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Apply to the Honors College
First-year, current, and transfer students are all welcome to apply to the Honors College. Applying is simple: it’s built right into your Westminster application and it’s completely free. Plus, the Honors College has exclusive financial aid opportunities—scholarships, grants, and awards—to support you from your first day through graduation.
Where Westminster's most driven students go to be truly known.
You’re someone who loves to think. College, for you, might be just as much about the intellectual challenge as it is the degree. You’re someone who’s willing to share your thoughts as they’re forming. You view being wrong as a chance to grow, and you’re not afraid to say it out loud.
Bottom line: You’ll excel in the Honors College if you’re willing to show up, stay curious, and engage with our strong community at Westminster University.
What We Look For
We're reading for habit of mind, not perfection.
Use your application to show us why you’ll make a great addition to the Honors College. Good grades help, but they’re only part of what makes you a great candidate. We’re most excited by students who think with nuance, pay attention to detail, and are willing to be wrong and change their minds.
Capacity for Curiosity
Ideal candidates aren’t afraid to follow where questions lead them, even when it’s uncomfortable. Their applications show curiosity through how they spend their time—tell us about work, community service, hobbies, independent reading, self-directed projects, and more.
Demonstrated Writing Skills
Your essay is the most important part of your application. It’s your chance to show us your point of view and how you think.
Commitment to Conversation Across Difference
Honors seminars thrive on student-led discussion, so we’d love to read about your experiences talking with people you disagree with, how it went, and what you learned.
Evidence of Community Leadership
Leadership experience doesn’t always come with a title or job description. Describe how you've taken action, built community, or blazed your own trail.
How to Apply to the Honors College
4 Easy Steps to Apply as an Incoming Student
Apply to Westminster
Submit your Westminster application. No application fee. No test scores. Check the
box for "Honors College."
Open the Westminster Application Portal
Open the Westminster Application Portal
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Submit your Honors essay with your application
A short essay (500 words) responding to the Honors prompt about the intellectual community
you want to build with us. This is where you show us how you think and what you’re
curious about, not just what you’ve already done.
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Apply for the Excellence Scholarship
Optional but encouraged. The Honors Academic Excellence Scholarship awards $5,000
per year to 4 incoming students through a separate application.
Learn about the first-year scholarship
Learn about the first-year scholarship
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Receive your decision
Every application is read and considered by one of our dedicated faculty or staff
members.
Submit by the priority application deadline and get a decision by December 15. After Dec. 1, decisions are released on a rolling basis through April 1. Expect to hear back about 2 weeks after applying. Honors scholarships are announced in early March.
Key Dates and Deadlines
Application Opens
August 1
Priority Deadline
December 1
Academic Excellence Scholarship Deadline
February 1
Regular Deadline
April 1
Decision Day
April 1
Internal Transfer Deadline
March 15
Commit Deadline
May 1
External Transfer Deadline
June 1
Current Student Honors Applications
Email the Honors College dean at acb@westminsteru.edu before March 15, the internal application deadline. She’ll help you find the fastest path to the Honors College from where you are right now.
Get Answers to Your Honors College Questions
The dean's office is happy to talk through eligibility, lateral entry, your essay, or financial opportunities before you submit your application.
Alicia Cunningham-Bryant, Ph.D
Dean of the Honors College
Jose Hernandez Zamudio
Assistant Dean, Honors College