The Honors Program
Where learning comes to life.
The Honors program at William Woods University fosters the growth of students who are dedicated, imaginative, and enthusiastic about making the most of their academic experience. They are excited about learning in a community of students who share their love of knowledge and drive for excellence.
Why Honors at The Woods?
Community
- Dedicated honors housing for freshman
- Monthly dinners with all honors students and faculty
- Unique cohort model where lifelong friendships are formed
- Take one or two honors classes per semester with the same group of students from orientation to graduation
- Priority selection for housing second year and beyond (honors dedicated housing first year)
- Move in early and receive a dedicated honors orientation
Academics
- Relevant courses for an enhanced general experience
- Specially designed courses only for honors students
- Hands-on engagement with creative, collaborative outcomes
- Smaller class size
- Space to feel seen and heard
- Early course registration
- Honors exclusive funding for travel and research
- Honors thesis with one-on-one mentorship from a faculty member in your field
- Recognized at graduation with honors regalia
Career Readiness
- Honors exclusive opportunities for campus leadership
- Honors notation on your transcript
- Conduct original research to contribute to your field
- Great for applications to graduate school and future employment
If you would like to learn about the program, contact admissions@williamwoods.edu and your counselor can connect you with a current Honors student or faculty leader.
Honors Award
Honors program students are offered a $1,250 scholarship. This scholarship may be in addition to other scholarship or aid offers depending on your unique scholarship package offer. Ask your admissions counselor for details.
Requirements and Application Process
Courses
To build community among the participants and make connections with faculty, students complete the program as a cohort, taking the required gen ed courses (taught by members of the honors committee) together and in sequence.
Freshman
- Fall Semester
- WWU 102 Honors Connections (1 Hour)
- Spring Semester
- PHL 1xx Language, Truth and Logic (i)
Sophomore 2025-26
- Fall Semester
- HIS 2xx Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic (Q)
- Spring Semester
- ART 2xx Titivating Anna Atkins (X)
Junior 2026-27
- Fall Semester
- None required*
- Spring Semester
- WWU 3xx Honors Research Methods (1 Hour)
Senior 2027-28
- Fall Semester
- WWU 475 Honors Thesis I
- Spring Semester
- WWU 476 Honors Thesis II
*Students must complete one 3-hour honors contract course during their sophomore or junior year. Contract courses are upper-level classes within the student’s major that are modified by the instructor and student to meet honors requirements.
General Education category codes:
i = information literacy
Q = inquiry and analysis
X = expression and invention
The priority deadline for WWU's Honors Program is March 1, 2025.
Students will need to meet the following eligibility requirements and supply the following information to apply for the Honors program for Fall 2025.
Please use this scholarship application to submit your application and provide necessary documents.
- Application to William Woods
- Minimum high school GPA of 3.25 unweighted
- High school transcript
- Resume (summary of academic and extracurricular achievements)
- Writing Sample (500-750 words; students may select one topic below as their writing prompt).
- In the path to success, it can be easy to lose track of the joy of learning. Where do you find joy in learning when outside of a classroom?
- Imagine you were given an essay prompt that said this: “Write anything you want, but tell a story and be persuasive.” How would you respond to (or cope with) these vague instructions?
- Do you think social media has brought the people of your generation closer together, or driven them further apart?
- Sample of your best academic work. This could be your best essay or report or a work of art. (If your submission is not a written piece, provide some accompanying written context. Contact admissions@williamwooods.edu if you have any question about what will qualify.)
We look forward to receiving your application.