EKU Honors
Founded in 1988, EKU Honors makes the best intellectual resources at EKU available to a limited group of talented and motivated students.
EKU Honors is designed for students just like you who want an in-depth college classroom experience with a strong grounding in an interdisciplinary, liberal arts education. Whatever your major, you’ll take advantage of our small, innovative classes that can replace some of your general education and university requirements. Before you graduate as an Honors Scholar, you’ll complete an honors thesis on a topic of your choice.
As an EKU Honors student, you’ll get to know your fellow students and professors at our monthly pizza suppers and on trips to local theatre and dance performances, the Louisville opera, and the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference, where more students from EKU present than from any other honors program or college in the nation. In EKU Honors, you’ll make friends that last a lifetime.
“EKU’s honors students are an excellent representation of the university’s dedication to producing scholars who make a difference in their communities for many years to come” – EKU President David McFaddin
Future
Students
Leadership
Opportunities
Current
Students
Travel &
Research
Honors
Awards
Honors
Alumni
Extracurricular
Activities
Honors
Team
News
- The application for Fall 2025 admission into EKU Honors is now open. Apply here!
- EKU Honors Student Earns National Award for Appalachia Research
- The website “HonorSociety.org” is not associated with EKU Honors. Joining HonorSociety.org and paying the membership fee does not make you a member of EKU Honors, nor does membership in any other honor society.
Honors Curriculum
Our honors curriculum paths are personalized to your specific major and educational goals.
- Honors Maroon Track: Planning to begin EKU Honors in your first semester of college? Get a basic curriculum guide.
- Honors Gold Track: Planning to begin EKU Honors after your first semester of college? Get a basic curriculum guide.
- Want to know specifics about how your major, prior credit, and educational goals might shape your EKU Honors experience? Email us at ekuhonors@eku.edu
Mission
EKU Honors cultivates personal and professional growth in a diverse and inclusive academic community. We emphasize curiosity, experiential learning, social responsibility and leadership.
Vision
EKU Honors will provide innovative educational experiences in a vibrant community to enable students to excel in all that they do academically and professionally.
Documents
Here you will find our annual report, where we highlight the achievements of EKU Honors throughout the year. All documents open in new tabs or windows as PDFs.
Advantages
EKU Honors unites students from all disciplines and complements any field of study with an added “EDGE:”
- Exploration of interdisciplinary topics, enhanced research, travel and service opportunities, and practical leadership experience.
- Dedicated Faculty, small class sizes and unique course design.
- Grants, Awards and Scholarships. Special access to study abroad awards and mentorship assistance for nationally competitive grants and scholarships.
- Employability. The robust curriculum helps students develop their professional skills and aptitudes to gain a competitive advantage.
Six “E”s of EKU Honors
We use our six “E”s of EKU Honors to guide many of our choices in the honors program. Specifically, we seek students who want to:
- Engage with their campus community
- Examine new ideas across disciplinary boundaries
- Explore opportunities for research and nationally competitive awards
- Experience new ideas, communities, and cultures
- Excel as a leader inside and outside of the classroom
- Enhance their EKU experience through internships, co-ops, and other methods of increasing their employability after graduation