Franklin & Marshall College

Franklin & Marshall was established in 1787 with a gift of 200 British pounds from Benjamin Franklin, and is located in historic Lancaster, a dynamic city with a thriving arts scene. The College enrolls 2,324 students. The average class size is 19 students, and the student-faculty ratio is 9:1. Our students receive more than $500,000 in research grants every year. At Franklin & Marshall, we emphasize the life of the mind and provide opportunities for learning while doing. All students are lifelong members of a College House, five distinct hubs of academic, extracurricular and social engagement in a residential setting. Guided by faculty dons and deans, students govern their houses, develop leadership skills, and create their own social and intellectual programs. Students may join one or more of the College’s 115 clubs and organizations, ranging from anime to Ultimate Frisbee. More than three-quarters of students participate in community service, and about one-third belongs to one of 12 Greek organizations. Our scholar-athletes compete in the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference. The College fields 27 athletic teams—13 for men and 14 for women. Students may study abroad in any of 200 locations around the world. Each year, about half of our students go abroad or enroll in a travel course. On campus, 87 percent of students have studied at least one of the 11 foreign languages we offer. Our students learn by doing. They embrace the opportunity to work side by side or in small groups with faculty members on research projects that have real-world applications. And when given the choice of being a scholar, an athlete, an artist, a leader or a volunteer, they are most apt to choose “all of the above.”

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