Admissions

Allegheny College attracts students with unusual combinations of interests, skills and talents, including some they don’t know they have. At Allegheny, we invite students to tap all of their interests and talents.

Learn more about Unusual Combinations

The Major/Minor Requirement

Students take courses in each division of knowledge —humanities, natural sciences and social sciences— declaring both a major and a minor (outside the division of their major) by the end of the sophomore year. With the freedom to select unusual combinations of majors and minors, students combine their interests and expand their concentrations beyond one division, developing the sort of “big picture” thinking that serves them well for a lifetime.

Seminar Series

Every Allegheny student participates in a four-year seminar series that focuses on written and oral communication skills as well as academic and career advising. The progressive sequence begins with the Freshman Seminar, led by a professor who also serves as the student’s faculty advisor.

Student/Faculty Collaboration

Whether it’s fieldwork in Alaska or a community art project, Allegheny students put theory into practice under the guidance of faculty mentors through research, conference presentations, co-authored articles, and faculty-led study tours. In the National Survey of Student Engagement, responses by college seniors placed Allegheny within the top 10% in the U.S. for the close student-faculty interaction.

The Senior Project

Under the guidance of a faculty advisor in his or her major field, every student completes the Senior Project, a significant piece of original scholarly work with a creative, analytical or experimental focus. Mirroring a master thesis, the project demonstrates the skills most prized by employers and graduate schools: the ability to complete a major assignment, to work independently, to analyze and synthesize information and to write and speak persuasively.

Allegheny College Center for Experiential Learning (ACCEL)

ACCEL offers activities and services in career development, community service, international programs, pre-health advising and leadership training. Staff collaborate with faculty, alumni, community members, and worldwide partners to develop programs that foster intellectual development, cross-cultural and global awareness, civic and social responsibility, ethical development, career exploration and personal growth.

Center for Political Participation

The CPP is dedicated to fostering an appreciation for the link between an engaged, active citizenry and a healthy democracy. The center seeks new strategies for promoting political participation, with a particular focus on young Americans, and plans and supports events for Allegheny students, citizens of the wider community, and scholars nationwide.

Visit www.allegheny.edu/civility to learn about their recent civility survey.