Apply to the Mahurin Honors College
How do I apply to the Mahurin Honors College?
All scholars interested in applying to the Mahurin Honors College (MHC) must be first admitted to WKU for general admission. Remember to complete your WKU Application for admission early. Learn more about the WKU application and deadlines on our admissions website.
Your path to the Mahurin Honors College begins with WKU. Before you can apply for honors, you'll need to submit your general application for admission to Western Kentucky University. Applying early gives you the best chance of being considered for honors — so don't wait. Once WKU receives your application, you'll be one step closer to joining a community of curious, driven scholars from Kentucky and beyond.
After submitting your WKU application, you'll complete a separate honors application directly within the WKU Admissions Portal. This step lets the Mahurin Honors College learn more about you — your academic interests, your proudest achievements, and what you're hoping to find in an honors community. Look for the honors application option in your portal after your WKU application is submitted. Admission to MHC is selective, and this is your opportunity to tell us who you are beyond your transcript.
The best way to know if MHC is the right fit is to experience it. Schedule a visit to the Mahurin Honors College and meet the students, staff, and faculty who make this community what it is. Whether you're comparing programs or already committed to WKU, a visit gives you a firsthand look at honors housing, curriculum, research opportunities, and the culture that sets MHC scholars apart.
Scholarships can make your WKU experience more affordable, and many don't require a separate application. Explore opportunities based on where you are in your college-going journey, including automatic academic awards, TOPDollar scholarships, transfer awards, and more.
Explore ScholarshipsThe Mahurin Honors College Living-Learning Community places honors scholars together in Minton Hall, where your neighbors are also your intellectual peers. As an LLC member, you'll enroll in a dedicated section of HON 251 alongside your fellow residents and participate in programming that connects coursework to campus life, community events, and the city of Bowling Green — inside and outside the classroom.
The honors LLC is open to all incoming honors freshmen who select it through the WKU housing portal. While honors students are welcome to join any LLC on campus, Minton Hall is where the MHC community lives. Students who choose it tend to build connections that carry well beyond their first year.
To secure your spot, apply through the housing portal when the application opens. Spaces are limited — apply early.
Before the campus-wide orientation begins, honors scholars get something M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan can't offer: four days that are entirely your own.
H4 is the Mahurin Honors College's exclusive orientation experience for incoming honors freshmen — including commuter students. You'll meet your academic advisor, get a clear picture of honors curriculum and membership expectations, and connect with the people who will be your intellectual community for the next four years. The rest? Think small-group activities, icebreakers, and an early reminder that college is supposed to be fun.
H4 happens before M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan, which means you'll arrive at university-wide orientation already knowing your people, already understanding what honors asks of you, and already ahead.
Attendance is not required — but students who skip it tend to notice the difference.
H4 introduces you to the honors community. M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan introduces you to your home.
Beginning Tuesday evening — the same day H4 concludes — M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan runs through Friday of the week before classes begin. Where H4 brought all incoming honors scholars together, M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan zooms in: you'll connect with the students on your floor, meet your Resident Advisor, and start building the relationships that will define your day-to-day life at WKU.
Across four days, you'll move between academic workshops, campus resource sessions, and social events designed to make WKU navigable before your first class ever meets. By Friday, you won't just know where things are — you'll know who to call when something goes wrong, and who to celebrate with when things go right.
Students living in the Honors LLC in Minton Hall are required to participate in M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan. For everyone else, it's the natural next step in a week that's been designed with you in mind from the start.
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