Historic Old Main
|
Wofford College Fast Facts
Wofford College, established in 1854, is an independent liberal arts college located in Spartanburg, S.C. It offers bachelor’s degrees in 26 major fields of study and is well known for its programs leading to graduate and professional studies (medicine and other health professions, law and the ministry). Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the college is committed to quintessential undergraduate education within the context of values-based inquiry.
Campus and History
Admissions and Enrollment
Student Life
Academics
Athletics
Campus and History
Operating continuously on its original campus in the City of Spartanburg, Wofford is listed as a National Historic District. The campus now consists of 67 buildings on 170 maintained acres and has been designated as “the Roger Milliken Arboretum.” In the summer, the NFL’s Carolina Panthers conduct their training camps at Wofford.
“College Town” Located at the Junction of I-85 and I-26 in the South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg is convenient to the mountains and the beach, and close to both Charlotte and Atlanta. The GSP International Airport is only a few miles west of the city. Major corporate citizens of Spartanburg County (pop. 250,000) include BMW, QS-1, Milliken & Company, Adidas, and Denny’s Restaurants. Home to six diverse higher education institutions, Spartanburg has the highest number of college students per capita of any major city in South Carolina.
Accreditation: Wofford is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia. 30033-4097) to offer the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. Wofford was one of nine colleges that met in 1895 to organize SACS.
Phi Beta Kappa: Beta chapter of South Carolina (1941). As a Phi Beta Kappa campus, Wofford offers a culture of academic challenge and support that consistently produces some of the most influential graduates in the country today.
President: Dr. Benjamin Bernard Dunlap (the college’s 10th president, serving since 2000).
Trustees: 31 trustees serve as the governing body of the college under the terms of the will of the Rev. Benjamin Wofford. For more information, contact David M. Beacham, vice president for administration.
Admissions and Enrollment
Alumni Giving: 40 percent
Faculty, Fall 2008: 113 full-time teaching faculty, 94 percent of whom have earned a doctorate or equivalent terminal degree. FTE faculty to student ratio: 1 to 11
Student Body, Fall 2008: 1,389 on-campus headcount enrollment; (52 percent men and 48 percent women; 13 percent minorities; 60 percent from South Carolina).
Freshman to sophomore retention (Class of 2011), 90.9 percent
Six-Year graduation rate (Class of 2006), 83 percent
First-year student profile, Fall 2008:
SAT range, 1160-1350 (mid 50 percent of the class)
High school class rank, top 10 percent: 57 percent
Applicants: 2,442; Admitted, 1,415; Enrolled, 392
Permanent Endowment (July 1, 2008): $162.5 million ($118,794 per student)
Resident Student Comprehensive Fee (2008-2009), $37,655 tuition; 90 percent of the students receive some type of support through the financial aid office.
Academics
Academic Calendar: 4-1-4 (two semesters and a January Interim).
Library: The collection of the Sandor Teszler Library includes 300,508 items
Studies Abroad: The Open Doors 2008 survey ranked Wofford in the top five nationally in its classification.
112 students studied abroad for a semester or longer during 2008-09.
52 percent of the students specialized in foreign languages (Chinese, French, German, Spanish..
26 percent of the students studied foreign languages not taught at Wofford (Afrikaans, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Fijian, Italian, Japanese, Malagasy, Russian, Thai, Twi and Xhosa).
- 23 percent of the students who studied abroad for a semester studied in Latin America, beating the national average.
27 percent of the students who studied abroad for a semester were science, math or computer science majors.
40 percent of the student selected less commonly chosen destinations and spent a semester in the developing world.
According to the Lincoln Commission, approximately 9 percent of undergraduates in the United States study abroad. Wofford earned national attention for the 2008 Open Doors survey results as more than 80 percent earned academic credit overseas.
Student Life
Campus Ministry Center and Service Learning:
Bonner Scholars
Twin Towers
Lions Club
Alpha Phi Omega
Vocational Discernment Pre-ministerial Program
Noteworthy Special Opportunities:
Army ROTC
Success Initiative: SI is a learning community grounded in the liberal arts. It uses five building blocks in the program development. They are: scholarship support, individual and group projects, student leadership, a learning community, and the liberal arts philosophy.
Community of Scholars: This is a 10-week summer program that combines research in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. The program fosters collaboration between faculty and students, allowing them to make connections across multiple disciplines.
The January Interim: During January, teachers and students dedicate the entire month to in-depth experiential learning in a single interest outside the standard academic curricula. Opportunities include studies and internships both on-campus and abroad. Students may also design and submit their own independent and group research projects.
National Fraternities and Sororities: 14 chapters; 45 percent of the men and 57 percent of the women are members
Residence Life: 1,339 students live on campus in residence halls or new apartment style housing (“The Village”)
Athletics
As the second smallest NCAA Division I college, Wofford is home to 18 intercollegiate teams participating in the Southern Conference. Among these athletes are the 2003 and 2007 SoCon Champions in football and 2007 SoCon baseball champions.