Westover Honors College

As of June 1, 2024, the Westover Honors College is now the Westover Honors Community.

Westover Honors Program is a vibrant learning community for academically gifted students. Our program’s innovative approach to education promotes interaction among students who value academic excellence.

Westover Fellows hone their creative, problem-solving, and critical skills through formal and informal learning experiences. They broaden and deepen their intellectual curiosity and independence and are prepared to excel in a world of widespread and rapid change.

Admissions Criteria for Westover Honors College

Automatic Consideration

Admitted students who qualify for Honors will be automatically invited to apply.

Eligibility Criteria

Students with a cumulative weighted high school GPA of 3.8 or higher may be considered for the Westover Honors Community. Invitation selection will involve a review of coursework to assess the rigor of the academic curriculum and commitment to academic excellence. Applicants may be considered for Honors with or without test scores.

Selection Process

Honors-eligible students are invited to apply for the Westover Honors Community before the Feb. 1 priority deadline. Applications are reviewed bi-weekly, and selected recipients will be notified within three weeks of applying.

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Alumni Spotlights

Emily Horton ’18

To Emily Horton ’18, math is a creative subject. She followed her interests with a research internship, went on to get her master’s, and now works as a statistician for the federal government.

Nick Savino ’19

Nick Savino '19 built on his physics major by seizing research opportunities and taking advantage of Lynchburg's Belk Astronomical Observatory. His payoffs were astronomical, too: landing a prestigious, government-sponsored internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Delia LoSapio ’19

Delia LoSapio '19 didn't limit herself while at Lynchburg, complementing her major with three minors and leadership on the University EMS squad — plus studying abroad, publishing research, and playing soccer!

Davion Washington ’21

Davion Washington '21 built on his sociology major at Lynchburg with plenty of leadership experience and minors in history, political science, and popular culture to pursue a sociology PhD at NC State.

Kevin Scott ’94

Kevin Scott '94 took his computer science degree from Lynchburg on to a cutting-edge career at some of the biggest tech behemoths, now dubbed "the engineer who saved LinkedIn" and leading at Microsoft as its Chief Technology Officer.

Sloane Kelly ’22, ’24 MPAM

Sloane Kelly '22, '24 MPAM found a welcoming community of fellow students and professors while studying at Lynchburg as a health promotion major, which helped drive her to pursue a Master of PA Medicine.

Christian Kumar ’22

Christian Kumar '22 is taking what he's learned at Lynchburg — from getting his bachelor's degree in exercise physiology and leadership roles across campus — to pursue a doctorate at Belmont University.

Erik Oehler ’20

At Lynchburg, Erik Oehler '20 said he was among people who truly wanted to create positive change in other's lives. He realized his goals with a major in exercise physiology and plenty of support in earning it.

Juan Borga ’20

As a double major in business administration and economics, Juan Borga '20 dove deep at Lynchburg, trading from the Student-managed Investment Fund and using smart tools like the Bloomberg Terminal.

Jess Cochrane ’23

At Lynchburg, Jess Cochrane '23 has learned that psychology and other social factors play a vital role in understanding crime. Also, she learned that how we perceive criminal behavior can have a significant impact on society as a whole.

Laurel Nicks ’21

Having explored chemistry studies as a lab assistant and at internships with NASA and the Department of Energy, Laurel Nicks '21 found her niche in environmental chemistry at Lynchburg and is pursuing her master's at William & Mary.

Emily Brown ’02

For Emily Brown '02, now a managing editor at the USA Today, studying communications at Lynchburg was an important first step in a journalism career journey full of seizing opportunities.

Caitlin Dorsch ’20

As a criminology major, Caitlin Dorsch '20 explored aspects of interpersonal violence and sociology through research, which has helped her pave the way toward a doctorate and graduate assistantship.

A collaborative environment for scholars.

Westover is a vibrant learning community for academically gifted students.

As a Westover Fellow, you will hone your creative, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills. You will also take unique classes that broaden your intellectual curiosity, become more independent, and open doors to professional opportunities.

We’ll challenge you to do more, but we’ll also help you become your best. Your classmates are here for you, too. We all lift as we climb.

Dig deeper, stretch farther.

As a Westover, you’ll take more in-depth and broader classes than the general education program. It’s challenging, but it will help you grow. Of course, these classes are intriguing, too — imagine studying what Frankenstein teaches us about bioengineering, how Jane Austen fans celebrate her legacy today, and how Winston Churchill led his nation through war.

The Westover curriculum leads to your senior thesis. You’ll apply everything you’ve learned in college to a question that interests you. It’s tough, but you’re up to the challenge. The curriculum and thesis prepare you for the work you will do in grad school or in exciting careers.

Westovers Achieve

Graduate Schools

American University
Boston University
College of William & Mary
Duke University
George Washington School of Medicine
Georgetown University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Lynchburg
Michigan State University
North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Rice University

Syracuse University
Uniformed Service University School of Medicine
University of Chicago
University of Delaware
University of Massachusetts
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Richmond School of Law
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University
Yale Divinity School