SchChat - School | The College of Wooster

Descriptions

A proud history with an international reputation for excellence The College of Wooster is the nation’s premier college for mentored undergraduate research and the most internationalized campus in Ohio. Located just 45 minutes from Cleveland, Wooster offers an excellent, comprehensive liberal arts education in a spirited residential setting, culminating in every student creating new knowledge through a rigorous, in-depth project of inquiry or creative expression. Working in partnership with a faculty mentor to conceive, organize, and complete a significant project on a topic of the student’s own choosing, every Wooster graduate develops abilities valued by employers and graduate schools alike: initiative, collaboration, self-confidence, independent judgment, creative problem solving, and strong written and oral communication skills. Wooster is a vibrant, diverse, unpretentious community of learners with a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Students can be themselves at Wooster, discover and pursue their passions, connect learning in the classroom to the real world through paid internships, research fellowships, and other experiential opportunities, and forge lifelong bonds with faculty, coaches, and staff. New York Times columnist Ron Lieber praises Wooster for its exceptional combination of quality faculty, affordability, and undergraduate research in his new book, The Price You Pay for College. Lieber devotes an entire chapter to answering How the College of Wooster Puts It All Together, highlighting Wooster’s up-front attitude in helping prospective students understand the financial package they will receive and the satisfaction students get from faculty mentorship. Founded by Presbyterians in 1866, it opened its doors as the University of Wooster on September 8, 1870, with a faculty of five and a student body of thirty men and four women. By 1915, the university had several graduate divisions, including a medical school. Ultimately, the board of trustees and a majority of the faculty voted against further expansion and in favor of closing down the existing graduate programs, in order to focus solely on undergraduate education in the liberal arts and sciences. With that sharpening of strategic focus came a new name, The College of Wooster, and an educational program framed in a residential setting where students learn in many venues and in many ways. In 1969, the Presbyterian Synod of Ohio relinquished its ownership of the College, and Wooster became an independent, private liberal arts college.