Albright College is a nationally
ranked, private, co-ed liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The College offers the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science
degrees, and a master’s degree in education.
Founded in 1856, Albright
grew from the merger of three separate colleges –Union Seminary, Schuylkill Seminary
and the Albright Collegiate Institute – and has historic
ties with the United Methodist Church. Located on 110 acres in
a residential area of the city, the present campus was established
in 1902.
Fall 2002 enrollment was 1,450 full-time traditional
students, and 500 adult degree-completion and degree-start students.
Of 95 full-time faculty, 81 percent hold doctorates or terminal
degrees. With a student/faculty ratio of just 12:1, the close interaction
of faculty and students is an Albright tradition.
Albright’s endowment
is about $35 million. Two-and-a-half percent of the $41 million
operating budget is supported by the Annual Fund.
Albright College is fully accredited by the Middle
States Association of Colleges and Universities, and is a member
of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities.
Interdisciplinary education
is a distinctive focus for Albright. For more than 40 years,
the College has led the way in interdisciplinary education, and
the College’s
hallmarks are connecting fields of learning, collaborative teaching
and learning, and a flexible curriculum.
The College established the first undergraduate
psychobiology program in the nation in the 1960s, and the first
biochemistry program in the region in the 1970s. Our optical physics
combined concentration is the only such program nationwide at a
small college. The College also had one of the first environmental
studies programs. The College offers 19 interdisciplinary or combined
concentrations and every student is required to take at least one
interdisciplinary course.
Albright has received nearly $1 million in foundation
and government grants for interdisciplinary initiatives. The three
Centers for Interdisciplinary Studies, with programs in Latin American
and Caribbean Studies, Digital Media and Cultural Ecology, was launched
in 1998 through a major grant from the Christian A. Johnson Foundation.
Nearly half of all Albright students elect dual
(and even triple) or combined concentrations. In 2002, students
created 143 different combinations of majors. The Individualized
Study Program also allows students to tailor their own majors.
The College’s strong
tradition of excellence extends to pre-professional education.
Albright graduates have historically excelled in the natural
sciences, pre-med and pre-law. Acceptance rates are 90 percent
for natural science majors applying to medical school and 95
percent for those applying to veterinary school. About one-quarter
of Albright graduates pursue graduate degrees.
Albright combines a well-rounded education in
the liberal arts with a pragmatic approach to future careers. The
unique Alpha Program is designed to give students a structured opportunity
to explore fields of learning and career options before finally
selecting a major. Collaborative faculty/student research is also
a focus at Albright.
The master’s degree
program in education was launched in fall 2002.
