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Do you have a strong desire to understand the ways culture, ideas, and faith impact the world?
The Honors Guild seeks to cultivate a community of students shaped by curiosity, deep learning, and a shared commitment to growth in virtue and leadership. Together, students and faculty explore what it means to be created in the imago Dei and called into right relationship with God and others, pursuing wisdom in response to God’s call to walk humbly and act justly (Micah 6:8).
Through shared courses, sustained dialogue, and intentional mentorship, students pursue rigorous inquiry grounded in Christian faith and ordered toward the formation of virtue. Honors students must complete 22–23 credit hours of honors courses and maintain a 3.40 GPA to graduate with the minor.
The Honors Guild is divided into three different tracks, called Houses. Once admitted to the Honors Guild, students are invited to rank their preferred Honors House, each offering a distinct intellectual focus and close‑knit learning community: Faith & the Embodied Life, Global & Intercultural Leadership, or Great Conversations.
In each Honors House, students take thematically connected courses, build relationships with peers and faculty, and explore big ideas that shape both intellectual development and personal formation. Every House is designed to challenge students academically while also encouraging intentional growth in virtue, character, and faith.
The Honors Guild shields draw on an ancient Christian tradition, articulated by early theologians such as Augustine, that associates symbolic creatures with the Gospels. These images reflect complementary dimensions of faith‑rooted scholarship and virtue formation.
If you are intellectually curious and desire to think deeply on critical questions, we would love for you to apply for the Honors Guild.
Applicants are admitted through a competitive and comprehensive selection process assessing academic excellence, collaboration, and curiosity with the goal of selecting a strong cohort each year.
Students interested in course descriptions and academic policies can check out our Undergraduate Catalog.
A Taylor liberal arts education will prepare you to live and work in a fast-changing world. It also goes a step further: laying a strong spiritual foundation that cultivates wisdom. You’ll become a well-versed individual, equipped with critical thinking skills, a lifelong love of learning, and an appreciation for God’s creation.
View Foundational Core Curriculum.
In the first semester, Honors students take a couse that introduces them to their Honors House theme. They travel alongisde each other, building relationships and developing community.
During J-Term of sophomore year, Honors students engage in a global learning experience with their House cohorts. Traveling in these closer-knit groups allow students to immerse themselves in the culture and locale of the host country while creating space for shared reflection and deeper exploration. Destinations in past years have included Italy, Greece, Ecuador, Ireland, South Africa, Jordan, China, and more.
Honors Colloquia are small, Socratic-style seminars that invite students into lively conversation around big questions of character, faith, and human flourishing. Drawing on classical, Christian, and contemporary texts, these one-hour courses invite students to explore virtues such as humility, courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom by linking careful reading and dialogue with personal reflection and formation.
The Honors Guild suite is located inside Paul & Barbara Gentile Hall near the Spencer Centre for Global Engagement. This area includes gathering space for Honors students and a dedicated, flexible classroom that supports conversation and collaboration.
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Zane Callison
Class of 2025
While Taylor excels generally at integrating faith and learning, I do feel that Honors takes this part of the Taylor experience to the next level, particularly with regard to vocation. I have felt very equipped to prayerfully consider vocational decisions during law school and to take up leadership positions in the (surprisingly large!) Christian community at Harvard.
Cecily Beukelman
Class of 2026
Honors played an important role in shaping me over my time at Taylor. In my first semester at Taylor, I met a group of individuals who wanted to embrace education, faith, encouragement, and discussion of various topics. This is something I had prayed for years and was fulfilled through Honors.
Ella Bivens
Class of 2027
The Guild has given me special friendships with people from across campus. The Honors Guild has taught me how to think deeply about the world and my place in it.
