Bowdoin is a college and also an idea — that if you give smart, kind, young people access to one of the best educations on earth, they will use it to create good in the world.
Bowdoin College is historic. And selective. And rigorous.
But most importantly, we were founded and endowed with the belief that there is something bigger than ourselves.
What does it mean for a college to do the right thing?
It means building a curriculum that stretches what’s expected of the liberal arts.
For us, it means working for equality, diversity, and inclusion—in our coursework, our staffing, our student body, and our financial priorities.
It means researching and protecting our environment—from the coastal ecosystems that surround and sustain us, to the humid jungles and Arctic poles that inspired some of our earliest students.
A Bowdoin education brings context, history, integrity, and empathy to the world around us.
Who chooses Bowdoin?
Our alumni are scholars, writers, judges, entrepreneurs, business leaders, scientists, activists, tech giants, farmers, diplomats, artists, and conservationists.
Bowdoin graduates of all years are connected by a curious, restless thread that asks: what else can I do? Where can I find answers? Who brings a different perspective?
Who does Bowdoin choose?
We admit students of uncommon promise, and uncommon character. We look for bright minds who want to work together—and live together, eat together, and talk it out.
