Academics

Passport Ready?

From your first year on campus, you can get off campus—with Travel-Learning Courses.

Travel-Learning Courses

Directed Readings

Many students work one-on-one with a faculty member in Directed Reading projects to explore a topic of special interest throughout a semester.

Summer Research

Spend 10 weeks doing research with a faculty member and other students, earn a paycheck, and present your results.

Summer Science Research Program

DC Internships

Get great experience, unforgettable memories, and academic credit during a semester-long internship in Washington, D.C.

Wesleyan in Washington

Senior Art Exhibit

Each spring senior Fine Arts majors exhibit the best of their work at the Ross Art Museum.

Department of Fine Arts

Experience the liberal arts — the OWU way. Academics at Ohio Wesleyan starts with our 175-year commitment to the depth, breadth, and rigor of traditional liberal arts — made more powerful today with The OWU Connection. You will learn to think critically and creatively, solve complex problems, communicate your ideas, apply your knowledge in real-world settings, and thrive in an environment rich with diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Our Depth

You will work in small classes with faculty members who are outstanding scholars and researchers — and passionate teachers. They will push you, challenge you, inspire you, and work with you on your own research and creative projects.

Our Breadth

You will enjoy the wide range of academic fields and majors that you might see at a large university. Just look at the list below of our 70+ majors. And we encourage and work with students to combine majors to broaden their skills and opportunities with a second major. More than one-fourth of our students graduate with multiple majors, one of the highest percentages in the nation.

The OWU Connection

And academics at OWU means something more. It’s The OWU Connection. It’s our commitment to help you find your passion and build your pathway to a fulfilling career. You will learn to think big by connecting ideas in different disciplines. You will go global, with opportunities to immerse yourself in different cultures. And you will get real experience, connecting theory and practice, connecting the classroom and real world.

Available Majors

Minors

Award-Winning Scholarship

Close attention from faculty, research opportunities, theory-to-practice support, an environment of high expectations . . . it all helps lead to students who excel and receive regional and national recognition and awards.

Moot Court Team

Five of OWU's eight moot court teams advanced their way to the finals in one of the strongest regional competitions in the country.

Fulbright Scholar Teaching in Germany

English Literature and German Studies major Mark Mandych '16 earned a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program grant to spend 10 months teaching English in Germany.

Award-winning Research on Turmeric

Jemil Ahmed '17 earned an award from the Ohio Branch of the American Society for Microbiology for his research into how an extract from the spice turmeric may aid severely ill animals.

Top Place in Ohio Vocal Competition

Rachel Ballitch ’18 earned first place in the Senior Women Division of the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Vocal Competition, the largest association of singing teachers in the world.

Best Undergraduate Geography Research

Ohio Wesleyan Geography majors Hayden Knisley (left) and Lonnie Barnes earned Best Undergraduate Paper and Best Undergraduate Poster awards, respectively, at the annual conference of the East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers in October 2015.

Microbiology Fellowship

In 2015, Maddie Vroom became the fifth OWU student to earn an American Society for Microbiology Undergraduate Research Fellowship to study songbird plumage.

What Faculty and Students Say . . .

about the Ohio Wesleyan experience.

Erin Boedicker '17

Chemistry major

“My friends at other universities are amazed at the opportunities I have here. When I look back, this (summer research project) will be one of the most prominent memories I have of OWU.”

Larry Griffin

Professor of Music

“I want to communicate the joy of performing to my students, and how we tell stories with our music. It is an art—similar to the brushstroke of the painter—that uses articulation, crescendos and decrescendos, to communicate moods, feelings, and emotions.”

Katie Vonderembse ’19

Environmental science major

“I wanted to attend a small college that would challenge me academically. I am glad I did choose OWU because I have had so many great opportunities, like Summer Science Research Program, that I do not think would have been the same at another school.”

Chloe Dyer '18

Travel-Learning Course: "Slouching Toward Empire: The Literary Politics of Ireland”

“It was incredible to have the chance to hear writers discuss their writings and the roles they thought literature had in shaping the politics of Ireland, the topic we had discussed all semester.”

David Johnson

Professor of Botany-Microbiology

“When I teach my students—especially non-majors—I’m teaching people who one day may lead other enterprises and make important policy decisions. They all need to know how to interpret scientific data, and how science works.”

Kaila Weir '21

Travel-Learning Course: “Plant Communities and Ecosystems”

"It really puts the [travel-learning] class in perspective. You're learning so much material throughout the year and the semester that when you come out here, you're able to put it to use."

Adedayo Akinmadeyemi ’19

Theory-to-Practice: "Racism and Sectarianism: A Comparison Between America and Northern Ireland"

"Even though it's more about learning, we still get to listen to each other's differences and give our opinions."

A Look at OWU Academics

See All 16 Items

Spend a semester in the classroom learning about a topic of interest and then hit the road for a related travel experience. Led by your professors, Travel-Learning Courses link academics with real-world experience.

Every year, students apply for the 10-week Summer Science Research Program to conduct original research with faculty mentors. Students then present their work in the annual Patricia Belt Conrades Summer Science Research Symposium.

Art students have the opportunity to create a career portfolio, spend a semester with the New York Arts Program or have their work shown at the Ross Art Museum.

Alumni frequently come back to share their knowledge with students.

With OWU's academics, students are encouraged to integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings.

OWU has beautiful study spots tucked all over campus. Take some time to find your favorite!

Right in the center of campus, Beeghly Library is a favorite study and meeting spot for many students.

Every year, nine favorite Ohio Wesleyan professors are voted to deliver a 3-minute lecture with ideas, insight, and imagination. Topics range from the personality of volcanoes to the street music of LA to the evolution of genitalia.

With a 10:1 faculty-to-student ratio, students receive the amount of attention and dedication needed in a liberal arts education.

Many academic departments host a series of informative guest lecturers year round. With so many opportunities, students can easily learn and talk to the esteemed speakers.

Botany-Microbiology major Jordan Brown '18 discusses his research on carbon fixation and recycling via microbial mats.

Many professors come with strong professional backgrounds and networks. Your class may Skype an official at NATO, listen to a Nobel Prize scientist, follow an HBO producer and more.