Wheaton College
College Profile

Established in 1860 as a co-ed institution, Wheaton College is a private, residential and interdenominational Christian liberal arts college where the pursuit of faith and learning is taken seriously. Wheaton is committed to being a community that fearlessly pursues God's Truth, invests in developing well-rounded students, and prepares graduates to make a difference in the world.

Wheaton College seeks to relate Christian liberal arts education to the needs of contemporary society. The curricular approach is designed to combine faith and learning in order to produce a biblical perspective needed to relate Christian experience to the demands of those needs. Wheaton's distinctives include its explicitly Christian identity, its academic rigor, its focus on the liberal arts, and the residential nature of its community.

Wheaton College consistently ranks among the top liberal arts colleges in the country. The 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges includes Wheaton College in its list of 45 Best Buy colleges and universities, based on academic quality in relation to the cost of attendance. Kiplinger's ranks Wheaton 22nd for 100 Best Values in Private Colleges. The Princeton Review names Wheaton in the 2011 edition of The Best 373 Colleges, and U.S. News & World Report ranks Wheaton 56 out of more than 260 National Liberal Arts Colleges. The Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges included Wheaton as a school that has "demonstrated an exemplary commitment to sustainability."

Campus and Community

Wheaton College is located in suburban Wheaton, a residential community 25 miles west of downtown Chicago, with easy access to the city, and O'Hare and Midway International Airports. The campus community is made up of 2,400 undergraduates and 500 graduate students from 50 states, 50 countries and more than 55 church denominations. Approximately 88 percent of students live on campus.

Academics and Faculty

Known for the quality of its academic offerings, Wheaton College continues to enroll strong, distinctively Christian students in its undergraduate and graduate programs. Gifted faculty, a top-tier science division, a nationally regarded Conservatory of Music, and opportunities for student/faculty research make the academic experience unique.

Wheaton has 198 full-time faculty members, 95 percent of whom hold earned doctorates or other terminal degrees. The student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1.
Wheaton offers eight degrees, (B.A., B.S., B.Mus., B.Mus.Ed., M.A., M.A.T., Ph.D. in Biblical Theological Studies, Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology) with 35 majors in the liberal arts and sciences.

Wheaton College has continuously produced leaders of distinction. Influential people like Evangelist Billy Graham '43, former Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert '64, Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola Bonnie Pruett Wurzbacher '77, former Director of Presidential Speech Writing And Assistant to the President Michael Gerson '86, and September 11th hero of United Flight 93 Todd Beamer '91 reflect the standard of excellence Wheaton College has come to expect in the classroom and beyond.

Students and Student Life Programs

Wheaton College is a school of unusual scope, made rich by incoming freshmen from every area of the country and around the world, from diverse backgrounds and with distinct personal histories.

The Student Activities Office is committed to cultivate and create a Christ-centered community through mobilizing student leaders in real-life ministry, programming, and service for the campus community while encouraging them to grow in their faith, leadership and calling for life.

The Student Activities Office is a focal point of campus life, providing opportunities for student engagement and learning. Whether coordinating a ‘70s roller-disco, digging trenches for an irrigation project in Honduras, facilitating a pivotal business meeting, or raising awareness about systemic racism, Wheaton students are engaged in a variety of experiences that contribute to both their growth as Christians and to the Wheaton community. Being a Wheaton student is about more than attending class.

Additionally, Wheaton College offers men and women intercollegiate participation in 21 different sports as a member of NCAA Division III. Wheaton teams have won more than 45 titles over the past seven years in 11 different sports. Over the past five seasons, Wheaton has been nationally ranked in football; men's and women's soccer; men's and women's basketball; men's and women's swimming; men's and women's cross country; women's track and field; women's golf; and women's tennis.

Women's soccer has made five NCAA Final Four appearances (2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008). The Wheaton football team has been ranked in Division III's Top 25 for the past 10 years and earned a league-best five NCAA-III Playoff appearances since 2000, including National Semifinalist recognition in 2008.

Editorial provided by Lori Hart, Media Relations Assistant at Wheaton College.