Chartered in 1812, Hamilton College is a coeducational, residential liberal arts institution of approximately 1800 students, nestled among the foothills of the Adirondacks in upstate New York. Education in all its forms is the central mission of Hamilton College. The pivotal commitment of the faculty, administration, and staff to the intellectual and personal development of students is the College’s most important and enduring tradition. Hamilton’s curriculum reflects an appropriate respect for breadth and depth in the study of the liberal arts, while continuing its traditional emphasis upon oral and written communication. The fundamental purpose of a Hamilton education is to enable young men and women of extraordinary talent to realize their fullest capabilities, for their own benefit and for the world in which they live.
Consistently ranked among the top 25 liberal arts colleges in the nation, Hamilton is a highly selective institution that provides students with an academic environment worthy of their ambitions and abilities. The student body is comprised of 53% females and 47% males. Our latest admitted class (2014) has a total of 25% multicultural and international students. Nearly 95% of Hamilton’s enrollees are ranked in the top 20% of their high school graduating classes. Over 45% of Hamilton students receive need-based scholarship support, which approximates $6.5 million annually. We are committed to remaining a college of opportunity, with the near-term goal of adopting and sustaining a “need-blind” admission policy, which will ultimately enable students to matriculate regardless of their ability to pay for the cost of a Hamilton education.
Hamilton expects its students to develop the ability to read, observe and listen with critical perception, and to think, write and speak with clarity, understanding and precision. Students are taught to develop an appreciation for inquiry, combined with the confidence to evaluate arguments and to defend their own positions. Students are accorded the freedom to pursue their own educational interests within the broad goals of a liberal arts education. In consultation with their advisors, Hamilton students regularly plan, assess and re-assess their educational progress and their success in fulfilling the ideals of the liberal arts.
The faculty is composed of men and women who are dedicated to the promotion of academic achievement, integrity, respect for diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, and personal growth. There are just over 180 full-time faculty members, ensuring a 10:1 student-faculty ratio. Over 90% of these faculty members hold terminal degrees. The evolving pedagogical strategies of the faculty continue to define a Hamilton education – traditional lecture formats have given way to instruction that is active, hands-on, and collaborative. Such strategies challenge and motivate our student and often result in engaging student-faculty collaborative research projects.
While remaining steadfastly dedicated to our traditional liberal arts mandate, we have evolved from a small frontier school to a thriving modern institution prepared to meet the educational demands of the 21st Century. Above all, the Hamilton community develops and practices respect for intellectual and cultural diversity because such respect promotes free and open inquiry, independent thought and mutual understanding.
