Application

Each year, only ten students are selected to receive the Senior Honor. This is the highest honor awarded to WSU students who demonstrate outstanding scholarship, leadership, involvement at WSU, and service to WSU and the surrounding community.

The top ten finalists will be named the 2026 Senior Honors, and will each receive a Wheat Shock Leadership Society stole, the official Senior Honors lapel pin, a $500 scholarship each, eligibility of additional Senior Honors need-based scholarships selected by the Committee. One of the ten will be selected as the Undergraduate Student of the Year and will receive an additional $1500 scholarship ($2000 total for winner).

Eligibility
Must be an undergraduate student, with a 2.5 GPA or higher, in good standing, currently enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at Wichita State University. Must have completed at least 90 credit hours with a minimum of 30 hours being completed at Wichita State University. Must intend to graduate with their first Bachelor’s Degree on or before December 2026. In other words, December 2025, May 2026, and December 2026 graduating seniors are eligible to receive this distinction.

Each year, only five graduate students are selected as finalists for this award, who demonstrate outstanding scholarship, leadership, involvement at WSU, and service to WSU and the surrounding community. The top five Finalists will receive a $500 scholarship each, as well as a medal and the Graduate Student of the Year will receive a medal to wear at commencement. The Graduate Student of the Year will receive an additional $1500 scholarship ($2000 total for winner).

Eligibility: Must be a graduate student, in good standing, with a 2.5 GPA or higher, currently enrolled in at least six credit hours at Wichita State University.

Each year, only five junior students are selected as finalists for this award, who demonstrate outstanding scholarship, leadership, involvement at WSU, and service to WSU and the surrounding community. The top five finalists will receive a $500 scholarship each, and the Junior of the Year will receive an additional $500 ($1000 total for winner).

Eligibility: Must be an undergraduate student, in good standing, with a 2.5 GPA or higher, and currently enrolled in at least six credit hours at Wichita State University. Must have completed at least 60 to 89 credit hours with a minimum of 20 hours being completed at Wichita State University.

Each year, only five sophomore students are selected as finalists for this award, who demonstrate outstanding scholarship, leadership, involvement at WSU, and service to WSU and the surrounding community. The top five finalists will receive a $500 scholarship each, and the Sophomore of the Year will receive an additional $500 ($1000 total for winner).

Eligibility: Must be an undergraduate student, in good standing, with a 2.5 GPA or higher, and currently enrolled in at least six credit hours at Wichita State University. Must have completed at least 30 to 59 credit hours with a minimum of 15 hours being completed at Wichita State University.

Each year, only five freshman students are selected as finalists for this award, who demonstrate outstanding scholarship, leadership, involvement at WSU, and service to WSU and the surrounding community. The top five finalists will receive a $500 scholarship each, and the Freshman of the Year will receive an additional $500 ($1000 total for winner).

Eligibility: Must be an undergraduate student, in good standing, with a 2.5 GPA or higher, and currently enrolled in at least six credit hours at Wichita State University. Must have completed less than 30 credit hours with a minimum of six hours being completed at Wichita State University.

On behalf of Student Engagement & Belonging, we are excited to invite you to apply for the Students of the Year Awards. Recognized at the annual University Awards, the Students of the Year celebrates the accomplishments of Wichita State University students for their scholarship, leadership, involvement at Wichita State, and service to WSU and the surrounding community. The Students of the Year awards recognize the Freshman of the Year, Sophomore of the Year, Junior of the Year, Graduate Student of the Year and the prestigious, Senior Honors.

1. Candidates for each of these awards must meet the following criteria:
   2. Must have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA
   3. Credit Hour Requirements:
      1. Freshman of the Year: Must be an undergraduate student, in good standing, currently enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at Wichita State University. Must have completed less than 30 credit hours with a minimum of 6 hours being completed at Wichita State University.
      2. Sophomore of the Year: Must be an undergraduate student, in good standing, currently enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at Wichita State University. Must have completed at least 30 to 59 credit hours with a minimum of 15 hours being completed at Wichita State University.

• Junior of the Year: Must be an undergraduate student, in good standing, currently enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at Wichita State University. Must have completed at least 60 to 89 credit hours with a minimum of 20 hours being completed at Wichita State University.
• Graduate Student of the Year: Must be a graduate student, in good standing, currently enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at Wichita State University.
• Senior Honors/Undergraduate Student of the Year: Must be an undergraduate student, in good standing, currently enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at Wichita State University. Must have completed at least 90 credit hours with a minimum of 30 hours being completed at Wichita State University. Must intend to graduate with their first Bachelor’s Degree on or before December 2025.  In other words, December 2024, May 2025, and December 2025 graduating seniors are eligible to receive this distinction.

Application Materials

1. Must complete the application, in its entirety, including all essay questions
2. Must complete the Conduct Status Release Form. This action gives permission to check the applicant’s status with Student Conduct and Community Standards. Applicants must be in good standing with student conduct and may not be currently under any sanction or investigation status.
3. Must receive one letter of recommendation submitted with your application
4. Must electronically sign the FERPA and publicity release statements included in the ShockerSync Application.
5. Applications will only be accepted online through the forms provided and must be completed by Sunday, March 1st at 11:59 PM.
6. Any falsification on an application or during the competition will result in disqualification.

The 2026 Selection Round includes:

1. Round 1. Application Review – The Application Review Round will thoroughly assess that your application is complete and will be judged on the basis of your application. Applicants must earn a total of at least 60 points in this round to move forward to Round 2 (See specific round information below for more information).
2. Round 2. Interview Round - Those who are invited to participate in this round will be notified by Friday, March 13, 2026 if you have qualified for the interview round. Interviews will take place March 23^rd through March 26^th.
3. Round 3. Final Presentation – This round is only for finalists for Senior Honors and Graduate Student of the Year only and will include a 20 minute presentation and Q&A session will a different panel of judges. These will be conducted April 6^th, 7^th and 8^th. Candidates will be contacted by March 28^th to select an interview time.

Finalists

1. There will be up to 10 Senior Honor finalists, up to 5 finalists for Graduate, Junior, Sophomore, and Freshman categories. A photoshoot for your official headshot will be schedule upon notification of the finalists.
2. The Finalists will be required to attend the University Students of the Year on Tuesday, May 5^th from 5pm-7pm in the RSC Beggs Ballroom. RSVPs will be sent out to finalists upon notification.

Applicants will not only be competing for their respective title but will also be competing for scholarships awarded to the finalists.

1. The Freshman of the Year: The top 5 Finalists will receive a $500 scholarship each, and the Freshman of the Year will receive an additional $500 ($1000 total for winner).
2. The Sophomore of the Year: The top 5 Finalists will receive a $500 scholarship each, and the Sophomore of the Year will receive an additional $500 ($1000 total for winner).
3. The Junior of the Year: The top 5 Finalists will receive a $500 scholarship each, and the Junior of the Year will receive an additional $500 ($1000 total for winner).
4. The Graduate Student of the Year: The top 5 Finalists will receive a $500 scholarship each, as well as a medal and the Graduate Student of the Year will receive a medal to wear at commencement. The Graduate Student of the Year will receive an additional $1500 scholarship ($2000 total for winner).
5. The Senior Honors: The Top 10 finalists will be named the 2024 Senior Honors, and will each receive a Wheat Shock Leadership Society stole, the official Senior Honors lapel pin, a $500 scholarship each, eligibility of additional Senior Honors need-based scholarships selected by the Committee. One of the 10 will be selected as the Undergraduate Student of the Year and will receive an additional $1500 scholarship ($2000 total for winner).

An initial screening of applications will take place to ensure all applications materials are received in their entirety and formatted correctly. Applications will be scored as follows: 

Online Application: The application will be judged according to the candidate’s ability to communicate ideas on the essay questions provided. These will be listed in the online application. This will be scored up to 60 points.

Academic Strength: A set number of points will be awarded for cumulative GPA. This will be scored up to 20 points.

Letter of Recommendation Received: One letter of recommendation is to be submitted for each candidate. If additional letters are submitted, the first letter received will serve as the official letter of recommendation. Please note that these letters will be reviewed during Round 2, however, if applicants do not have a letter of recommendation, the applicant will be disqualified.

This category allows the judges to learn more about the candidates. If selected for this round, be prepared to be available to interview during the dates listed above. This is the only time interviews will take place. Candidates will be judged by a panel of approximately three to five judges. Each interview will last a maximum of 20 minutes with judges asking questions of each candidate based on the information provided on their application

Presentation: You will prepare a 10-minute sharp PowerPoint presentation covering the following based off of your award. You will recieve the prompt if you are invited to this round.

Interview: Judges will spend the remaining 10-minutes asking you questions. Areas to be judged on the candidate's ability to answer questions efficiently and the manner in which the candidate conducts themselves during the interview.

 

This category allows the final panel of judges to learn more about the candidates and aid them in selecting the Undergraduate Student of the Year and the Graduate Student of the Year. If selected for this round, be prepared to be available to interview and deliver your final presentation during the dates listed above. This is the only time interviews will take place. The total session will be 25 minutes each.

Presentation: Each finalist will deliver a 10-minute presentation to a panel of different judges on why they should be chosen as this year’s winner. Further guidelines will be presented at a later date.

Final Interview: Following the presentation, the judges will move immediately into a brief question and answer period.

While judges are given a common scoring rubric, each judge evaluates the candidates individually and scores accordingly.