Member institutions

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher education in Massachusetts.

The 450-acre Bucknell University campus holds more than one hundred buildings for the 3,700 students and 350 full-time faculty members at the university. Located close to the town of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, on a site that is widely recognised as one of the country’s most scenic college campuses, students are able to take advantage of facilities including a theatre, cafeterias and shops, some excellent sports amenities and a number of halls of residence, while it is within walking distance of the cultural downtown. There are three main academic schools at the university – the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Management, and the College of Engineering – which offer a combined total of more than 50 majors and 65 minors. Almost half of Bucknell University student choose to study abroad for a semester too, and the university offers a range of programs at institutions across the world in a range of languages.

The College of the Holy Cross was founded in 1843 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Worcester, Massachusetts. With an enrollment of about 3,000 men and women from across the United States and abroad, offering academic programs in some 60 fields on a campus unmatched for its beauty and sophistication, the College of the Holy Cross stands as one of the finest undergraduate, liberal arts colleges in our nation. Faithful to its Jesuit tradition and character, religion in both scholarship and practice plays an important part in the curriculum and daily life of the College. With an agreed-upon mission to educate men and women for and with others, Holy Cross students are urged to measure their personal successes in life by what they have done to better the lives of others, especially those less fortunate than themselves.

The College of Wooster is a community of independent minds, working together to prepare students to become leaders of character and influence in an interdependent global community. We engage motivated students in a rigorous and dynamic liberal education.

Mentored by a faculty nationally recognized for excellence in teaching, Wooster graduates are creative and independent thinkers with exceptional abilities to ask important questions, research complex issues, solve problems, and communicate new knowledge and insight.

Founded in 1911, Connecticut College today is where liberal education is being redefined for the 21st century. Their Connections approach encourages students to ask personal and meaningful questions and explore answers by integrating courses from multiple disciplines, engaging in off-campus learning and sharing what they have learned with the larger community. Conn graduates are prepared to be creative, adaptive thinkers ready to tackle the world’s most complex problems.

As one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, Denison University boasts generations of students who can attest to its effect on their lives. Each would cite a different reason. And they’d all be right, because Denison’s liberal arts tradition and residential community create a college of endless personal possibilities.

At Denison, students have to step up—there’s no hiding in the back of a 300-seat lecture hall, no anonymity, no flying under the radar. They matter as individuals, and they are prepared for lives of consequence by the best faculty—professors who know their stuff, know their students’ names, and know how to inspire great things. And learning reaches outside the classrooms, labs, and studios, into the halls where students live, because this is a residential campus community, where students live and learn together, and where they embrace ideals of integrity, intellect, diversity, and respect for each other and the environment.

The outcome is an old term that we take for granted: “well-rounded.” But consider what it means: Denison graduates have a voice. They can speak, write, listen, collaborate, innovate, take responsibility, solve, adapt, and lead. Americans change jobs, even careers, something like seven times during their lives—a number that seems likely to rise. The liberal arts’ broad curriculum ensures that Denison graduates have studied across disciplines, so they are not narrowly trained in one field. And when the going gets tough, the tough get the best education and then go on to lead successful lives.

Elizabethtown College combines the most sought-after professional programs, guaranteed high-impact experiences like research, internships, and cross-cultural study, with a 123+ year tradition of learning to think critically, analyze deeply, and communicate effectively. Etown offers an essential education that makes 98% of our graduates agree they have what it takes to be successful.

Our mission is to Educate for Service and we believe that learning is most noble when used to benefit others, regardless of chosen career path. We prepare our students to lead rich lives of purpose and meaning while advancing independent thought, personal integrity, and social responsibility. These are the foundations for a life of learning. We foster the values of peace, non-violence, human dignity, and social justice.

Haverford College, located just outside Philadelphia, PA, offers a world-class undergraduate education. Haverford is a place where students are trusted, have the opportunity to shape their own path, and have a profound impact on the overall community experience. Haverford students conduct research with faculty who are internationally recognized thought-leaders. Students supplement their classroom experience with experiential learning opportunities supported and funded through our three Academic Centers. All Haverford students will conduct their own graduate-level research as part of their senior thesis. Students are trusted to manage the $500,000 student activities budget, serve on college-wide hiring committees, and run more than 145 clubs and organizations. Of course, the clearest example of the trust placed in students can be found in Haverford’s student-run Honor Code. The Honor Code at Haverford, among other benefits, allows our students the freedom to self-schedule unproctored exams and access labs 24 hours a day.

Kenyon College is the oldest private college in Ohio and this liberal arts college is located in the village of Gambier with a student population of around 1,600. Established in 1824, the college is affiliated with the Episcopal Church after it was founded by Philander Chase who later became the sixth Presiding Bishop of the church. Chase solicited donations from Lord Kenyon, after whom the college is named, as well as Lord Gambier and philanthropist Hannah More, and the campus moved to its current location a year later in 1825. The 1,000-acre campus contains a 480-acre nature preserve and is located around 45 miles from the city of Columbus, the state capital of Ohio. The two campus libraries, Olin Library and Chalmers Library, hold more than one million catalogued items while other notable campus facilities include the 389-seat Bolton Theater, the 650-seat Rosse Hall and the state-of-the-art Kenyon Athletic Center. Some of the Kenyon College traditions are as old as the university itself and include the ‘First-Year Sing’, when first-year students sing traditional Kenyon songs and are officially welcomed into the Kenyon community. The Senior Sing is a similar event for students completing their courses and neatly rounds off their time at Kenyon College. All students also sign the Matriculation Book that is more than a hundred years old and a fantastic record of the all the students who have attended the institution. Among the notable former students of Kenyon College are author of The Fault in Our Stars John Green, Oscar-winning actor Paul Newman, How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor and Emmy-winning actress Allison Janney.

Lawrence University is a residential liberal arts college and conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Lawrence is a supportive and welcoming academic community of 1,500 intellectually curious, diverse, multi-interested students from nearly every state and 50 countries—all committed to a rigorous and challenging educational experience. Led by a faculty of 173 professors (91 percent of whom have a Ph.D. or other terminal degree), Lawrence is devoted to Engaged Learning as the most effective way to prepare students for lives of personal fulfillment and professional accomplishment. It is a demanding approach to education for students who demand much of themselves. Engaged Learning takes place in the classroom, the residence hall, the community and all our off-campus and international programs. It is what characterizes a Lawrence education and distinguishes Lawrentians.

• We are a community of scholars vigorously engaged in learning, teaching, research, and creative inquiry.
• We are a community that integrates theory and practice within the overall educational experience.
• We are a community that commits itself to diversity and sustainability as dimensions of a just society.
• We are a community that cultivates leadership and engagement in a complex and interdependent world.

Middlebury is an undergraduate college; a graduate school for international studies; a home for immersive language study; a graduate school for the study of literature, literacy, and pedagogy; a leader of schools abroad sites that span the globe; and a home for the oldest and most prestigious writers’ conference in the world. Middlebury is an institution that prepares students to address the world’s most challenging problems, and it does so by engaging them in the life of the mind and soul. At Middlebury, we are committed to educating students in the tradition of the liberal arts, which embodies a method of discourse as well as a group of disciplines; in our scientifically and mathematically oriented majors, just as in the humanities, the social sciences, the arts, and the languages, we emphasize reflection, discussion, and intensive interactions between students and faculty members. Our vibrant residential community, remarkable facilities, and the diversity of our co-curricular activities and support services all exist primarily to serve these educational purposes.

At Mount Holyoke, our students, faculty, staff and alum community have never been afraid to be out in front. Here, we build enduring bonds, break through barriers, and blaze even bigger trails for the generations to come — so we can leave the world better than we found it.

We believe in the strength of connections. That’s why we build bridges among people and across disciplines. Between cultures and through ideas. In the classroom and around the globe. It’s how discovery goes deeper, sparks spread further and we push beyond the limits of what we thought was possible. And together, we guide, challenge and support each other to grow and reach the places we want to go.

Every day, each of our students cultivates the competence, confidence and courage to make an impact — whether on a personal, community or global level. And we’re always moving forward. Because when you’re out in front, you realize just how boundless you are.

Muhlenberg College aims to develop independent critical thinkers who are intellectually agile, characterized by a zest for reasoned and civil debate, committed to understanding the diversity of the human experience, able to express ideas with clarity and grace, committed to lifelong learning, equipped with ethical and civic values and prepared for lives of leadership and service.

The College is committed to providing an intellectually rigorous education within the context of an inclusive and diverse campus; we strongly believe that diversity is essential to learning and to our success as a pluralistic community. Our curriculum integrates the traditional liberal arts with selected preprofessional studies. Our faculty are passionate about teaching, value close relationships with students and are committed to the pedagogical and intellectual importance of research.

All members of our community are committed to educating the whole person through experiences within and beyond the classroom. Honoring its historical heritage from the Lutheran Church and its continuing connection with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Muhlenberg encourages, welcomes and celebrates a variety of faith traditions and spiritual perspectives.

In 1910, after years spent establishing numerous parishes and schools, Rt. Rev. Matthew Harkins, D.D., bishop of the Diocese of Providence, felt the time was right to pursue his dream of establishing a Catholic college in the diocese. He was familiar with the seven-century teaching mission of the Order of Preachers, popularly known as the Dominicans, and invited the Fathers of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph to establish a new college in the city of Providence.

In 1911, the provincial reported to the master general of the Dominican Order in Rome that the Provincial Council had accepted the bishop’s offer but asked that the founding be postponed until the province could provide an adequate staff of professors. In 1911 and 1913, the bishop purchased property in northwest Providence on which to build the college. But the necessary ecclesiastical permissions from the master general and the pope were slow in coming.

Negotiations did not progress until the elections of Rev. Louis Theissling, O.P. as master general in 1916 and, especially, of Rev. James Raymond Meagher, O.P. as provincial in 1913. Both shared the bishop’s commitment to Catholic education. In 1915, Father Meagher and Bishop Harkins began the pursuit of formal permission from Rome in earnest. Even before all the founding documents were received in February 1917, the energetic Father Meagher made several moves to start making the bishop’s dream a reality — the first of which was to call upon Rev. Dennis Albert Casey, O. P., who would go on to become the College’s first president.

Founded in 1908 in southeast Portland, Oregon, Reed College is a coeducational, independent liberal arts and sciences college. Referred to as one of the most intellectual colleges in the country, Reed is known for its high standards of scholarly practice, creative thinking, and engaged citizenship.

Reed students pursue the bachelor of arts degree in 40 majors and programs. The curriculum includes a yearlong humanities course, broad distribution requirements, and a senior thesis. A 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio and small conference-style classes allow faculty members to truly mentor students and engage with them in individual discussions. Reed also offers a graduate program leading to a master of arts degree in liberal studies.

Skidmore is a highly ranked, residential, liberal arts college situated on 1,000 acres of natural beauty in Saratoga Springs, New York. With 2,500 students from 40 states and 70 countries, 43 majors, more than 100 student clubs, funded research and internship opportunities, and 118 study abroad programs, it offers a dynamic college experience. Consistently acclaimed in national rankings, Skidmore has been recognized as one of “America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges,” a “Best Value” school and a “Hidden Ivy.”

St. Olaf College challenges students to excel in the liberal arts, examine faith and values, and explore meaningful vocation in an inclusive, globally engaged community nourished by Lutheran tradition.

A St. Olaf education embraces the entire undergraduate experience. Students learn not only in the classroom, but also in residence halls, rehearsal rooms, practice fields, worship services, student employment, and community organizations. These diverse learning opportunities work together to help students achieve a comprehensive set of college-wide learning goals.

Founded in 1782, Washington College was the first college chartered in the sovereign United States of America. General George Washington lent us his name, donated 50 guineas to our founding, and served on our first Board of Visitors and Governors. Our goal back then was to cultivate responsible citizen-leaders. Nowadays, we’re committed to giving our students the chance to succeed on their own terms through purposeful choices, enabling a healthy and regenerative global community.

We share these values of our founding patron, George Washington: integrity, determination, curiosity, civility, leadership, and moral courage. We offer academic rigor and self-discovery in a supportive, residential community of well-qualified, diverse, and motivated individuals. We develop in our students habits of analytic thought and clear communication, aesthetic insight, ethical sensitivity, and civic responsibility.

Unhurried conversation and close connections with an exceptional faculty and staff complement a broad curriculum of study. A beautiful campus, ready access to exciting cities and the Chesapeake Bay, and engagement with cultures and communities locally and around the world afford our students ample resources and opportunities for personal exploration and shared challenges.

We prepare our students for rich and fulfilling lives; for myriad and unpredictable opportunities; for a lifetime of learning, leadership, and productive endeavor.

Wellesley’s mission is to provide an excellent liberal arts education to women who will make a difference in the world.

Non Ministrari sed Ministrare. “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” is Wellesley’s motto—four Latin words that capture the College’s dedication to service and to cultivating leadership.

We advance our mission by working together as a community—faculty, students, staff, and alumnae—guided by deeply held shared values.

Our Values
Intellectual Discovery and Excellence
We believe in the transformative power of curiosity, learning, and teaching.

Gender Equality
As a women’s college, we have always been committed to gender equality as foundational to societal progress.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We affirm that diversity is essential to educational excellence, and we are committed to being a community in which each member thrives.

Connection and Community
We value the equal dignity of every member of the community and our sustained connection to one another, to our campus, and to our mission.

Empowerment and Social Change
We believe in the power and potential of our students and all members of our community to envision the world in which they want to live and to take action to make it real.

Integrity and Academic Freedom
We commit ourselves to high standards of personal and intellectual integrity, we embrace the principles of freedom and rigor in scholarly inquiry, and we assert the importance of holding to the truths such inquiry reveals.