Wesleyan University

Colleges Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

www.wesleyan.edu

Image Gallery Button
location students adm. int’l. fresh grad GPA ACT SAT TOEFL
Middletown, CT 3,066 17% 10% 93% 81% 3.8 34 1490 100+

Wesleyan University is a private institution that was founded in 1831. It sits on a 316-acre campus in Middletown, overlooking the Connecticut River. The school offers about 200 student organizations, including several a cappella groups. Greek life has a long history at Wesleyan, with several fraternities and sororities on campus, including the coed fraternity Eclectic Society, as well as secret societies like the Skull and Serpent. Wesleyan’s athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference. The college is also part of the unofficial Little Three athletic conference with Amherst and Williams. Freshmen are required to live on campus, along with the majority of students who live in campus residence halls, apartments or houses. Wesleyan is also among the oldest of the originally Methodist colleges in the country. Nearly 50 percent of students study abroad through 150 programs worldwide.

Academics

Wesleyan University has more than 40 undergraduate academic departments. Students can choose from among nearly 50 majors, 32 minors, and a commitment to creative programming and interdisciplinary learning. The Graduate Liberal Studies Program offers students a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. Wesleyan also grants other graduate degrees through its Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy programs. Wesleyan offers students 3–2 programs in engineering with the California Institute of Technology and Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. These programs allow undergraduates to receive degrees in five years from both Wesleyan and Caltech or Columbia. The student-faculty ratio at Wesleyan is 7:1, and the school has 77% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. Popular majors include Psychology, Economics, and Political Science & Government.

Special Highlights

Student Groups & Organizations. Wesleyan was once known as one of “20 Colleges Where It’s Easiest to Get Involved” for its high “Students per Club” ratio. Students have plenty of opportunities to participate in wide-ranging extracurriculars and join groups including the Wesleyan Student Assembly, Debate Society, and Environmental Organizers’ Network. Wesleyan also owns a tract of land that is used as Long Lane Farm, a 2-acre organic vegetable farm run by students. Some of the oldest and most visible student groups are campus publications, including a bi-weekly newspaper, The Wesleyan Argus and a periodical, Hermes, the University’s oldest student-run publication. Wesleyan was long known as the “Singing College of New England” and typically features at least 10 groups that regularly perform on campus.

College of Film and the Moving Image. The University is renowned for its Film Studies program. Fashion publication Vanity Fair once stated: “This tiny Connecticut University, with a total enrollment of 2,700, has turned out a shockingly disproportionate number of Hollywood movers and shakers.” University students, biographers, media experts, and scholars from around the world may have full access to The Wesleyan Cinema Archives, which document the film industry during the 20th century and contain the personal papers and film related materials of many famous actors and producers. Wesleyan’s College of Film and the Moving Image includes the Film Studies Department, the Center for Film Studies, the Cinema Archives, and the Wesleyan Film Series.

School Mission & Unique Qualities

Wesleyan is where disciplines converge and coalesce, where passions are infused with purpose, and where explorers and achievers come from around the world to become their best – and most authentic – selves in a vibrant, inclusive community. Our open curriculum does not rely on a required set of courses to graduate; students create their own unique combination of disciplines, fields, and interests to chart an academic path to a life that inspires them. In 1872, the university became one of the first U.S. colleges to attempt coeducation by admitting a small number of female students, a venture then known as the “Wesleyan Experiment.” Many students participate in the Twelve College Exchange program, which allows for study for a semester or a year at another of the twelve college campuses: Amherst, Bowdoin, Connecticut College, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Trinity, Vassar, Wellesley, Wheaton, and Williams.

Student Reviews…

“Wesleyan is an amazing school. The people are passionate and driven towards their goals. You will see students on campus making short films, dancing in multiple groups at the same time, and tutoring in the writing center. The professors are knowledgeable and understanding.”