Philosophy
Leadership
Development Through Community Investment
We believe that an honors education
should instill in students the desire to
be active, contributing members of their
societies. Our aim is summarized best in
our motto: "To be honorable is to
serve."
The Honors College at West Chester
University achieves this theme of
leadership development through
service by providing an exciting
environment for academically gifted
and highly motivated students to
interact in a learning community of
peers, faculty, administrators, and
staff that will challenge and enrich
the students' college experience.
Grounded in the liberal arts
tradition, the Honors College seeks
cross-disciplinary connections to develop
students' natural intellectual abilities and
challenge them to employ those gifts on behalf
of the larger community.
At West Chester University,
honors is more than a matter of strong grades.
Honors implies a decision to use the gift of
knowledge to be an active problem solver in both
the campus community and in the world.
To that
end, the honors program seeks to build character
and foster a commitment to lifelong learning
that prepares leaders for the 21st century.
A core of nine
sequenced courses will familiarize you, as a
student, with defining and addressing challenges
facing today's communities. Additionally, you
will select a minimum of two 300/400-level
special topics seminars that rotate each
semester. The culminating experience, a
three-credit capstone project, provides you with
the opportunity to identify, investigate, and
address creatively an issue in a community
business, nonprofit agency, or research
laboratory.
Honors is a supplement to, not a
substitute for, an academic major. The honors
core, plus one additional science or mathematics
course, fulfills the University's general
education requirements for honors students.
