What does it mean to be wise? How do I learn to recognize what is true from what is false? How can what I learn in the classroom help me become not only smarter, but more compassionate, loving, and just? In the John Wesley Honors College, we ask a lot of questions. Our classes explore big questions: What Is Truth? What is the Good Life? What is Beauty? These questions are “big” because how we think about truth, goodness, and beauty affects how we understand the world and our role within it. They are the kinds of questions which take a lifetime to answer.
In the John Wesley Honors College, we want our students to live meaningful lives in their chosen careers, but more importantly, we want to see them live successfully meaningful lives as followers of Christ. Our students have a long list of impressive accomplishments, and we have earned a national reputation for excellence in our 25+ year history. But we’re most proud of our reputation for being the kind of a community that translates what happens inside the classroom to life outside of it. By drawing deeply from the wisdom passed down to us from our Christian brothers and sisters, we not only study virtues like justice, wisdom, and courage, we help you live them out.
If you want to experience this kind of transformational Christian education in small class settings with award winning faculty, we encourage you to join our community and start asking better questions.
OUR MISSION
The John Wesley Honors College is an intentional learning community established to model and enrich IWU’s commitment to a Christian liberal arts education that nurtures lived wisdom. We thus strive for redemptive excellence by preparing our graduates to discern and inhabit God’s truth, to grow into the liberating virtues of Christ’s goodness, and to embody the sanctifying beauty of God’s reconciling love in a hurting world.
Please note that the John Wesley Honors College requires a separate application in addition to your Indiana Wesleyan University application.
Complete the appropriate JWHC application by following the link here: Online Application
Recommendations are submitted electronically with this form: JWHC Recommendation Form
Two recommendations are required for applicants to the John Wesley Scholars and Mary C. Dodd Honors Program. One of those recommendations must be from someone who knows your academic abilities well such as a high school teacher.
Applicants to the Luther Lee Scholars Program are invited to submit up to two recommendations from those who know them well, but recommendations will not be a key factor in the decision process.
As a final part of the application process, applicants are invited to participate in a JWHC interview. Admission interviews for students seeking to enter the Honors College will be held in-person on specific dates provided later, or can be conducted virtually.
| JWHC Admissions Spotlight Days | Apply By | Notified By |
|---|---|---|
|
Spotlight Day # 1: Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 Register HERE |
Oct. 28 | Dec. 6, 2024 |
|
Spotlight Day # 2: Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 Register HERE |
Jan 27 | Feb. 28, 2025 |
| Rolling Admissions for virtual interviews | Ongoing | Ongoing |
*Note: Students are welcome to attend a spotlight day prior to applying to the JWHC! In this event, the JWHC office will line up a virtual interview after we receive a student’s application.
The JWHC enrolls incoming first-year students, or underclassman transfer students. See below for the distinct honors programs available.
| Honors Program | Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|
| John Wesley Scholars (for High School Seniors) |
Meet ONE of the following:
|
| Luther Lee Scholars (for High School Seniors) |
Student meets honors criteria above (such as a GPA of 3.7 or higher) in addition to the following criteria:
Learn more about the LLS full tuition cap-off scholarship. |
| Mary C. Dodd Scholars (for Transfer Students) |
|
Students who are interested in joining the JWHC's creative, interdisciplinary community of learners must complete an application process that is separate from applying to Indiana Wesleyan University. The JWHC invites applications from:
Prospective students who do not meet the admission criteria may petition to apply to the John Wesley Scholars, Luther Lee Scholars, or Mary C. Dodd Honors Programs. Such students should submit an e-mail to jwhc.admissions@indwes.edu communicating why their academic preparation, intellectual character, and vocational objectives make them strong candidates for admission into an honors learning community. If a student's petition is approved by the Honors College Admissions Committee, then he or she will be invited to apply to the John Wesley Honors College.
Questions about the application or interview process may be directed to jwhc.admissions@indwes.edu or 765-677-1441.
These Honors College scholarships are distributed annually and awarded in addition to general academic merit scholarships. Every student receives a minimum of $1,000/year tuition scholarship. Additionally, one top scholarship of $5,000/year and four top scholarships of $2,500/year are awarded to John Wesley Scholars. Top scholarships are awarded by the JWHC selection committee, with preference given to students who apply and interview at either the Fall or Spring JWHC Spotlight Day.
Information about the Luther Lee Scholars program, its co-curricular opportunities, and the scholarships awarded can be found at the Luther Lee Scholars Program page.
As a nationally renowned community of Christian liberal arts learning, IWU’s John Wesley Honors College offers eager, inquisitive students the rare opportunity to pursue academic excellence aimed at cultivating discernment, character, and a creative passion for God’s redemptive work in the world. The goal of a JWHC education is to transform how our graduates think and live so that, whatever career they eventually pursue, they will do so as an expression of a broader and deeper life calling that embodies God’s truth, goodness, and beauty.
Students participate in the John Wesley Honors College through one of three honors programs:
The Honors Humanities major is designed to help our students ask better questions. Honors courses are integrated into your major field of study and fulfill your general education requirements. Motivated by the question, “Who are you becoming?” the JWHC class experience encourages students to wrestle through big questions with both their heads and their hearts.
Because the Honors Humanities major fulfills IWU’s general education requirements, JWHC students have plenty of flexibility in their coursework to pursue additional majors or minors, studying abroad, intercollegiate athletics, and/or musical performance groups.
The Honors College is developing creative, critical-thinking servant leaders to help shape tomorrow's world. Thanks to their honors learning experiences and mentoring relationships with first-rate faculty members, JWHC graduates have consistently distinguished themselves in their post-IWU careers. They have entered graduate programs at schools such as Oxford, Princeton, Duke, Michigan, University of Chicago and Eastman School of Music. They have become authors, poets, artists and journalists. They have embarked on leadership tracks in corporations, schools, churches, hospitals, charities and government. But most importantly, they have become well-informed, reflective and compassionate agents of Christ in a desperately hurting world.
Our office would love to stay connected along with keeping you up to date with your peers! Please contact Dr. Lanta Davis or honors.office@indwes.edu and request a link to our JWHC alumni page.
