earlier this spring, the university announced a historic gift from Jane Creamer Sullivan, KLN ’70, that will establish the Jane Creamer Sullivan and Thomas J. Sullivan Honors College, scheduled to open in fall 2027. The new college will build upon Temple’s nationally recognized Honors Program by expanding opportunities for academically ambitious students while embracing a more flexible and accessible approach to Honors education. 

Temple’s Honors Program currently enrolls approximately 2,100 undergraduate students. The Sullivan Honors College is expected to dramatically expand access to Honors education while creating even more opportunities for academic achievement, research and leadership. 

For Bucks students, the agreement creates a clear route to continue their Honors education at Temple. Students will gain access to the university’s rigorous Honors curriculum, research opportunities, leadership development and civic engagement while receiving coordinated advising and enhanced student support services throughout the transfer process. 

“The Honors-to-Honors agreement with Temple University is a testament to the high caliber of the Honors@Bucks program,” said Bucks President Patrick M. Jones in a news release. “This partnership will provide our top academic performers with the opportunity to continue their education as Honors students at one of the finest public universities in the country.” 

The new agreement builds upon an already strong relationship between the two institutions. Temple and Bucks currently maintain 15 program-to-program transfer agreements, along with a 2+2 dual admission partnership that allows students to complete their first two years at Bucks before transferring to Temple to finish their bachelor’s degree, saving students nearly $30,000 in tuition. 

The ceremony also celebrated a shared history between the two institutions. It was held inside Tyler Hall, the former country estate of Stella Elkins Tyler, whose philanthropy helped establish what is now Temple’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture. After Tyler bequeathed her Newtown estate to the university in 1963, Temple later sold 200 acres of the property to Bucks County, creating the site where the community college stands today. “In many ways,” Jones said during the ceremony, “this is a homecoming for Temple.” 

As Temple prepares to launch the Sullivan Honors College, partnerships like this one with Bucks County Community College reinforce the university’s commitment to expanding access to exceptional students wherever they begin their academic journey.