Honors students on field trip in Mt. Hope Bay

Honors Program

Academic Excellence that Makes a Difference

The Honors Program at RWU is a unique academic and social community for students who love learning. As an Honors student, you can:

  • Gain knowledge and skills that make a difference.
  • Work alongside your community to create change.
  • Travel abroad to develop a global perspective.
  • Form lifelong friendships and professional connections.
  • Be a leader.

If you want to share your passion for learning and get more from your education, we invite you to explore the information provided and apply.

Registering for Fall 2026?

Incoming First-Year Student Registration Guide

The Honors Experience

The Honors Curriculum offers a four-year experience that grounds your education in engaged and reflective learning. In Honors courses, you will enjoy smaller class sizes, an interdisciplinary environment, and innovative course design.

Your professors are dedicated Honors faculty who will challenge and support your learning. Our faculty have expertise in their respective fields, but are also avid practitioners of the art of teaching.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Watch your learning come to life through visits to local sites like Save the Bay in Newport, R.I., and Walden Pond in Concord, Mass.

Being part of the world, locally and globally

Honors students engage with community leaders such as Lorén Spears, Executive Director of the Tomaquag Indigenous Museum. She shared her experience in a talk titled “Through my Eyes: Indigenous Education, Leadership, and Empowerment."

As a first-year honors student, you will live and learn alongside your peers, in the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC) in the Stonewall IV Residence Hall. Students in the LLC participate in a summer project, a pre-orientation retreat, and build community throughout this foundational first year on campus.

 After your first year, you will continue to have access to all the resources Stonewall IV provides, including:

  • The Honors Center – a communal space that serves as a common room with a lending library and movie watching lounge
  • The Honors classroom, where you will take up to three classes with fellow Honors students
  • Close collaboration with Honors faculty
  • Academic support and advising from the Director of the Honors Program and the program assistant

Honors students are guaranteed a $2,000 grant (applied as a credit to your bill) for one semester to support research, study abroad, a community engagement project, or an internship undertaken in the junior or senior year.

Students who achieve an overall 3.6 GPA or higher at the end of the academic year will receive the Academic Excellence Award, providing an additional $1,000 towards their next year’s tuition.

Since its first class graduated with Honors in 1997, the University Honors Program has celebrated many distinguished post-graduate achievements. Reflecting the program’s three hallmarks – scholarship, service, and leadership – alumni have embarked on a variety of research, study, and career paths. Among the many careers and graduate school placements are the following:

  • Fulbright scholar (the University’s first)
  • Art museum events coordinators
  • Assistant county attorneys
  • Cancer researcher
  • College admissions counselors
  • Elementary and secondary education school teachers
  • Engineering firm scientists
  • Environmental scientists
  • EPA program analysts
  • Fishery biologists
  • MBA’s in banking and finance
  • Mechanical engineers
  • Park naturalists
  • Peace Corps volunteers
  • Physicians
  • Police officers
  • U.S. Secret Service specialists
  • Veterinary medicine professionals

For Prospective Students

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