This is Albright College

We are a small, nationally-ranked, residential liberal arts college located in northeast Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1856, we maintain an active affiliation with the United Methodist Church.

We have approximately 1,700 students, with nearly 1,300 in our traditional four-year degree program in the liberal arts. Of these, nearly 1,000 reside in our residence halls. The remainder of our students are enrolled in our part-time evening program and in our Accelerated Degree Completion Program and Degree Start Programs.

We offer programs leading to the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in 41 different majors. We stress the value of studies that cross the boundaries of academic disciplines. What colleges and universities are now coming to espouse, Albright College has vigorously lived for more than a quarter century. Our biochemistry program, for example, is recognized as one of the pioneers in the nation in combining these two disciplines into a discrete, interdisciplinary program. Our psychobiology program, the first such program in the region, crosses disciplines by combining study in the natural sciences and social sciences.

Current students have 142 distinct combinations of majors, and more than 40 percent of our students graduate with dual majors.

We provide a richness of hands-on educational experience that is exceptional. For example, our scientific instrumentation puts into student hands state-of-the-art equipment that, in larger research universities, may rarely be available for undergraduate student use.

Over the years, Albright has had a significant impact upon the communities around it. A high percentage (60%) of our students graduate within four years, for which we have received recognition through a special grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Our science program has produced some 11 percent of the medical doctors in our local Berks County community. Over the past five years, 87 percent of our graduates who apply to medical, dental, and veterinary school have been accepted. Our teaching certification program is among the most demanding in Pennsylvania and 92 percent of matriculants who seek teaching certification pass state qualifying examinations on their first attempt.

Many of our students are listed in the annual Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. For our emphasis on leadership and character-building we were recently identified by the Center for the Study of Values in College Student Development for special highlight as a "College of Character." All of this has been achieved through hard work and a conscious, decade-long commitment of resources. Our collaboration with Penn State University has resulted in the state's only partnership between public and private higher education institutions.

Although modestly endowed ($34M), the College provides 92 percent of our students with institutional grant aid, averaging $9,630 per student per year.

Throughout our programs we emphasize that the college experience is a collaboration between student and professor and among academic departments.

Every one of our students is involved, front and center, in their education. Our students graduate with a firm foundation in their areas of concentration and a breadth of knowledge that can only come from study across the boundaries of individual disciplines. With this firm foundation Albright graduates view the world through a different lens.

Our Vision

Our vision is to achieve regional, national, and international recognition as a high quality, small liberal arts college providing a distinctive, holistic, and values-based education for leadership in the 21st century.

Our Mission

Our mission is to inspire and educate the scholar and leader in each student, building on a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and a commitment to the best of human values, fostering a commitment to a lifetime of service and learning.

Our Core Values

Our values represent the principles that we seek to impart to our students during their experience at Albright. As an institution we also strive to follow these values in our own daily work and relationships with one another.

• Student-centeredness
• Courage
• Integrity
• Loyalty
• Competence
• Commitment
• Civility
• Liberal education
• Faith
• Personal responsibility
• Trust
• Civic responsibility

Our Outcomes

Albright expects four core outcomes from our curriculum and co-curricular programs.

• Capacity to think critically
• Ability to communicate effectively
• Desire to serve community
• Flexibility to guide any situation toward a positive outcome

These outcomes form the foundation of the entire Albright educational experience and are derived from the influence of our values in the development of our curriculum and co-curricular programs. We believe focusing on these outcomes builds quality of character in our students and provides strengths essential to our students' success in life, no matter what their field of endeavor.

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