Great books change lives. The faculty of Wisconsin Lutheran College believes this credo and has developed an honors program that serves as a living witness to the ability of texts to transform lives. This honors program offers an alternative general education curriculum that encompasses what the Lutheran academic and reformer Philipp Melanchthon found to be essential for students: the acquisition of literacy skills and the shaping of the human heart. Studying the great authors and texts of the Western Christian tradition enables students to develop their ability to think critically, to express themselves confidently, and to develop empathy for others as they explore the essential timeless questions and ideas that every society and culture confronts.
The faculty leading this program represent the various academic disciplines on campus and, while active in their fields of inquiry, these faculty members are fully committed to offering the students in this program a unique rigorous academic experience.
“The knowledge of good authors forms not only
expression and speech, but also the heart.”
- Philipp Melanchthon
Benefits of the Program
Students who participate in the honors program differentiate themselves from fellow WLC students and students from other institutions through their
Pursuing a rigorous alternative general education program that can be combined with any major or program of study on campus;
Participating in a variety of interdisciplinary courses that emphasize literacy by integrating a study of the Christian tradition with both “great books” and iPad technology;
Engaging a foreign culture and language with the possibility of studying abroad for a semester;
Fostering close relationships with fellow honors students and faculty and also taking part in research and service opportunities from the moment they step on campus;
Meeting important academic and cultural figures who visit our campus;
Receiving an additional merit scholarship as part of their financial aid award.
Program Emphases
The honors program faculty demonstrates its commitment to the program’s mission by the pursuit of these emphases:
The honors program of Wisconsin Lutheran College will:
Introduce students to a rigorous study of the great authors and texts of the Western Christian tradition and promote a vital curiosity about the questions those texts raise.
Equip students with the technical competencies and personal dispositions to nurture their skills as critical readers, writers and thinkers.
Encourage Christians who are critical readers, writers, and thinkers to acquire and refine various habits of thought for responding to significant texts and the questions those texts raise in the context of an interdisciplinary course of study.
Prepare students to demonstrate intellectual dexterity and wisdom as critical readers, writers, and thinkers in their personal lives and professional careers.
Program Objectives
The Lutheran Church, since its inception, has embraced the Reformation tradition of ad fontes (“to the sources”) and encouraged faculty, who are bound to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, to prepare the laity for lives of Christian service. In this spirit, the mission of the honors program is to: esteem tradition; encourage curiosity; teach God’s truth. As they pursue those ends, graduates of the honors program of Wisconsin Lutheran College, will:
Acquire literacy in the profound theological, cultural, and scientific ideas and texts that comprise the architecture of the Christian and Western traditions.
Apply their literacy in the interdisciplinary conversation that the Christian and Western traditions inspire and as they pursue their vocations in their careers, families, and as active members of both the church and society.
Advocate for the holistic integrity of and the dynamic interplay between the Christian and Western traditions that this educational program explores.
Pursue an on-going active participation in a specific research or service program.
Fulfill their vocations as Christian leaders, not only in intellectual endeavors on campus, but as they live out their vocations in the world into which God has called them.
Honors Program Mission
The Wisconsin Lutheran College Honors Program is committed to helping students esteem the great authors and texts of the Western Christian tradition, promoting students’ curiosity about the questions that tradition raises, and teaching God’s truth as the wisdom that serves as the foundation for lives of Christian service in their various vocations.
Curriculum
Honors Program Curriculum
The honors program offers a 48-credit alternative general education curriculum, which allows students pursue any major or program of study offered at the college.
While oriented primarily toward students who have achieved a certain level of academic success (as demonstrated by a 3.7 GPA and a 27 ACT/1820 SAT score), the honors program is open to any student interested in committing to this challenging, but rewarding, experience.
