Honors Studies Academic and Scholarship Advising

You must submit an Honors Program application in addition to the Wright State admission application. You must be admitted to the university to be considered for admission to the Honors Program. First-year admitted students who meet the minimum admission criteria may be mailed a pre-approved application during their senior year of high school.

Transfer students may join the University Honors Program if they have a 3.0 GPA and sufficient Wright State Core courses remaining to complete a General Studies or University Honors Scholar designation. Students who have completed all or most of their Core courses may be eligible to complete a Departmental Honors program. Consult an Honors Program advisor for more information. The Honors Program accepts transfer Honors courses from institutions that are members of the National Collegiate Honors Council.

To remain in good standing in the Honors Program, you must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. You must also make timely progress toward completing Honors Program requirements, which generally means completing the six required Honors General Education courses during your freshman and sophomore years.  The Honors Student Handbook describes the program's retention policy in full.

Although Honors students take Honors-designated classes, these classes do not constitute your full schedule, so you will not be academically isolated from non-Honors students. And although University Honors students have the unique option of choosing to live in the Honors Community residence hall, there are numerous other on-campus residential alternatives available through the Office of Residence Services. Honors students live in nearly every on-campus residence community and participate in a wide range of student organizations.

Honors courses and seminars typically focus on cross-disciplinary and compelling topics that appeal to students from many majors. Most courses use active learning approaches over lectures, assigning primary source readings and incorporating opportunities for independent, outside research, or service learning. Generally, Honors courses are not more difficult than other courses; they are just formatted differently. The small class size allows for deeper discussion and critical thinking.

In addition to many other residential options on campus, you may request to live in the Honors Community, a state-of-the-art building featuring 384 beds in three separate wings. All rooms are doubles arranged in suites with a bathroom in the middle. Each room has a microwave, refrigerator, sink, and high-speed internet access. All floors are coed. The building also has a classroom and a 25-station computer lounge, which is available to residents for personal use. The convenience store, lounge and meeting space, common kitchen, fitness center, and coffee shop are also attractive features. For more information, please visit the Residence Services website.

Requirements differ depending on the Honors Scholar designation you choose to pursue. University Honors Scholars and Departmental Honors Scholars complete coursework and an Honors project; General Studies Honors Scholars complete coursework and have a GPA requirement. For details on the requirements for each, review the Honors Degree Designations web page.

Students who have earned an Honors degree designation are recognized twice each year--December and April. A December event recognizes summer and fall graduates; the April event recognizes spring graduates. Honors graduates receive a certificate and the University Honors Program medallion to wear at the university's commencement ceremonies.

The Honors Program offers approximately 50 Competitive Honors Scholarships to incoming freshmen each year. These are all renewable, four-year awards, which range in value from $2,500/year to full tuition, fees, room/board, and books, and are in addition to other awards you may receive from Wright State, up to the total cost of your education. The submission deadline for the Competitive Honors Scholarships is February 15 each year.

We also offer a variety of scholarships for continuing students. Information on these awards is available in the Honors Program office and on the Office of Financial Aid website.

Students interested in national scholarship opportunities should visit the National Scholarship Resource Center website and then contact the Honors Program office.

The Honors Program welcomes approximately 300 incoming first-year students each fall. Current Wright State students and those transferring from other institutions may also apply for the Honors Program at any time throughout the year.

All students interested in Wright State are encouraged to visit the campus! To set up a campus visit, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 937-775-5700. After your campus visit is scheduled, contact the University Honors Program at 937-775-2660 or honors@wright.edu. We can arrange a time for you to visit with one of our staff or a current Honors student, as well as visit a class, depending on the timing of your visit.