About Wheaton College
Drawing students from across the country and around the globe, Wheaton College is a four-year, private liberal arts college with a student body of 1,550. Wheaton's residential campus, one of the loveliest in New England, is located in Norton, Massachusetts, between Boston and Providence, R.I.
Wheaton was founded in 1834 as a female seminary. The college became coeducational in 1987, after more than 150 years as a leading college for women. Wheaton's traditional commitment to equality is today reflected in its commitment to diversity in all its forms. Wheaton is an active community of learners who value the liberal arts as a means for personal growth, professional success and leadership that improves the world.
The essence of a Wheaton education lies in the close collaborative relationships that develop between students and faculty. Classes are small. Students know their professors as teachers, advisors, supervisors of research projects and often as friends. The student-faculty ratio is 10:1 and the average class size is between 15 and 20, promoting rich intellectual discourse among students and their professors. Often, students collaborate with faculty members on research projects or artistic endeavors such as gallery exhibitions and theatre productions.
Every class encourages students to make connections between disciplines, between cultures, between theory and practice. Beyond the classroom, students translate their knowledge into action. Wheaton's pioneering Filene Center for Work and Learning helps students pursue out-of-class learning experiences such as internships, research fellowships and field experiences. The Center for Global Education opened its doors to the Wheaton community in the fall of 2002, expanding study abroad opportunities and developing new initiatives to internationalize the Wheaton campus.
The curriculum
Wheaton offers a challenging liberal arts curriculum leading to a bachelor of arts degree in more than 40 majors and 50 minors. Students choose from over 600 courses in subjects from physics to philosophy, political science to computer science, art history to theater, English to economics. In addition, Wheaton offers highly specialized courses typically found only at large universities. The course selection is extended further through the college's cross-registration programs with Brown University and nine local colleges involved in SACHEM (Southeastern Association for Cooperation in Higher Education in Massachusetts). Wheaton also offers dual-degree programs, enabling its undergraduates to begin graduate-level study in studio art, communications, engineering, business, theology and optometry. (Learn more about dual-degree and pre-professional programs.)
The new Wheaton Curriculum reaffirms the college's commitment to the traditional breadth and depth of the liberal arts and sciences while promoting study that crosses established academic divisions. Beginning with the Class of 2007, all Wheaton students take sets of courses that approach a topic from the perspectives of different disciplines. These connected courses encourage students to explore and think beyond their primary academic interests. For instance, the Connection Communication through Art and Mathematics links Arts 298 (Graphic Design I) with Math 127 (Advertising Math). Take a look at the complete list of Connections.
Students acquire a fundamental depth of knowledge through Foundations courses, which focus on writing, quantitative analysis, foreign language study and non-Western perspectives. In their first semester at Wheaton, all freshmen take a First Year Seminar in which they explore contemporary issues and gain academic skills needed for college-level study. The Major concentration and elective courses are also central to the Wheaton Curriculum, which culminates in a senior capstone experience - a thesis, research project, seminar or creative project.
Academic excellence
Wheaton's reputation as a leading liberal arts college continues to grow. In the past ten years, more than 100 Wheaton students have won competitive national scholarship awards, including three Rhodes scholarships as well as Truman, Fulbright, Udall, Madison, Watson, British Marshall, Goldwater and Rotary International scholarships. Wheaton is one of only a handful of liberal arts colleges in the country to have produced three Rhodes Scholars in five years. The college has been named a Truman Foundation Honor School for its focus on Truman Scholar candidates and students interested in pursuing careers in public service.
The arts
Wheaton's magnificent arts buildings, with newly expanded space for study, exhibition and performance, have set the stage for the Evelyn Danzig Haas '39 Visiting Artists Program. Launched in 2003, the program brings distinguished writers, musicians, actors, directors, dancers and artists to campus for short-term residencies to share their work through lectures, master classes, concerts and exhibitions. Arts in the City complements the visiting artists program by taking students and faculty members on trips to Boston, Providence and elsewhere to explore the arts and cultural offerings of the region.
Athletics
Home of the eight-time national champion Women's Track and Field program, Wheaton's athletics and recreation programs are also a vital contributor to Wheaton's excellence. Students can participate in intramural activities, club sports, and intercollegiate teams. Wheaton fields 21 intercollegiate teams for women and men, including baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, track and synchronized swimming. Our NCAA Division III teams take on competitors at such schools as Williams, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Smith, Brandeis and MIT. Many teams and individual players qualify for postseason play in NCAA, ECAC and other tournaments.
New leadership
Ronald A. Crutcher, formerly the provost of Miami University of Ohio, became Wheaton's seventh president in July 2004. Under President Crutcher's leadership, the college embarked on a new strategic planning process in the fall of the same year.
An invitation
For basic facts and figures regarding the college, see quick facts. To learn more about Wheaton's faculty, curriculum, admissions requirements and more, we invite you to explore the Wheaton Web.