Texas Wesleyan University

Our mission at Texas Wesleyan University is to develop students to their full potential as individuals and as members of the world community.

Texas Wesleyan University, founded in 1890 in Fort Worth, is a United Methodist institution with a tradition in the liberal arts and sciences and a focus on professional and career preparation.

The University is committed to the principles that each student deserves personal attention and that all members of the academic community must have freedom to pursue independent thought and to exercise intellectual curiosity.

The University endeavors to create a learning environment where each student is provided an opportunity to pursue individual excellence, to think clearly and creatively and to communicate effectively. The University also strives to develop a sense of civic responsibility and spiritual sensitivity, with a commitment to moral discrimination and action. Texas Wesleyan University strives to develop informed, responsible and articulate citizens.

The University actively seeks and employs faculty and staff with commitment and dedication to teaching, inspiring and serving students. Texas Wesleyan University recognizes its responsibility to the community by providing leadership and talent through programs that enable and enrich society.

Undergraduate and graduate programs are offered on campus and through distance education. Faculty scholarship informs teaching and advances knowledge and understanding.

Texas Wesleyan aspires to be a values- and student-centered university where motivated students prepare for graduate school and leadership in professional careers.

This vision is premised upon the understanding that professional employers seek individuals who have attained the essential skills of critical thinking, analytical reasoning and creative problem solving.

Texas Wesleyan believes that the best way for undergraduate students to learn these skills is in a liberal arts setting through intentionally small classes led by gifted faculty who are committed to student success. This vision also recognizes that most students will need graduate professional degrees to further their careers and that these same skills are required for admission to and successful completion of graduate professional programs.

Realizing that most students will enter the workforce before returning to graduate school, Texas Wesleyan University will maintain graduate professional programs of high quality in formats that are accessible to working adults. These programs will focus on deepening and broadening critical thinking, analytical reasoning and creative problem solving skills in the context of professional content.

Our goal is to make choosing the right school simple and easy. We'll make sure you have all the information and tools you need to decide if Texas Wesleyan is the right place for you. Let's get started. It doesn’t matter if you’re a high school senior applying to school for the first time or a transfer student from another school, we’ll walk you through our admission process step-by-step.

Texas Wesleyan University brings the "Smaller. Smarter." philosophy to everything we do, including our residence halls. You won't see any high-rise facilities that house a small city's worth of students anywhere on our campus. We are all about small communities that have a big impact.

The Division of Student Affairs at Texas Wesleyan University intentionally engages students in a healthy, safe and inclusive co-curricular environment to promote and support student success. We are committed to producing graduates who are competitive, civically responsible, and successful in the world community.

Texas Wesleyan University was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1890. A committee under the direction of Bishop Joseph S. Key explored locations for a campus and settled on a site east of Fort Worth donated by area pioneers, A.S. Hall, W.D. Hall, and George Tandy. Originally called Polytechnic College — which literally means "many arts and sciences" — the school held its first classes in September 1891, with a handful of faculty members and 111 students.

In 1902, H.A. Boaz assumed the presidency and managed a period of moderate growth. He conceived the idea of a new university for Southern Methodism and planned to develop Polytechnic College into that university.

When Dallas was selected by the church leaders as the site for Southern Methodist University, the Polytechnic campus was designated the Woman’s College for Southern Methodism, eventually becoming Texas Woman’s College in 1914. Since 1935, Texas Wesleyan has remained a co-educational liberal arts institution with an increasingly comprehensive academic and student life program. In addition to strong undergraduate programs, the University added graduate programs in education in the 1970s and in nurse anesthesia in the 1980s.

Texas Wesleyan has historically combined service to a residential population along with its strong commitment to a commuting and adult population. To add flexibility in the scheduling of courses and to recognize the special needs of adult learners, the University added the C.E. Hyde Weekend/Evening Program in 1994. From 2000 to 2010, buildings on campus have been built or renovated at the rate of nearly two per year.

The University established a campus in downtown Fort Worth in 1997 with the relocation of the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, which was established in 1992 following the acquisition of the former Dallas/Fort Worth School of Law. In August 2013, the law school was sold to Texas A&M University. A Burleson site of Texas Wesleyan opened in 2006 to serve residents of Johnson County. The Graduate Programs of Nurse Anesthesia has grown into the largest in the nation, delivering courses to students throughout the United States.