In an ideal location, St. Lawrence is a diverse liberal arts learning community of inspiring faculty, serious students, and accomplished alumni, guided by tradition and focused on the future.

Mission Statement: The mission of St. Lawrence University is to provide an inspiring and demanding undergraduate education in the liberal arts to students selected for their seriousness of purpose and intellectual promise.

Founded: April 3, 1856; oldest continuously coeducational institution of higher learning in New York State. Visit our Traditions site.

School colors: Scarlet and Brown.

Our name: St. Lawrence University is named for the St. Lawrence River, which is about 15 miles from campus and offers our students and faculty a wonderful research facility, and is the site of our crew team practices and competitions. The St. Lawrence River forms the border with Canada, and our Canadian Studies program has been one of the best of its kind in the United States.

Accreditation: St. Lawrence is accredited by the Middle State Association of Colleges and Universities. The teacher education program is accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC).

Alma Mater, written by J. Kimball Gannon '24, who also wrote "I'll Be Home for Christmas"

President: Daniel F. Sullivan '65

Curriculum: A four-year program of study in the liberal arts. The academic calendar consists of fall and spring semesters and optional summer terms. Graduate programs in education.

Degrees Granted: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science; Master of Education; Certificate of Advanced Studies in Educational Administration.

Major Fields of Study: African Studies, anthropology, Asian studies, biology, biology/physics, biochemistry, Canadian studies, chemistry, computer science, conservation biology, economics, economics/mathematics, English (literature or writing), environmental studies, fine arts, Francophone studies (French) geology, geology/physics, German studies, global studies, government, history, mathematics, multifield (self-designed), multi-language, music, neuroscience, performance and communication arts, philosophy, physics, psychology, religious studies, sociology, Spanish.

Minor Fields of Study: African studies, African-American studies, anthropology, applied statistics, Asian studies, biology, Canadian studies, Caribbean and Latin American studies, chemistry, computer science, economics, education, European studies, film studies, fine arts, gender studies, geology, government, history, Japanese studies, literature [English], mathematics, multifield, music, Native American studies, outdoor studies, peace studies, performance and communication arts, philosophy, physics, psychology, religious studies, sociology, sports studies and exercise science, writing [English]

Special Programs: 3+2 Basic Engineering Combined Plan Program with seven engineering institutions; 4+1 MBA Program at Clarkson University and Union College, Accelerated MBA Program with RIT. We also offer our nationally renowned Adirondack Semester, and domestic programs with American University in Washington, DC, and Fisk University in Nashville, TN.

Most popular majors: For the Class of 2008
Economics
Psychology
Government
History
Biology

International Programs: Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Spain and Trinidad; we participate in the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP).

Faculty: 173 full-time, 21 part-time; 97.1% with highest terminal degree; 17.0% faculty of color

Student-Faculty Ratio: 11:1

Sustainability: A core value at St. Lawrence, environmental sustainability is our way of life. Visit the Sustainability pages.

Community service: 70% of our students participate in volunteer work or community service during their time at St. Lawrence. Visit the Community-based Learning program page and Center for Collegiate Volunteerism.

Libraries: Owen D. Young Library and Launders Science Library, with over 1.5 million books, government documents, videos, microforms, journals and special collections.

Computer Facilities: Secure wireless networking is available in the Student Center, Owen D. Young and Launders Science Libraries, all residence buildings and many academic.   There are 608 public access computers plus 200 department computers available for student use.  Wireless access is available in 26 buildings. About 97% of our students bring computers to campus.

Student Enrollment: In 2008-2009, 2,206 undergraduate and 119 graduate students, 54.7% undergraduates are women and 45.3% undergraduates are men; 10.1% of undergraduates are U.S. students of color, 4.9% are international students. Students come from 42 states, (the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories inclusive) and 49 nations. Visit our Diversity pages.

Admissions:
For a full profile of the Class of 2012, visit Admissions.

Selected Statistics as of July 2008
Applicants: 5,418
Accepted: 1,827 (34%)
Enrolled:  618 (34%)

Class Rank
(307 students or 50% attended high schools that report class rank)

By Percent (cumulative)
  Top 10% 44% 
  Top 25% 74%
  Top 50% 96% 

By Quintile
  Top      68%               
  2nd      22%
  3rd         8% 
  4th         2% 
  5th         0%

High School Type
  Public:  70%
  Private/Parochial: 30%
  Number of high schools represented: 399

Standardized Tests
Frequency Distribution of SAT I Scores for Matriculants
(59% of entering first-year students (n=367) submitted test scores.)
Middle 50%  Math/Critical Reading/Writing: 1710-1910

Student Activities: Over 100

Residences: 12 residence halls for students; five Greek houses; several theme cottages and intentional living communities.  As a residential campus, we have 98.1% of our students living in University housing.

Athletics: 32 intercollegiate teams for women and men, dozens of intramural and club options. Some 31% of our students participate in intercollegiate athletics.

Athletic Facilities: Indoor facilities include two field houses, each with artificial turf infield, track and tennis courts; two regulation basketball courts; competition swimming and diving pool; squash center; 133-station fitness center; climbing wall; ice arena; equestrian arena. Outdoor facilities include competition and practice fields for soccer, softball, baseball, football, lacrosse and field hockey along with a lighted artificial turf field; six lighted tennis courts; lighted all-weather nine-lane track and lighted football/track stadium; 18-hole championship golf course. Recreation facilities include jogging/walking trail, cross country/mountain bike trails, intramural fields, outdoor basketball and volleyball courts. Varsity teams number 32 (15 men’s, 16 women’s and one coeducational). Men’s and women’s ice hockey are NCAA Division I; the remainder are Division III, with the exception of equestrian, which is not an NCAA sport. Intramural and club teams flourish in several sports and activities, depending on student interest.

Financial Aid: In 2008-2009, 82% of the student body receives some form of financial aid. The average aid package is $30,986.

Tuition and fees: Comprehensive fee (tuition, room and board) $47,320 for 2008-2009

Alumni: Approximately 30,500 as of July 2008. The St. Lawrence Alumni Association, founded in 1877, represents the alumni body at large. Representatives of class groups are named each year to a governing body — the Executive Council. The Alumni Association assists in admissions, fundraising, career counseling, public relations and recognition of alumni for their service to the University and their communities.Visit this site for more about our amazing alumni. For 2007-2008, 34.9% alumni participation rate.

Career and Graduate School Rates: For the Class of 2007 (we survey each graduating class six months after Commencement), 97.4% are employed or enrolled in graduate and professional schools. Education, banking and finance and sales and marketing are top career choices for recent grads.The median salary range for those employed was $32,500 - $37,500, with the insurance industry paying median salaries of $45,000-$49,000 and sports/recreation industries paying media salaries under $20,000.

In terms of graduate study, education, science & technology and law were the top three fields for graduate study. Forty-one percent of the class of 2007 completed at least one internship.

Graduation Rates: The following is the percentage of students who graduated within five years of matriculating:
Class of '06: 75.1%
Class of ’05: 76.9%
•Class of ’04: 75.5%
•Class of ’03: 74.7%
•Class of ’02: 74.5%
•Class of ’01: 73.7%

Retention Rate for first-year to second-year: For those entering Fall 2007: 87.9%

Assessment and Accreditation: St. Lawrence University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
These resources provide reports and statisticused in assessment and accreditation.
Middle States Review Web Site (2008)
Middle States Periodic Review Report (2003)
Assessment Web Site
Institutional Research Web Site

Location: Canton, New York, a county seat and regional business center with a population of 6,400 in the St. Lawrence River Valley.

St. Lawrence University Short History: St. Lawrence University was founded in 1856 by leaders of the Universalist Church, who were seeking to establish a seminary somewhere west of New England and were enthusiastically courted by the citizens of Canton. The denomination, which has since merged with the Unitarian faith, was part of the liberal wing of Protestantism, championing such ideas as critical thinking and gender equality-attributes that surfaced in the new seminary, which was progressive in its teaching philosophy and coeducational from the beginning.

The University as it exists today was created as a "Preparatory Department" to provide a foundation for theological study. That department became today's liberal arts University, while the seminary closed in 1965 with the Unitarian/Universalist consolidation.

As the 19th century drew to a close, sports teams began to be fielded (men's basketball and track were the first intercollegiate sports; hockey was not introduced until 1926, with a 1-0 loss to arch-rival Clarkson), a student government formed and organizations for music, drama and the literary arts began to draw attention.

Early in the 20th century, the University's graduate program in education came into being; it has since served hundreds of North Country school teachers and administrators. Following a difficult period during the Great Depression and World War II, the student body increased quickly, and with it the physical plant. A four-building campus serving around 300 students in the early 1940s became a 30-building campus serving 2000 students within 25 years, partly through acquisition of the adjacent state school of agriculture campus when that facility relocated across town. The mid-60s also saw the birth of one of St. Lawrence's key components today, its international programs.

In this first decade of the 21st century, the University is embarked upon another facilities upgrade program that aims to take advantage of the electronic revolution in higher education, as well as a curriculum reform to tailor its educational programs to the demands of the next millennium. Visit our Future site.

Among St. Lawrence's distinguished alumni are communications magnate and diplomat Owen D. Young, for whom the Young Plan for European war reparations was named; Olympia Brown, the first woman in U.S. history to be ordained a minister; author Lorrie Moore; United States Senator Susan Collins; and actors Kirk Douglas and Viggo Mortensen. Visit this site for more about our amazing alumni.

Updated December 2008