Join the Honors Program
An Inclusive Community of High-Achieving Students
Outstanding students join the Honors Program from a wide variety of backgrounds and every major on campus. We welcomes about 250 new students to our community every year. Below, learn more about how Honors works, whether it might be a good fit for you, and how to get an invitation.
Sure, the Honors Program looks good on a resume, but the real reason to join is deeper than that. Your Honors classes will push you to grow intellectually, to be curious, and to develop new interests beyond your major. In these classes, you’ll get to learn across disciplines, and to experience the excitement of real scholarly inquiry, as you investigate questions without known answers. In these small, discussion-centered classes, you’ll make lifelong connections with peers and professors you might otherwise have never met.
University Honors comes at no additional fee to admitted students—it is an academic and student support program provided to admitted students as part of their tuition.
Usually, no. Typically, Honors courses are discussion-based, and they often involve interdisciplinary or hands-on learning. Rather than having more exams or lectures, Honors courses ask you to be actively involved in your own learning. Our Honors physics course throws out the lab manual and instead engages students in real experimentation, where you don’t know what you’ll find. Students in another Honors course work as mentors for high-schoolers—these Honors students make a real difference in the Eau Claire community. These are just two examples—check out our course catalogs to learn more.
Nope! Almost all honors courses count toward the Liberal Education core that all students must complete, and some courses also count towards major and minor requirements. You’ll have the option of turning an upper-level course into an honors experience by designing your own supplemental project (we call these “Honors contracts”). Honors students also earn credit through research, independent studies, study abroad, and writing a senior Honors thesis. Plus, active Honors students get priority registration, which helps students in many majors complete their coursework sooner.
Once you’re in the Honors Program, you can stay in and take honors courses up to graduation. However, if you don’t have the minimum, cumulative GPA of 3.5 by the time you graduate, you will not graduate with the University Honors distinction on your transcript.
If your priorities change or Honors isn’t a good fit, you can leave at any time. Your Honors credits will still count toward any requirement beyond Honors and toward graduation.
Admission Guidelines
Joining Honors is possible as an incoming first-year student, a current student, or a transfer student.
Incoming First-Year Students
1. Fall semester automatic invitations
Many first-semester students are invited to join Honors based on scores achieved on the ACT or SAT and their academic standing in high school. You’ll be invited to join Honors if you have:
- A 28 or higher ACT composite score (SAT 1300+) and high school class rank in the top 5%*
- A 29 or higher ACT composite score (SAT 1330+) and high school class rank in the top 10%*
- A 30 or higher ACT composite score (SAT 1360+) and high school class rank in the top 15%*
*3.95 GPA if class rank is not available
2. Fall semester holistic invitations
Many first-semester students are considered for Honors admission through our award-winning holistic review process. About 40 percent of students invited to join the Honors Program at UWEC have been admitted holistically. Any student, including those who do not submit test scores, may request to be considered for invitation through the holistic process. If you do not meet the criteria for automatic Honors admission, or you are not submitting test scores, please contact us at honors@uwec.edu to request holistic review.
Current Students
1. Spring semester automatic invitations
During the first week of January, we will send invitations to join the Honors Program to all first-year students who have a 26+ ACT score and 3.66+ GPA their first semester. This option does require that a test score is on file. Invited students work with Honors staff and advisors during January to incorporate Honors courses into their spring schedule.
2. Accelerated petition for spring semester Honors admission (current first-year students)
We offer motivated first-year students an accelerated option to submit a petition with their mid-term grades. This option is appropriate for students without ACT scores and/or those who hope to enroll in Honors courses when they register for spring semester rather than changing their schedule later. For an accelerated petition, students need to submit a personal statement, a current degree audit, and a screenshot of their midterm grades to honors@uwec.edu by November 1 for a decision by November 15.
The personal statement must be 1200-2000 words and should address the student's academic interests and qualifications, why they are interested in the Honors Program, and how they would contribute to the Honors community.
3. Petition for Honors admission (2nd or 3rd-semester students)
Any interested student may submit a petition to participate in Honors starting their second or third semester. Students submitting outside of the window for an accelerated petition should send their personal statement (see instructions above) and current degree audit to honors@uwec.edu, as soon as they receive final grades for the current semester, no later than January 15 to join Honors for the spring semester and August 1 to join for the fall semester.
Transfer Students
Any transfer student interested in participating in Honors should contact us at honors@uwec.edu to discuss options. Students who transfer in good standing at another accredited university’s honors program or college will be welcome to continue their Honors education at UWEC. Any Honors credits earned will count toward UWEC’s Honors Program requirements.
Invited to Honors?
If you have received an invitation to participate in the University Honors Program, you can accept it by following the link in the email you received, or by emailing us at honors@uwec.edu.
Honors First-Year Scholarship
The Honors Program comes at no extra cost to our students—and we also offer scholarships. All new first-year students who join the Honors Program in the fall semester receive a one-time $1,000 scholarship.