To be a premier scholar – practitioner program for undergraduate research and experience with a focus on developing and transforming students who are equipped to identify solutions today that meets tomorrow’s challenges. The Honors Program also seeks to inspire an unequivocal deep integration of faith and intellect that reflects the justice, mercy, and love of God.  

To intellectually develop and challenge the minds of SWU undergraduate students through research and experiential opportunities that will further prepare them to impact and meet the needs of the community and beyond.

The Honors Program at Southern Wesleyan University seeks to achieve the following program learning outcomes.   

1. Integrate faith and learning through critical, creative and independent thinking.  
2. Enhance their work through a deeper mentoring relationship with faculty.
3. Contribute to an innovation-oriented community of scholars.  
4. Demonstrate a higher level of academic mastery through engaging in scholarly work in their chosen field and presenting at on-campus forums, local, state, regional or national conferences. 

Once a student is eligible to apply by meeting the first two criteria in the Honors Program Academic Requirements, the coordinator of the Honors Program or a member of the Honors Oversight Committee at Southern Wesleyan University will invite the student to apply by email. Students will prepare and submit the remaining above application materials including faculty/staff recommendations. Applications will be reviewed by the Honors Oversight Committee (HOC) using a rubric point system. Students obtaining the top scores will be invited to complete an interview with the HOC. After the interviews are completed, the HOC will notify students whether or not they have been accepted. 

The Honors Program at Southern Wesleyan University is a four- to six-semester program that affords qualified students the opportunity to participate in advanced study beyond the classroom experience in their chosen field while still in college.  Students interested in the Honors Program must apply and meet the following minimum requirements for entry into the program.   

1. A cumulative SWU GPA of at least 3.6 and in good standing as described in the Student Handbook. 

2. A minimum of 15 credit hours completed at SWU. 

3. Approval and recommendation from a faculty member in the discipline related or closely related to their area of study and one additional recommendation from SWU faculty, staff and/or church member. 

4. A writing sample addressing why they want to join the Honors Program and the relationship between academics and faith.

Once accepted into the Honors Program at SWU, a student must maintain a minimum 3.25 semester GPA while a member of the Honors Program. 

In order to successfully graduate from the Honors Program, a student must complete 12 credit hours of honors courses in addition to a special project with courses guiding the project process.

Guidelines for Honors Credit Courses (Required minimum 12 credit hours)

• Minimum of six credit hours from the Core Curriculum or other non-major courses (if fewer than six credit hours remain in the Core or electives when the student joins the Honors Program, then the student may submit a request to appeal to complete additional hours in his/her major to reach the total of twelve honors credit hours).
• Minimum of six credit hours from the student’s major.
• To earn honors credit for a course, a student can enroll and complete a section of a course with the honors designation OR a student can submit a request to designate the course as honors to the Honors Oversight Committee. As a part of this form, the instructor of the course must also agree to provide additional guidance with the student without any monetary remuneration. For suggestions and guidelines regarding the criteria for adjusting the course curriculum to facilitate the elevated learning associated with an honors course, instructors should contact a member of the Honors Oversight Committee.

Additional Honors Courses to Guide Project:

Students in the Honors Program will also take the following courses in order to guide them through the project process in addition to the twelve credit hours outlined in the previous section. With the course number is an explanation of the purpose and timing of the course. (This is not the same as the course description that is in the course catalog.)

HNRS 2011 Introduction to the Honors

During this course, students will formalize the specialized project and submit a final proposal by the end of the course. The course will begin with the guidance of a member of the Honors Oversight Committee but will lead towards students meeting with their project advisors in order to begin the relationship between the student and the sponsoring faculty member. This course can be taken after acceptance to the program but should be taken at least two semesters prior to the final presentation of the project.

HNRS 4993 Honors Research

This course will be an independent study overseen by the faculty member who is the advisor for the project. Students will engage in the scholarly activity required to complete the project (ie research, experiment, travel, interviews, work, etc). This is to be completed no later than the semester before the student will graduate.

HNRS 4001 Honors Senior Seminar

During the last semester in the program, students will create a final paper and presentation to present the results of their project. These results are also presented to the university at large at the end of the semester. This course will be overseen by the faculty advisor for the project in conjunction with a member of the Honors Oversight Committee. This course is taken during the final semester the student is enrolled before graduation.